Well, Tuesday night was the Year 7 Meet and Greet with Skierdude's teachers. When I arrived at the designated atrium at the school, I saw the customary (and complimentary) wine, beer and champers (champagne) awaiting me. This tradition of serving alcohol at these events still completely floors me....I want to remember what I talked to the teachers about, thank you very much..... I declined the libations as the penalties for "drink driving" are stiff and I am a foreigner here on my husband's visa and would be punished even more harshly if caught. (Plus, it was a Tuesday...I mean, really!)
After meeting with Skierdudes teachers, I was chatting amiably with some of my "mom-friends" when a particularly unkind mom (with her posse....these type of women always have posses...have you noticed that?) sidled up to me. She conspiratorially slurred/whispered, "My son tells me you are heading back to the US soon. I'm sure ___(Skierdude) will be sad to leave Australia. It's such a fabulous country..."
Ok...time for backstory. This happy homemaker's son has spent the last two years being a little snot to my son (with his posse, of course...are people like this just not brave without their posse's?). The general tone of the snottiness is that America, Americans and American twelve-year old boys are **** (insert expletive here). My son has been called a selfish yank (because the US hasn't solved world poverty), an arrogant *******(use alliteration here) because all Americans are arrogant ********, and (my favorite) "An Iraqi baby-killer." That one was particularly nice since he was called that after his beloved uncle (an Iraq war fighter pilot) had just passed away. Countless meetings with school administrators later and this child is still at school and I get to watch this witless fool of a women sidle up to me sloshing wine all over the place.
Well.... this is when Natalie Maines' voice echoes in my head. I hear....
I'm not ready to make nice.
I'm not ready to back down.
I'm still mad as hell and I don't have time
To go round and round and round.
I calmly turned and addressed the designer-clad women with this....
You know ____, my happy and eager 11-year old entered this school in a brand new country all ready for an new adventure. All he wanted to do was make friends. And do you know what happened? My son was attacked and picked on about a president he didn't vote for, a war he had no say about and American policies he had never heard of. He was mocked because of the country into which he was born... all the time just wanting to make friends and enjoy living in Australia. And you know the worst part? He had to learn the lesson that, as nasty as these kids were to him, they were innocent victims too. They were victims of small-minded, angry adults who obviously said similar things around them. All ___ /Skierdude/ wanted to do was make friends. So, NO ____. My son will not be sad to leave Australia.
Two of the women in the posse hugged me. There were tears in their eyes. We were all moms after all...we understand children in pain. As I turned to leave, I thought again about Natalie Maines and all her ilk...the Johnny Depps of the world, who nonchalantly bash our country while traveling or living overseas. Thanks a lot for that. You embolden women like the one above to say nasty things about America in front of their children. You justify their already putrid and sad opinions. I have never said anything negative about our current president while living here....not once. Not one Australian knows my opinion about our president. It is not ok to bash our leaders on foreign soil. It just ends up hurting other ex-pats, like us, or foreign-deployed military. To quote the sage and wise philosopher/songwriter Toby Keith..."Natalie, shut your pie-hole."
After returning home, with my feet tucked up beneath me and a lovely cup of Lady Grey tea in my hands, I related my encounter to BigDog Daddy. I was feeling a little un-Christian about the whole thing...I really had evicerated the poor, drunk creature. BigDog Daddy held my hand and said "You spoke nothing but the truth. Jesus spoke the truth and sometimes that truth made people uncomfortable." I still had to say a prayer for her, for Skierdude, for the unlucky kid and his "posse"and for all moms who watch as their kids are bullied. I will try to remember to pray for the DC's as well...when I get around to it.
So, maybe opening one's "pie-hole" is ok if it is in defence of the defenceless. My son needed a champion. Right or wrong, the whole incident was also a good reminder that ... our children are listening.
1 comment:
It sounds to me like you said things that needed to be said. Perhaps this will shake some things loose in that woman's head. If nothing else, this may cause some of those women to re-evaluate how they and their children treat others.
-Sarah
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