After supper I usually enjoy a nice brisk walk through the city. It helps me to digest the food and gets me away from the craziness of the homeless shelter for a while.
On my way back I saw up ahead of me a father walking his young daughter. As I was contemplating how cute the whole scene looked and how it reminded me of going for similar strolls with my own children a jogger pasted by me and ran past them. I heard the father curse aloud at the man saying “You’re lucky you didn’t bump in me I would have kicked your ass!” This struck me as quite inappropriate to be saying this in front of a small child.
As the pair got closer to me I walked slightly into the grass to give them room on the sidewalk.
Suddenly as they started to pass by me the little girl reached out her hand and grabbed my hand. I stopped.
“Hello.” She said.
“Hi.” I replied.
Abruptly the father yanked his daughter by the arm. “Don’t talk to that….it’s a fagot!”
“But it’s a nice lady, daddy.” I heard the girl say as I continued walking.
Then I heard the father say, “That isn’t a woman that’s a man! Somebody should put a gun to his head!”
I’ve heard those words before. They don’t bother me anymore. It is sad to witness a young mind being taught such lessons of hate and intolerance towards a fellow human being.
When will they ever learn?