Just guess what he yelled out to them? "I HAVE KIDS!!"
I can't blame him, of course -- and I guess it worked -- it didn't hurt, anyway. He's still here -- and I'm glad for that.
But I couldn't help thinking, "What could *I* do in a situation like that?" And if somehow they found out I didn't have kids, would they still give me a pass? Would they think as kindly of me as they apparently regard a parent?
The pronatalist privilege here is breathtaking -- the deeply embedded assumptions (a) that all/many of the people in the mob would have kids and thus be able to relate to him that way, & (b) that his life would somehow be deemed more valuable and worth saving because he was a parent.
Aaaarrrgghhhhh. That's my thought. Somehow I think yelling, "I have a husband! And a cat! And students!" would have been considered as compelling. Although, there was a very scary Grey's Anatomy season finale with a shooter in the hospital and I've of the need students humanized herself when faces with the shooter, and she didn't have kids to make herself seem, you know, valuable to humanity, but she successfully survived. So that's something. A fictional something, but something!
ReplyDeleteAgain, aaaarrrrgghhhhhh.
This is a harrowing thought that I hadn't fully formed before -- the potential life or death difference claiming being a parent could make. Both your (a) and (b) reasons make me so sad that they could be what might stop a murderous crowd, truly.
ReplyDeleteI've definitely thought about this type of thing before, and totally agree with your two main points. It's depressing, because it makes me speechless. I could shout, "I'm old, and harmless!" or perhaps, "I'm kind to others!" or "I'm a really good cook!" lol (I'm not sure if any of those are actually true.)
ReplyDeleteYou've made me think now - I might do an informal survey of friends, not mentioning what he yelled, but asking them what they would say to try to humanise themselves. I will report back!