There is a 2 mile stretch of road in the town near where we live that is shady. And by shady, I'm not referring to the amount of trees, I mean it's crime ridden, and somewhat scary.
We were traveling down this road on our way to lunch on Sunday. I looked at the corner market and saw a huge plywood sign that said "NO HUSTLIN" in handwritten letters.
I pointed it out to Justin and of course, Maddie's next sentence was, "What 'hustlin mean?"
Great.
"Um, it means to hurry." Please believe me.
"But why would that sign be at the store?" A little help here, Justin, would be great.
"It means to make a deal." Not that kind of help, Justin!!!
"Well, sometimes words have different meanings depending on what they mean." Huh?
"What does the store mean?"
"To take your time, honey, just take your time."
"Oh."
The subject was dropped. Thank God. Believe me, it was not fun trying to explain that one.
We continued on our way and pulled into the gas station in a nicer part of town. We had the windows down and Maddie and I sat in the car while Justin pumped gas.
A car pulled up beside us, gangsta rap blaring. Crazy loud. 30 seconds and 15 f-bombs later and I rolled the windows up.
It was still audible and Justin headed over to the driver.
"Hey, buddy- do you mind cutting that down a little? I've got my kid with me and I don't want her to hear that."
"Huh?"
Justin repeated his request. The guy said he would and Justin walked off.
The music was never turned down. I was blaring Pat Benatar by that point, and I don't think Maddie caught any of the "f- that b*" craziness. She does randomly sing "Hit me with your best shot" though.
What bothered me the most about the whole situation was that the driver didn't see anything wrong with letting a 4 year old hear the garbage he was listening to. I'm no prude, by any means.
But still. I had already tried to explain what "hustlin' " meant.
And trying to explain the nuances of gangsta rap to my 4 year old was just too much. I didn't want to have to do it.
And I didn't think I should have to.
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6 comments:
That is ridiculous. It's crazy what we have to explain to our kids at such tender ages.
So true - I don't understand why people think they have the right to force others to hear their stuff! I feel your pain - I have an eight year old daughter. I try to explain things in a manner that won't be shocking, will stand up to playground scrutiny, and won't mislead but resolves the issue - it is very difficult. I think future CEO's need to be interviewed by a toddler to test their negotiation skills! We might not be in this financial mess....Love your thought provoking site.
Those people are so clueless, god forbid they reproduce.
I'm with you! I've had to ask a few people to watch their language or turn down their music. It kills me and the scary part is that they don't care.
My girls listen to mild hip hop, but sometimes it gets a little raunchy and I am shocked by words that are used and the conotations are sickening. The sad thing is...this is acceptable by many. And most parents have no clue what their kids are listening to. Keep praying for your kids, they will need it. God bless.
I've never understood why bad music sounds better to the listerner at higher decibels.
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