Our children are the future of our country and hold all our hopes for a better nation.
They see us grown-ups as their role models and tend to replicate our beliefs and behaviors, so if we don’t give them anything worth copying than our expectations that things will change for the better shouldn’t be high.
When we see young kids and teens bullying and making fun of those that are different, we assume their parents didn’t teach them right from wrong, and although that’s not always the case, many times it turns out we were, in fact, right.
If you mock people with disabilities yourself, your kid will do that with their friends and classmates too, and one very rude mom is the perfect example of that.
Kate Swenson shares a story that made us all thinking. Recently, one of her co-workers was bragging in front of the rest of the staff how her brilliantly intelligent son was mocking a fellow student who had autism.
Believe it or not, this mother found her son’s behavior amusing. Kate, whose son is autistic as well, couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“My son makes fun of the autistic boy in his class, and it’s hilarious,” the mother said. And as though it wasn’t enough hurtful, she proceeded saying, “he even has the whole act down.” Apparently, her son loved imitating that boy and everything he made, like covering his ears, and twitching and flapping his hands.
Kate felt horrible, especially because she knew how it felt like to be bullied for having the condition. She could think of all the times her own son felt down because of rude boys like that of her co-worker’s.
The rest of the colleagues were all looking at the boasting mother in a pale manner. They made sure she knew what she was saying wasn’t funny at all.
Realizing she didn’t get the response she hoped for from those who listened, she tried to defend her son’s behavior saying, “Well, he doesn’t do it in front of him. Just at home for us.”
Everyone was still horrified by what they heard so this crazy mother tried to explain how it was funny in deed, they just had to see how greatly her son was imitating that boy. What’s most, she even started doing an impression of the autistic boy herself.
After she finally understood that everyone really resented her for what her son was doing and the way she presented it as something hilariously fun, the mother excused herself and left.
One of the other co-workers approached Kate and asked her if she was okay.
This highly unpleasant experience made Kate lose her faith that things would ever turn for the better for those who are considered different by the society. She couldn’t help but wonder whether other moms and their sons’ out there speak of her boy the way that awful co-worker spoke of her son’s autistic classmate.
“In that moment I realized how ugly the world can be,” Kate said.
It’s beyond sad that a mother is encouraging her own child to treat others with disrespect. Sadly, with parents like this, we know what our future holds; and that isn’t anything good.