# I don't appreciate little children telling me how to cross a road **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 17, 2004, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720 "2004-02-17T22:38:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/81 "2004-02-19T23:37:09Z")
I don’t know about you alice, but it gets me worked up when people call kids CROTCHAPPLES ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/82 "2004-02-19T23:39:59Z")
> [@leander](#): > > Then stop acting like a child… 😉 [sub]Grrr!!![/sub] 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/83 "2004-02-19T23:40:13Z")
The fact is, (the collective) you modify your behaviour all the time to suit the occasion. Most people use blinkers to signal lane changes, don’t run over old folks when passing through doorways, etc. These are common courtesies we extend to others on a daily basis that makes life easier and more comfortable for all. The OP said: "As I get across the street, a seven year old boy tells me, in a snotty tone, “Cross with the patrol next time.” " Well, hell, what adult wants to be corrected by a 7 year old. The kid was doing what he was charged with doing. I don’t expect everyone in the world to set a good example for my or any children, but being in a school crossing zone with a crossing guard is a special situation that requires a modicum of special consideration. As for all the folks who would have given the kid ‘the bird’ or told him off, I bet those will be the same folks who bitch and moan about how those stinky, sticky kids are so rude these days. It’s just like a self fulfilling prophecy. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/84 "2004-02-19T23:45:37Z")
> [@jarbabyj](#): > > I don’t know about you alice, but it gets me worked up when people call kids CROTCHAPPLES I love my cats. I _adore_ my cats, but I constantly call them “useless little parasites.” I can’t speak for these other people, but I do know that a lot of people use absurd terminology to describe people or things that they don’t really despise. It’s so much bullshit, in other words. I could easily call a kid an “anklebiter.” I like kids, but it wouldn’t be beyond the realm to call them something like that. I have never heard of the term “crotchapple” but it sounds absurd enough to me. Maybe I’ll use it sometime. 😉 :shrug: Well, it looks like some useless little parasite is demanding my attention so I should go now. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/85 "2004-02-19T23:52:51Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > The kid was doing what he was charged with doing. And apparently was being _snotty_ about it. That’s above and beyond the call of duty. > [@](#): > > I don’t expect everyone in the world to set a good example for my or any children, but being in a school crossing zone with a crossing guard is a special situation that requires a modicum of special consideration. But the crossing guard thing wasn’t set up yet. How long should someone have to wait in order to cross the frigging street? Sorry, I don’t think any adult should have to wait and wait and wait for the kids to get the pylons all in order. An adult is perfectly capable of crossing the street without the kids’ help. And when the crossing guard thing isn’t even _set up_ . . . I mean, really. > [@](#): > > As for all the folks who would have given the kid ‘the bird’ or told him off, I bet those will be the same folks who bitch and moan about how those stinky, sticky kids are so rude these days. It’s just like a self fulfilling prophecy. I agree—flipping off a kid or “telling them off” in some really rude way is wrong. But it certainly is not inappropraite to tell a snotty kid that they are out of line. These things work both ways. I will always try to behave politely to a kid, but I won’t suffer snottiness silently either. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/86 "2004-02-19T23:59:25Z")
Jeeze, could you people get wound up a little tighter about this? No, I don’t care about kids - I don’t think I’ve made any effort to hide that fact, but I think I’ve done a pretty fair job of keeping my uninterest within the bounds of polite conversation. No, I didn’t say anything to the kid in question - I couldn’t think of any response to a snotty kid that wouldn’t make me look even worse as an adult. So I carried my grimy little annoyance here and let it loose where it theoretically wouldn’t cause any harm. Yes, I did start a thread about a stupid incident that bugged me. Let s/he who is without stupid little peeves throw the first stone, I say. **jarbaby** , has my complete lack of interest in children offended you in some way? ---
**Author:** ![DeaganTheWolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DeaganTheWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeaganTheWolf)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/87 "2004-02-20T00:10:30Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > **DegantheWolf** is a bone head. Both here, and in his stupid PC thread. Tell me how you REALLY feel, Alice. I suppose that expecting people to act decently and for children to mind their elders makes me a bone-head. Frankly, Kids COULD use a little more respect for adults these days. Kids, espescially deserve little to no respect when they act snotty because they are KIDS! They need to be corrected, whether through a good example, or a good stream of four letter words. You mess with a stranger and you roll the dice on whaich you are going to recieve. I was taught to NOT talk to strangers as a child, if My mother or father caught me talking to, much less mouthing off to a strange adult like that, i’d been grounded for certain. ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/88 "2004-02-20T01:13:56Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > She didn’t even say anything to the crossing guard who was being snotty (according to her description). That’s part of my point. If she was so assed up about it, she SHOULD have said something. Like, “Hey kid, I’m an adult, you don’t need to tell me when to cross.” Instead, she came here and whined. Finally: FEATHERLOU, THE WORLD FUCKING GETS IT. YOU ARE COMPLETELY DISINTERESTED IN CHILDREN. Must you take every opportunity, and manufacture one if one isn’t presented, to tell us so? Get a new schtick already. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/89 "2004-02-20T01:32:28Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > **jarbaby** , has my complete lack of interest in children offended you in some way? 16,001 I know that hating kids is your ‘gig’. It’s what you’re ‘known for’. It makes you feel good to ‘look way way down’ at them. It doesn’t offend me as much as calling me a breeder or calling a child a crotchapple or suggesting bitchslapping does…it’s just tiresome. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/90 "2004-02-20T01:38:54Z")
> [@jarbabyj](#): > > > [@featherlou](#): > > > > jarbaby, has my complete lack of interest in children offended you in some way? > > 16,001 > > I know that hating kids is your ‘gig’. It’s what you’re ‘known for’. It makes you feel good to ‘look way way down’ at them. It doesn’t offend me as much as calling me a breeder or calling a child a crotchapple or suggesting bitchslapping does…it’s just tiresome. So, that’d be a “yes” then? Myself, I make every possible effort to be as bad an example for children as possible. Hopefully, I’ll get a reputation for this and parents will know ahead of time to keep their little yard apes away from me. And then I can be happy. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/91 "2004-02-20T01:41:56Z")
> [@yosemitebabe](#): > > I love my cats. I _adore_ my cats, but I constantly call them “useless little parasites.” DegantheWolf made it quite clear that he does NOT like kids before he used that endearing term. He’s such an adult he gets off on calling little kids names. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/92 "2004-02-20T01:43:54Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > So, that’d be a “yes” then? > > Myself, I make every possible effort to be as bad an example for children as possible. Hopefully, I’ll get a reputation for this and parents will know ahead of time to keep their little yard apes away from me. > > And then I can be happy. We did the same - amazing how few requests we get for babysittingnow… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/93 "2004-02-20T01:55:23Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > So, that’d be a “yes” then? > > Myself, I make every possible effort to be as bad an example for children as possible. Hopefully, I’ll get a reputation for this and parents will know ahead of time to keep their little yard apes away from me. > > And then I can be happy. Really…I thought being an insufferable know-it-all was what made you happy. By the way, why is it okay to call kids nasty names as a group, but not, say, white people? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/94 "2004-02-20T02:57:13Z")
> [@Gundy](#): > > Really…I thought being an insufferable know-it-all was what made you happy. Oh, quite the contrary. I would love nothing more than to be the dumbest person on the face of the Earth. Unfortunetly, the rest of you bastards keep letting me down. You in particular, **Gundy**. Case in point: > [@](#): > > By the way, why is it okay to call kids nasty names as a group, but not, say, white people? Gee, that’s a poser. How is a child not like an ethicity? Let’s see. [ul][li]There are actual, concrete, mental differences between adults and children. This is not true of race: no race is any smarter than any other. If I say, “Kids are not as smart as adults,” I am making an accurate observation. If I say, “Blacks are not as smart as whites,” I am simply ignorant.[/li] [li]Childhood is a reliable indicator of certain behaviors. Children act childish. Race is not an indicator of behavior. Skin color is not an indicator of anything except maybe rate of sunblock consumption.[/li] [li]Childhood is a temporary state. Children grow up, and as such, escape the targetted group. You can’t outgrow an ethnicity. Michael Jackson excepted.[/li] [li]Everyone has first-hand experience of being a child. I was a kid, once. So was **featherlou** , **DeagentheWolf** , and everyone else who is sick of the cult of childhood in this country. We’ve all got first-hand experience with childhood. On the other hand, I am not, have not, and never will be black.