jay pettitt on 27/1/2004 at 23:25
My sister and brother in law have two small children. They are (quite rightly imho) very protective about the kind of stories, toys and media their eldest (2 and a bit - the other is tiny) is subjected to. Stories are carefully vetted against a scale for middle classness, niceness and good christian values. One of my nephew's favourite stories is the classic kiddies tale of Noah. The one where a vengefull god floods the entire world, killing untold millions while mr and mrs noah sit atop a cramped boat watching swolen and bloated carcasses bob up and down in the filthy mire that surround them. Fortunately the vengefull god feels a bit guilty afterwards and does a rainbow to make up for it.
Are acts of biblical genocide really suitable reading for two year olds?
Gingerbread Man on 27/1/2004 at 23:33
You'd prefer the "murder the cannibal old lady" parable from Hansel and Gretel? Or how about the wonderfully gory circle of life demonstration contained in Little Red Riding Hood? Then of course there's the endless litany of "Stepmothers and stepsisters are ugly and evil" lessons that Disney was very keen on -- those are great for today's world of second-marriages, they really give kids something to feel good about.
jay pettitt on 27/1/2004 at 23:35
Yikes!?! what are we teaching our kids. Childrens literature is scary shit. Grimms tales are cool though (for grown ups)
BrokenArts on 27/1/2004 at 23:38
Most 2 year old don't get that analytical about what they are reading. They go for the animals, certain words, and colors, that's about it.
Worry about them when they get older, with domineering parents.
John D. on 27/1/2004 at 23:44
If you would read the story with a little more attention to detail, you'll find that people had become so evil in their behavior that it made God sick not vengeful. Preserving Noah's family and eliminating the rest was His act of mercy to insure that humanity would have a chance to get a fresh start rather than be allowed to continue to degenerate further. The story has been told to kids for years, why the fuss?
Eshaktaar on 27/1/2004 at 23:49
(
http://www.vexen.co.uk/holyshit/smite.html) More Smiting Action!
What GBM said. Almost every fairy tale contains some brutal element, but that doesn't mean it'll traumatize little children for life.
Agent Monkeysee on 27/1/2004 at 23:55
Quote:
Originally posted by jay pettitt The one where a vengefull god floods the entire world, killing untold millions while mr and mrs noah sit atop a cramped boat watching swolen and bloated carcasses bob up and down in the filthy mire that surround them. Fortunately the vengefull god feels a bit guilty afterwards and does a rainbow to make up for it.
Are acts of biblical genocide really suitable reading for two year olds?
I was told this story when I was about 3 or 4 and I didn't draw any of those conclusions from it. I doubt I even knew what "swolen and bloated carcasses" were and they certainly weren't part of the narrative. Nor was the boat described as "cramped" nor God as "killing untold millions" and I certainly wouldn't have made the creative and descriptive jumps at that age to infer that sort of thing.
In short, you're overreacting because kids are stupid.
What about that German children's story where that crazy skinny dude cuts off children's thumbs if they don't stop sucking them? That's the kind of story that scared the crap out of me.
jay pettitt on 27/1/2004 at 23:56
Just my off centre take on it John D. :-)
It just made me think about who the hell decided that certain stories were the kind of things we should be reading children. Noah was a timely (for me) example. There are plenty of bible stories that don't get included in the childrens favourite roster. I find it bizzare that Noah slipped in, what with all its death and destruction.
Hell, I grew up on that stuff, never did me any harm :erm:
edit - wow, outside just got covered in snow!
screech on 27/1/2004 at 23:56
But this thread is about hypocracy, not trauma. ