Well, shit, we live in interesting times.
First, somehow it got out that my kids mother returned to the US on Monday from China (where she has been in self-quarantine in Shanghai for 2+ weeks) and that my kids were not self-quarantining just 'cause. Nor, horrors, are they wearing masks at school. The Tiger Moms within a hundred posts were able to name and shame my kids. And interestingly enough were able to use the birth name of middle child, then the new trans name being used at school, as well as the longer version now being the preferred name (think Jane then Chris, then Christopher as a made up example).
Righteous Tiger Moms have flooded the school wechat group in Chinese with their outrage, bile, panic and lack of facts. My kids mother made the mistake of trying to engage, and she knows many of the fellow Tiger Moms personally, was flamed and after a few hundred messages left the group. I, too, am a member of the group, and checked in to see what the kefluffle is all about. Long story short, one kidlet was coughing in class so badly, he had to be sent to the nurse. Kidlet said he got pulled out of class for no apparent reason, nurse checked his temperature and sent him back to class. Kidlet does not have a fever nor a cough.
That said, other kids know his mom was coming back on Monday and cough cough admitted he might have joked about have coronavirus with his buddies and pretended to cough *cough cough. He already realized that was a poor move and before I could bring it up said he would apologize to all and sundry tomorrow and never joke about serious shit again.
Tiger Moms then worked themselves into a one upmanship frenzy of who has already self-quarantined their kids 'cause of jerks like me versus those on the fence of keeping their kids home tomorrow. One TM reported that the principal said “you can keep your kid home as an excused absence if you would like.”
I like the principal. I will be going in when I drop off the kidlets tomorrow morning to highlight the risk of bullying. One kid is trans, and some shit will probably make sure the entire school knows he is trans (instead of just half the school). The other kid is on the autism spectrum, and vulnerable to bullying. Good news it is a small public school that students get in via lottery, and the principal, staff and teachers don’t cotton to bullying and are able to kick out the trouble makers pretty easily.
I was really reasonable with the wechat group. Understand all of us care about our kids, no one wants to spread rumors, spread panic, no one condones bullying, etc. But Mom is asymptomatic, kids are asymptomatic, we are following the CDC guidelines, the local children’s hospital had no issue with me visiting one of their clinics (I checked in advance and one of the doctors called back to say I was welcome as long as I didnt’ have a fever or cough.) Offered to meet any one that wanted to discuss in person tomorrow morning outside at 20 paces. Even then I got comments that I might spread the coronavirus.
I swear these tiger moms sound like the most ignorant peasants from the Chinese countryside instead of the highly educated professional first generation go getters that populate the high tech world of Seattle. And I didn’t even get on my high horse of having lived thru SARS in it’s entirety in Shanghai, nor that I probably have more relatives in the epicenter Hubei province than all of the rest of them combined.
The other thing I learned about Tiger Mom’s is that they don’t sleep. You can lead a Tiger Mom to water, but you can’t drown her like a peasant with unwanted kittens. Le sigh.
