I think Jeanine is hot (it’s true – ask my wife). But if you’re going to go that route, Sarah Silverman would be a better choice.
Also:
Remind me not to piss you off!
Glad that I could help validate you. You must feel pretty smart now.
[QUOTE=fetus]
I’m having trouble figuring out where the various parties’ ethnicities and sizes come into play here.
QUOTE]
Oh no. I knew this one was coming. I worried about it starting some sort of knee jerk pc reaction. I just typed it out how I remember it in my head literally. I also remember before the Birdgate 2007 happened I was walking and saw her up ahead and thought about how tiny she was to have had two children. One of which had obviously been born this year. I notice that all over san francisco. Tiny asian women giving birth and their ass just goes back to normal like it never happened. its unfair. tell THAT to the ACLU
Like, Larry Sanders Show, first-few-movies Jeanine Garofalo when she was still alt-hot, or last couple years Jeanine Garofalo?
An this right here is what is going wrong with the way that we raise our kids! Is flipping a kid off rude? Sure. No doubt at all in my mind. But the thing is that there is a much greater issue here. That kid has no respect for adults. That is a big deal.
I don’t know I’m not the one that says it. Other people have told me that. There are pictures of me all over this message board I dont feel like doing the searching.
How does that follow? This is not a relationship of equals here. The child is subordinate to adults. Period. There is great wisdom in the old saying that Children should be seen and not heard.
So you’re simultaneously bitter about your ass and the ACLU. Weird. That’s conservative-backlash San Francisco, I guess.
Yup. 
In fact, the more bitter ‘I’m entitled to extra respect from “crotch-droppings” and “momzillas” because I’m an adult’ stuff you post, the more validated I become. 
This is completely beside the point but when confronted by strangers, I often ask myself: what would Rollins do. I’ve just now identified a need in my life for a t-shirt with “WWRD” on the front, and a fuzzy picture of Hank on the back.
We don’t know how old the kid was. All kids go through a stage where they blurt out things about other people that they observe. It’s not disrespect, just lack of impulse control. As people age, they are expected to be able to control their rude impulses better than a child could.
That said, I do think it’s the parent’s responsibility to start instilling some control and teaching the difficult notion that “Yes, smoking is filthy and dangerous, but adults are free to choose to do a number of filthy and dangerous things that are none of our business.”
The OP gave the finger to the child BEFORE THE PARENT HAD A CHANCE TO REACT. In the OP’s own words, “it all happened so fast.”
If the kid said “ooh, mommy, that BAD man is smoking!” and the mom said “way to go, kid, I’m really proud of you for loudly criticizing a stranger, that’s my boy” and then LB gave the finger to mom, that would be more defensible.
But thanks to LM’s quick reaction, we’ll never know how the mother would have addressed her child.
No, but we can make a pretty educated guess based on observable reality. I mean really, be honest, do you frequently see parents correct their children on this front?
Yes. And wouldn’t you?
Maybe not but the OP said the kid was being a total asshole. I’m going to go with the adult OP’s appraisal of the situation. I know I can tell the difference between a kid innocently blurting out the first thought in its head and a kid who’s being a self-rightous snot. Kids frequently go through phases where they’ve recently learned something and now they’re God’s Expert on it. Sometimes a little reality feedback is good for them.
yeah the way she said it the “ummmmmmm” that noise kids make when someones in trouble “ummmmmm she’s smokkkkkingggggg” in that sing song voice
What? Are you asking me if I would correct a child for being rude to an adult? You bet your ass I would. As I have stated, I believe that this is an area that is sadly neglected it raising the little devils. Do I see parents to this? Can’t say that I do.
Seconding Arnold W’s responses…and let me add:
What I don’t get is that you, LM, a 23 year old, ALLOWED a 7 year old to push your buttons and/or control your reaction. I’m not tsk-tsking your response being the bird, but I am tsk-tsking that a socially awkward 7 year old child only said…
and you let that be a good enough excuse to shoot the bird. Is the excuse…
…really enough to hang your hat on? Are you really saying that you have “NO CONTROL”? Would that excuse be good enough if it was said by your mom, your boss, your SO, your kids, etc., instead of a 7 year-old child?
Basically, the kid owned you and your emotions, and she wasn’t even trying.
Let them know how crappy today is and why you are smoking. How about saying…“Sorry kid, I just had an animal die on me that I’ve know for quite a while.” That would have mentally kicked the kid’s mom right in the mental crotch, and she would have imparted a better reaction (and to your satisfaction) to her child than your flippant bird could ever have done.
And as for those who applaud her reaction; Is that what most Dopers advocate now…the false sense of vindication by sinking to or below the ignorance and of a 7 year old? What did you win when you go to “The Bird” card?
You answered the question I was asking you, although I specifically meant if it was YOUR child. I don’t think that changes your answer, though.
[broken record] LM gave the finger to the child BEFORE any “observable reality.” [/broken record] If what happened subsequent to LM’s instantaneous reaction made LM feel better about her impulsive behavior, well, that’s nice for her. However, she was looking for confirmation that she did the right thing in the absence of information as to how the mom would respond. Cheering her on suggests that strangers can blurt obscenities to children as the mood strikes them. You may believe that’s the case. I don’t.
As I believe I described in a previous post, I have made every effort to raise my child NOT to be the kind of obnoxious know-it-all who would crow over catching a stranger in an act like smoking. So yeah, I have not only seen parents correct their children, I AM the parent who would correct my child for being that obnoxious. I’ll thank you not to **pre-empt **my parenting activities by saying “fuck you” to my child, however.