[/li][/ul] I can go on, if you like, but picking apart your very stupid analogy isn’t really worth the effort, especially since it is flawed at the most fundamental level: you assume I object to racial epitaphs aimed at white people. I couldn’t care less if someone calls me a “honky,” or a “cracker,” or any of the other remarkably ineffective slurs invented by the various groups that have found themselves relegated to the underclass of American society. ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/95 "2004-02-20T03:04:17Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I can go on, if you like, but picking apart your very stupid analogy isn’t really worth the effort, especially since it is flawed at the most fundamental level: you assume I object to racial epitaphs aimed at white people. I couldn’t care less if someone calls me a “honky,” or a “cracker,” or any of the other remarkably ineffective slurs invented by the various groups that have found themselves relegated to the underclass of American society. I admit it was an inept analogy. But you’re still giving an entire group of people nasty little names that you can pretend are playful when it suits you, but really expose your contempt, and that’s moronic. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/96 "2004-02-20T03:07:45Z")
> [@jarbabyj](#): > > \ Featherlou hates kids. Whodathunk? I mean, it’s only her 16,000 post on the subject. SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND. You really are bucking the system sister.\ > [@jarbabyj](#): > > \I know that hating kids is your ‘gig’. It’s what you’re ‘known for’. It makes you feel good to ‘look way way down’ at them. It doesn’t offend me as much as calling me a breeder or calling a child a crotchapple or suggesting bitchslapping does…it’s just tiresome.\ From what I can tell, **featherlou** has made fewer than 4,000 total posts, so I think you need to check your math. Secondly, and you can backpedal all you want here, but you’re implying that she has used the terms “breeder,” and “crotchapple,” and has suggested “bitchslapping” kids. She hasn’t. Maybe you should check your sources and learn to direct your rage at the correct target before venting your spleen in the future. Also, if you find her so “tiresome” why are you even bothering to read her posts, much less the threads she starts? Personally, I try to stay away from the threads and posters I deem tiresome. And to those of you who are appalled by how trivial the subject matter of this thread is, if you’d stop reading it and posting to it, it would go away and be forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/97 "2004-02-20T03:10:57Z")
I object to the characterization of my contempt for children as being “moronic.” “Mean”, yes. “Misanthropic”, certainly. Clearly, “offensive” is apt. But “moronic”? Unless you can show that it would somehow be _smarter_ to like kids, I don’t think that’s a defensible adjective. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/98 "2004-02-20T03:22:36Z")
Now, now, **Miller** , what kind of a lesson do you think you’re teaching the _children_ with your snippiness? A fine example _you_ set. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/99 "2004-02-20T03:32:22Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I object to the characterization of my contempt for children as being “moronic.” “Mean”, yes. “Misanthropic”, certainly. Clearly, “offensive” is apt. But “moronic”? Unless you can show that it would somehow be _smarter_ to like kids, I don’t think that’s a defensible adjective. I didn’t say that your contempt for children is moronic. The name-calling is. And Dooku, you keep pounding away at that like it means something. It’s not about setting any kind of example for a children – it about acting civilly to other _people_, regardless of age. But then, I suspect that most adult assholes were assholes as a child, too. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720/100 "2004-02-20T04:02:46Z")
> [@Gundy](#): > > And Dooku, you keep pounding away at that like it means something. It’s not about setting any kind of example for a children – it about acting civilly to other _people_, regardless of age. Looks like I need to pound away some more for you. Nothing to do with how I should act civilly to children b/c they’re people. Everything to do with how _people_ with children should treat _people_ without them. Or to use your terms: It’s about acting civilly to other _people_, regardless of age. In this case, (see my examples posted by Hamadryad), acting civilly to them by not preaching about setting any kind of example for children. In this thread or anywhere else. > [@](#): > > But then, I suspect that most adult assholes were assholes as a child, too. Tell you what - suspect away. Suspect I’m an asshole, idiot, willfully obtuse. You pick - whatever helps you think you’ve provided some grand insight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-appreciate-little-children-telling-me-how-to-cross-a-road/229720.md?page=6)