Oh, HELL No!

June brings end of the year events such as recitals, award presentations, plays, dances, proms, graduations and a plethora of happenings parents of school-aged children attend, which are just too vast to mention all of them. Some of us parents, and by some it seems nowadays only a few, actually enjoy watching the yearly accomplishments of their children with pride and politeness.

Yes, politeness, was included above, because in my nightly ritual to some school event or another over the past few weeks (and there are many-I have four sons), I have encountered the rudest of rude individuals who have not only refused to follow the rules as dictated by the venue, i.e. no flash photography, no video taping, turn cell phones to vibrate and arriving on time, but they have also ignored basic general decency such as respecting others around them and the children performing who have worked so diligently all year.

That’s right Miss Ghetto Thing, you and your obnoxious husband and screaming kid should have had your rude asses escorted right out of the 6th grade play last night. You came late, ignored the principal when he asked for cell phones to be turned to vibrate, your child whined the whole play and you must have had a lot of catching up to do with your husband, because “Damn Gurl” you both had a lot to say.

Glances your way weren’t enough to shut your big fat mouths. And when a polite “excuse me” was uttered, your pathetic street self wanted to fight in front of children in an elementary school? Really?

So what if your daughter didn’t have but two minutes on stage. It was obvious she didn’t want to be there with her incessant on stage laughing and her hand on her hip. Wonder where she gets the attitude? There were parents in attendance, such as myself who were beaming with pride. Not just at our own kids, but at the kids we have watched grow up in OUR community since kindergarten. It is people like you and your lack of communal value that are pushing people like us out.

But this beast of a human was not the only ignorant person reeking havoc and creating noise. There were countless young children, toddlers and babies crying throughout the entire production. I have four children and have watched an abundance of shows with them, while babies, throughout the years. If we couldn’t calm them within seconds, we would walk into the hallway until they were quiet, and then return. I would never think about intruding my child upon another.

And this behavior is not just relegated to a lower-economic class of society, which is what Valley Hood is turning into, despite the rhetoric of the blind. During two separate dance recitals, where the audience was comprised of a more affluent group, one mother thought it just fine for the two pre-teen boys in her company to make fun of the dancers, talk throughout the entire showcase and continually kick the chair in front of them. (Only I have the coincidence to manage to always sit in front of these ignoramuses).

The next day, another woman took approximately ten thousand flash photos of the same showcase, (of course after being told not to) until my left eyeball fell out.

I don’t expect everyone to be perfect like me; Lord knows it is very hard to keep up with myself. I am just kidding! Sort of, ;) I am not perfect by any means, however, respect, a word that was tossed at me a lot as a kid, has taken on a new meaning as I am seeing a lack of it within society. And what I am trying to teach my boys, more than anything else, is respect: Respect themselves, respect their bodies, respect their parents, respect their siblings, respect their family, respect their neighbors, respect their teachers, respect their employers, respect authority, respect the rules, respect the law, respect for community, respect freedom, respect the United States of America, and by all means and never ever forget, respect Jesus.