Class Action Indignation on Behalf of All Fathers

Thanks especially to Amy and Madeleine, we are all very knowledgeable about "Beauty and the Beast," as packaged by Disney. Daniel was quoting out loud, spontaneously and quite randomly, an single verse from a song sung by the antagonist, Gaston, about Belle's eccentric father:

"That wacky old coot is Belle's father..."

At that point, Ian expressed concern - and I really don't think he was just grabbing at straws to criticize Daniel - about Daniel's repetition of this thoughtless observation. Ian's concern was that Daniel, by quoting such a line, was showing disrespect for Daddy [me]. Why? Because by talking so flippantly about one person's father, in some mystical way Gaston was really disparaging all fathers.

I appreciated Ian's concern for me, for Belle's father, and for all the other fathers of the world, but I made a point of letting Daniel off the hook.

(March 17, 2011)