Judge: 13-year-old girl gets lighter sentence if her ponytail gets cut off

[Scootaloo]

184. Yes, I'm afraid you do

They do not allow welfare recipients the luxury of humanity. You do not allow parents that luxury. Both you and they imagine that you are the pinnacle of achievement, perfectly-placed to waggle your finger in someone else's face for being "less" than you.

Do mind, I'm not accusing you of being a Republican or the like. But your argument follows the same trajectory. "I'm better than THOSE people, and as such I'm ENTITLED to make determinations of their human worth!"

One thing that sticks in my mind was when I was six or seven. A friend and I were playing in a field not too far from our houses. We had this stupid game where we'd break off these big hollow-stemmed milkweedy plants and launch them at each other like javelins. we thought it was perfectly fine, because the plants were so flimsy that they crumpled on impact. Unless it turns out, it hits someone in the eye.

I suppose the bloody eye that my friend received is his parents' fault for not being there?
Or was it MY fault for being a dumb fucking kid who thought throwing a three-pound plant stem at someone's head was fun?
Or maybe it was my parents' fault for not being there to whap me across the head and tell me "that's stupid!"
Perhaps it was my friend's fault - he didn't duck!

No, it wasn't our parents' fault. Our parents were doing exactly what you would expect; figuring that their children could play safely in their own neighborhood, without tethers and nannies and referees and alarms or whatever the fuck else. Oops.