Tuesday, May 12, 2009

She Stood Her Ground

There is nothing that makes a parent more proud then when all the discussions you have with your children finally pay off. You have to remember, I do not talk 'TO' my children, I talk 'WITH' my children. Big difference. And if you don't know the difference, ask me sometime.

We (my family and myself), went to Miami this past weekend, to see our families...my husbands and mine. And the adults got to hang out while the kids did thier thing as well. Granted, we knew where the kids were and with cell phones galore, everyone was just a text message away.

Saturday afternoon, my son and daughter went with a decent sized group to go see the new Star Trek movie (go see it, even if you are not a Trekkie, and take the kids). Well, there was a good friend of my nieces who we have met on more than one occasion and he was being taken home before they all traipsed to the theatre.

Well Mr. Know-It-All, started throwing down the 'F' bomb and the 'N' bomb (reference to black kids, this kid is also black) and my daughter had finally had enough and asked him to stop with the language. Now mind you none of tee other kids, my son included, asked this kid to back off. And form what my daughter said , he was letting them fly like geese going south in the winter.

Do not get me wrong, I can stand toe to toe with the best sailor, but to what end. Is swearing absolutely necessary? My sister thinks it is deserved. She says she is an adult and has no problem with her language. For those who have never met my sister, I fairly warn them. I go back to a snippet of an interview I once saw with Bill Cosby, and he asked Eddie Murphy if he felt it necessary, to throw around the 'F' bomb? Bill wanted to know if the jokes were only funny with that language in it , or could the act stand on its own? Something to think about.

We hear swearing all the time, but do we really need to say those words? Can we not make our point or have conversation without all the colorful language? For some people I think it is an impossibility. It's like the people who like need to say like and they like would not know how to speak and like carry on a conversation without the word like.

You will always be judged by:

1) The company you keep
2) How you dress
3) And you conduct yourself in conversation.

I am so terribly proud of my daughter for standing her ground in a matter that meant something to her. And I told her all afternoon in the car ride on the way home from our afternoon errands.

Go Nana!

4 comments:

Tara B. said...

Good for your daughter! I'd be proud too!

Skippy said...

I can not stand it when people use this adult vocabulary. I just think it gross and rude. They could whip our a Thesaurus instead and use way-better words.

But I think I'll always be telling someone to curb their language. Cause' my Momma raised me right!!!

Paula Vince said...

Yeah, good on her!
I've often noticed that high profile prize winning fiction books are often full of characters who swear like troopers. It perplexed me because I couldn't see the need for it.
What's more, we see people use this sort of language in prime time TV that's meant to be PG and my kids don't turn a hair.
It's time more people stood up like your daughter.
Paula

Teleprompter said...

I'm going to defend Eddie Murphy.

Comedy often seems to be about creating tension and then releasing it. Colorful language can help accomplish those effects.

I find your efforts admirable, but I believe that there are occasions when swearing is, if not entirely appropriate, clearly defensible.