Fair Freedom

Do you remember the age old battle you used to have (if you had it at all) with your K-12 school teachers (if you went to K-12) regarding whether or not they could drink soda pop in front of you in the classroom? My school district had a not-so-major debate on the fairness of teachers drinking soda in front of students when students were not allowed to drink in the classroom. If students couldn't do it, why could the teachers?

Anytime an adult has food at Miniapple kids will ask "Why do you get that?" Even if it's fucking lunch time! You have a candybar or some little treat and they complain to the board of directors. I had a pizza in my hand . . . in the adult prep room . . . and a kid complained "Why do you get that pizza?!" A coworker remarked "Because it's adult pizza. You'd get sick."

You basically have to lie and say some bullshit adult/child differential sickness prevention to get them to shut up about the fact that you're hungry, you haven't had anything to eat, you've been watching kids all day and seeing if they don't choke on their food during lunch so you can't focus on your own food, and they have the audacity to complain about you eating in your own space.

I'm exaggerating my rant here, but I did want to bring up the notion of fairness in children. Right off the bat, little two year olds are questioning "Why?" when it comes to everyone getting an equal share. Early on, fairness equates to getting things, getting the same amount of food or playtime or toys. Kids will freak out if you don't give them an equal amount. Joey got more, I'll raise hell.

This fairness aspect is very Western. The Nurture aspect of Nature vs. Nurture hits hard early with Western children. I imagine Eastern children to be content, or learning to be content, with getting what they get and not putting up a fit if they get less than someone else. We teach that, but we do stress fairness as well. We still say "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit!" All the kids at the school know that about as much as they know the ABC song. Every child recites it from time to time.

As you get older, of course, you start into ethics and morals. The fairness within the judicial system, etc. If a man robs a drug store because he can't afford medicine for his ailing wife, who will surely die, should he go to jail if he's caught? Most children will say "Yes". Most adults will say "No."

How about this? A man who is wrought with pedophilia, but is trying his damndest to keep it in check, goes to therapy to help deter him from his sexual urges toward children. Despite all of what he is seeking, he slips and ends up fondling a six year old's privates. The child's dad is told of what this man did and he gets sentenced to prison.

Is this okay so far? How about when you think of the notion that this man will be labeled as a "Child Fucker" in prison? Pedophiles get ripped apart in prison. A lot get beaten to death or caused extreme psychological pain. Horrible things.

If they survive prison, they are released to a society that hates them to no end. They are announced to the neighborhood of their presence. Their employers and coworkers all know what he did.

If this guy was trying to get help, slipped up . . . is all of this okay?

I think about stuff like this a lot. I have a little bit of empathy for some of these people and child abusers. People who slip up, mind you. The chronic abusers who thrive off of this should be punished and incarcerated and have their names tarnished by the society they sought to undermine. But for those who hate themselves . . . don't you feel they deserve help rather than hate?

Drugs. Liberals want to put drug users into rehab rather than jail. I do. There's no crime, except against yourself. Jail won't help.

What about abusers, murderers, robbers, etc.? It gets confusing. The scale of the crime and whatnot.

But still, anything dealing with children, the West is quick to kick them out of their society, their tribe. It's scary working with children every day, not because of the children, but because of the parents.

Here's something that I hope to God no one takes in the wrong way:

Most men, when having their penis touched in any way, be it by a book or someone sitting on their lap, will naturally become erect because of stimulation. It's like morning wood, it just happens. A lot of guys, after sitting down in class while in school, upon getting up to go to the next class will have an erection. We called it Book Hiding. It's not sexual, this shit happens.

A child sits on a guy's lap. Again, it's not sexual, it just happens. What if a parent picked their child up while their kid was on his lap and they happen to see a bulge sticking out of their pants? What if they go apeshit? What if this guy loses his job and has his name tarnished because of some faulty wiring induced by the human genome?

Society, and I'm mainly talking to liberals, here: you're not as open-armed as you might think. There's a lot of hypocrisy when it comes to equality and fairness. A smart mind thinks about the man robbing the drug store for his wife without any question of whether he should go to jail or not. Kids don't.

In the case of sexual crimes: adults tend to think a lot like kids in this matter. "Send them to jail!"

Something to think about, from a normal, level headed guy who works with children. Calm down a little.

Now granted, I'd rather a Level 1 Sex Offender not move next door to me and my family in the future. But if they do, I'll talk to them about their case and try to understand what happened. I'd then say what I'm comfortable having them do around my children and what I'm not comfortable with. I'd still offer a helping hand, be a friend.

We tend to say "These people are okay but these people aren't!" Yes, even the Equal Rights advocates. Every human being is hard wired to have prejudice against someone they are not comfortable with. Nurture helps keep this in check as you get older. It shows that our society doesn't "Nurture" true equality and rights like it constantly boasts in its rhetoric.

This is the true aspect of politics that pisses me off. Not wedge issues. They mean squat compared to the real nasty stuff. This gets into the psychology of the people, and I feel most people are pretty angry all of the time. It makes me a little upset. Fuels my art, I guess.

But still . . .

Pearl Jam -- "Do the Evolution"