An open letter to the parents of the pigeon-kicking child

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon at Granville Island. Theovis and I had enjoyed our lunch of black bean taco salads, and went outside to see if there was going to be a show for the comedy festival. One was supposed to be starting in 5 minutes, so we decided to hang out and wait. It was extremely busy with people and there were at least 50 pigeons flying and walking around. There was a ton of seed on the ground (why people bring seeds to feed pigeons in an open air food court is beyond me. Yeah, they need more to eat). And there in the middle of all these birds was your charming child...

This darling creature had taken it upon herself to kick at the pigeons on the ground (as much as I think it is good for these barely wild beasts to have some fear of humans, kicking them is not the answer). Of course, whenever a little girl sized foot came close to it, a pigeon would lift off the ground followed by several of it's neighbours. These birds were flying up into the faces of people who happened to be sitting/standing nearby. The people were, of course, not very happy with this, covering their heads with their hands, since there is nothing quite like having flapping bird wings right in one's face. Flying pigeons also increases the chance of being shat upon, which no one likes, even if it is supposed to be good luck (don't ask me to explain that one). This sequence kept happening over and over.

And what did you do while all this was going on a few feet away from you - your child repeatedly kicking pigeons into the faces of people out enjoying the sunshine on the patio? Absolutely nothing! Theovis finally went over to the little wretch and told her to stop kicking the pigeons. It scared the crap out of her, and she went and stood next to you for a few minutes. You didn't even look down from your conversation to see why she had returned to you. She started kicking again shortly after, and looked up to find both mine and Theovis's hard stare on her, so she finally stopped.

How could you be so oblivious and indifferent to your little girl's behavior? You weren't even concerned when an unknown man walks up and starts talking to her, and then she runs to you? Is this your plan for disciplining your child? Leave it up to strangers in public places? Theovis should have probably taken you aside and given you hell as well as your little girl. It's parents like you that lead to the discipline problems that kids have these days, not television. If they don't know any boundaries, how are they supposed to learn to differentiate between right and wrong?