Steve Almond Gets All Sanctidaddious

On his Babble.com blog, bechesthaired author Steve Almond continues to unravel the mysteries of parenting. This week, he explores his guilt about inadvertently allowing his infant daughter to watch a shootout on The Wire:

it took watching my daughter's reaction to one show to recognize how completely horrible and anti-human the images are. I keep seeing her eyes blinking, her head snapping back, the twisting of her mouth into a terrified frown.
What was even scarier than her reaction, though, was our reaction. I mean, we tell ourselves we're these gentle citizens. But we didn't bat an eye watching people shoot each other. It's like our natural human reaction - to blink, to be fearful and upset - had been eroded. We've become so habituated to manufactured violence that we've forgotten what it's supposed to portray.
I know people get all hacked off when I talk politics on this blog, so I'll step away from the bullhorn. I realize, after all, that we can't shelter Josie from this country's popular culture forever. Eventually, she'll see lots and lots of fake murders.
But here's what I'm getting at: shouldn't we try?

Personally, if we were Steve Almond, we'd be more worried about what happens when the kid learns to read (particularly that one menstrual sex-heavy short story in My Life in Heavy Metal), but that's just us.

Baby Daddy: Baby's First Body Count [Babble]

9:20 AM on Mon Jan 8 2007
By Emily Gould
509 views
10 comments

Comments

Sweet Polly Purebred at 09:37 AM on 01/08/07
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Of course, Steve could ask why the hell he is even letting his daughter watch The Wire, but that would involve, like, actual parenting as opposed to pontificating on Society Today....
Clare at 09:47 AM on 01/08/07
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Connectedness Index: 380

I hope little Josie Almond becomes a beat cop.
WindowSeat at 09:55 AM on 01/08/07
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Yah, The Wire is a bad family viewing choice, also stop saying "fuck" and "shit" in conversation as it will pop up in the little drool-bag's vocabulary when it's least expected.
Brian at 09:56 AM on 01/08/07
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I will make sure to watch my son's facial reactions the next time I take him to an Aryan Nations gathering. Maybe I can sell the story to Cookie.
Clarence Rosario at 10:08 AM on 01/08/07
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Connectedness Index: 228

Jesus, if he's that desensitized, perhaps he should try jerking off with his other hand when his wife's not looking.
lypocenes at 10:43 AM on 01/08/07
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add "long story short" to the list of phrases that should be banned from blogs
shindoozle at 12:50 PM on 01/08/07
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Why do we need to give this duchebag MORE publicity?
JupiterPluvius at 02:28 PM on 01/08/07
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Protip for Steve:

My television set comes with an amazing invention. It has buttons on it, it operates by infrared, and it ALLOWS ME TO CHANGE THE CHANNELS AND EVEN TURN THE FUCKING THING OFF!
radiofree at 03:18 PM on 01/08/07
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I've been holding off on my comments about this guy, about Park Slope parents, about people who complain about Park Slope parents, about Grups, New York Magazine, etc., and this is probably not even the forum for this comment, but here goes:

There are many of us parents here in NYC who are concerned about how much of the sidewalk we take up. On the other hand, for those complaining about it, too bad. You, too, were once a baby who needed pushing around.

There are many of us parents who believe -- and act upon our beliefs -- that having a child or two does require a change: We don't do the same things we used to do precisely because we have a toddler. We choose family freindly restaurants, and tip according to the size of the mess we leave behind (rarely less than 25%, unfortunately for us). We go to places where children are welcome OR SHOULD BE welcome, such as grocery stores, book stores, libraries, museums, airplanes, subways, etc. If you have a problem with the space we take up, again, too bad.

BUT ENOUGH WITH THE HIP PARENTS VS. HIPSTER DEBATE. Enough of the Grup issue: I bought a Clash T-Shirt for my 1 year old daughter because I like the Clash and she should too. Whether she does, despite all my influence, we'll see. But until then: I dress her first for her warmth and safety, then for me. When the time comes for her to dress herself, she'll make those choices and my tastes be damned.

The last person I dress her for is you. You got a problem with using her as an indication of my tastes? Too bad. Worry about how you look. Hey Williamsburg: Grand Funk Railroad called -- it wants all of it's facial hair back.

That's all for now, but I could go on and on. Leave me and my wife be to raise our daughter (just one for now, but more if we want regardless of your opinion of strollers) the way we see fit. If she's in your way, let us know, we'll try to move her. If you go out of your way to make sure she's in yours in order to get your blood boiling for the day, well, then, she stays put and you move on.
caustin at 07:12 PM on 01/09/07
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What? An infant can't tell what the hell is on the TV. Oh no, "blinking eyes!"