Monday, December 21, 2009

The right thing?



This weekend I was at the local motorbike haunt with my bud. We were picking up some parts and I was felicitously perusing the fare as a child might meander through a toy store. As I was ogling, I heard children laughing, playing. In the next moment I heard, "suck my dick" over the speaker system and suddenly became aware of the music playing, a song by Kid Rock.

Now anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a music lover. I'm also a proponent of free speech and anti-censorship. I'm rather liberal, I am by no means religious, nor do I have children of my own. Perhaps I'm getting curmudgeonly in my older age, but this struck me as entirely inappropriate. If the kids were in their teens, yeah, I suppose you could let it slide as I'm sure they've been exposed to quite a bit more at that age. If the parents had put this music on during a picnic or something, well then that's their choice, but this was a public setting. The children in the store were maybe between 6 and 9 years old and I felt responsible. While I was compelled to say something, in the back of my mind I could hear a little voice saying, "Really?! Are you really going up to bat with this, 'cause you're just gonna swing into nothin' but air and nobody cares."

After coming to fisticuffs with the little voice and laying him out in the corner with a black eye, I hesitantly approached one of the sales staff; someone I've seen there many times before and who knew my face. In as respectful and humble a tone as I could muster, I began explaining the situation to him. He immediately said, "Hold that thought, I want you to speak to someone! Follow me," and with near joy in his voice, introduced me to, whom I believe, was a manager. I told the manager that I was sorry to make a fuss, that I get that it's a bike shop - which has a certain vibe, shall we say, that goes with it - but that there are also families with kids walking around. I asked if I may make a suggestion, to which he urged yes, that they simply consider the music they play before airing it over the speaker system. The manager listened intently, told me that I was completely correct and thanked me for my input. My friend, on the other hand, lightly admonished me and stated that kids these days are conditioned already by such things.

So my question goes out to you, my exiguous and sparse readers. In my extant journey to be a better human being, was this the right thing to do? Or did I overstep my bounds and make a mountain out of a mole hill?

2 comments:

~*~ Wildflower ~*~ said...

I, as a parent who listens to all genre's, applaud you and thank you for making that stand. I would have left with my children in tow.

Dangermouse said...

Hello Super Mommy. Thank you for your comment. I appreciate the validation and am glad to know that I was not out of bounds.