The other night, Frank was watching that new zombie series on AMC, "The Walking Dead." At one point, a ~10yo boy spots his zombified mother outside the house. He bursts into tears, and his father tries to quiet him because, hey, if the zombies hear them, things are going to get ugly. What was interesting was that the scriptwriters chose to have the father respond compassionately. He snuggled his son close, spoke in loving tones, and offered the boy a pillow so he could cry into that.
That is peaceful parenting, folks, and I am so pleased with the writers for showing it that I might even give the series a try, blood and guts and all.
The sad thing is how infrequently one sees that kind of compassion out and about in the world. Instead, it seems like people want their kids to BE zombies, stifling their emotions and walking the earth in a mindless, hungry shuffle. Their kids' emotions (and probably the parent's too) are too much work, too much noise, too much mess. Sure, they might dredge up some compassion when their kids are suffering a huge, gaping wound of a hurt (as this boy was), but the rest of the time they just want their kids to suck it up and move on. They want things to be easy, which means they want their kids to be quiet (without having a fraction the motivation this dad had).
Consider the possibility that, to kids, smaller wounds are just as gaping and scary and overwhelming. Consider that kids with smaller wounds are just as deserving of compassion as that boy with the zombie mom, and that they are just as entitled to some time and space to feel what they're feeling. And consider that asking them to bottle their emotions is just another way to lose them to the zombies.
Traveling, sleeping
2 hours ago
2 comments:
Compassion in a Zombie movie... who'da thunk it?
I do NOT disagree with you at all - in fact, I agree whole-heartedly with every single point. But I would add that there are certainly plenty of cases of ignorance that lead to the same behavior - sometimes it isn't because a parent is lazy or careless and emotions are too messy and hard, but that they honestly think it will be better for the child in the long run, out in the world. It's just "what's done." And it was probably once done to them, too.
I don't defend the mindset, but I understand it. And I struggled for a long time with guilt because I WASN'T choosing to teach my kids to suck it up, I was afraid that in the long run not having that ability would do them more harm than good. After all, I've seen what the world can do to the unprepared.
I'm happy to say, though, that thus far what I seem to see in my children these days is a much more deeply rooted strength than I ever possessed, with all of my enforced (throw her in and see if she swims) toughening up. They know who they are. That's like a miracle to me.
I LOVE the Walking Dead. It's brutal, but it's really more of an examination of human nature (thus the brutal, I suppose) than it is a cut & dry zombie story.
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