What About The Children?

 

Every time something happens in this country and abroad, the first thing that you always hear is “What about the children?”   Last week in Aurora, Colorado, a lone gunman opened fire in a crowded movie theater during the most anticipated film of the year.  His cold, calculated path of destruction has been the topic of conversations all over the world.  How could he do this?  What is wrong with him?  He even went to the lengths of booby trapping  his apartment, barring being captured or killed, he guaranteed that someone was going to die by his hands.  It’s a shame, because as the story unfolds, we find a brilliant mind lost to God only knows what despair, and at the same time, lives that will be forever changed, or simply just gone. 

He is currently on trial for his behavior, dyed bright red hair and all. As I watched the continued coverage, I realized that this kid is toast.  If his life wasn’t over before now, it is now.  Unless there are mishandling issues by the  prosecution or police, this feels like a pretty open and shut case. The number and names of the deceased, and the 50 or so people injured, were hitting me like a ton of bricks. The youngest of the victims killed in the attack was 6 year old Veronica Moser-Sullivan.  As the newscast continued to fill my mind with so much bad news, one thing really struck me.  Diane Sawyer (who I revere) was interviewing  this young couple who had a 4 year old daughter  and 4 month old baby in attendance at the fateful midnight screening.   The twenty-something mom had shrapnel in her leg from protecting her daughter, and the young dad was clutching the baby in his arms and thanking God for being able to still hold him. He was kissing his son constantly, as Diane probed them with questions.  When the interview was over, I was slapped with a burning question: What in the hell are a 6 year old, a 4 year old, and a 4 month old kid doing at a midnight movie? 

I work as a co-host on a radio show that runs the gamut of energies from dopey to serious, and I howled with glee when my host broached the subject, too.  As someone without kids, one would argue that I should shut the hell up and mind my business.  However as a movie patron, at a particularly violent, explosion filled film, I would be mad as hell to be forced to sit near someone with their infants and toddlers. We spend so much time in this country reminding the world that certain things and events can impact our children.  We need to protect our children.  Do this for the sake of our children.  Yet at no time, during her interview did Ms Sawyer ask a very pointed question:  “What in the fuck are you doing with your infant and toddler at a movie in the middle of the night?”   I think about poor Veronica, who at 6 years old is dead because for some reason her parent(s) thought it was a good idea to have his/her/their kid out at that hour so he/she/they could see Batman at midnight.  I know that if Diane had brought that question to their attention, the interview would not have been so sweet and certainly would not have blazed up the evening airwaves.

In recent times there have been midnight screenings of other super hero films,  horror films, the Harry Potter film series, and yes, even Disney’s Brave dared to capitalize on the trend.  As much as I could blame parents and their kids, I guess money grabbing film producers will do what they can to make a buck.  However, is it really appropriate for any child, especially a 4 year old and a 4 month old, to be up and out that late to see a movie, much less one that is clearly rated PG-13, simply because mommy and daddy want to see Batman? It’s almost as bad as taking your 3 year old to Disneyland, and wondering why he/she cries and runs away from the 8 feet tall Mickey Mouse.

I was under the impression that once a baby arrives, there have to be changes in what used to be your wild life, in order to maintain a proper environment to raise YOUR child. In the age of MTV’s Teen Mom, I should not be surprised at any of this parenting behavior.  I guess as a gay man with no desire to have children, this makes me sound naïve. I am sure that there are a few unenlightened LGBT parents who might have done the exact same thing. I won’t pretend that I have not seen my LGBT brothers and sisters with their kids at Fire Island at some of the most inappropriate moments of their visit, and they throw shade because there are those of us who are not making Fire Island an easy place for kids. Yet for the most part, during the day, people resentfully try to be respectful.   I was told that maybe these parents with very young children in these late movie scenarios, at best, know that their children are mostly down at that time, so having them out at that hour is okay.   Somehow I do not think that those explosions are going to help them sleep better, but that is just me.

As we watch this horribly tragic story continue to unfold, I really hope that someone will take a minute and not only ask “what about the children?”, but actually have an answer.  Diane Sawyer did not ask the question, nor did Nancy Grace, and we all know how much she worries about the children.  I’m just sayin’.   

Keep Laughing. Stay Fabulous.

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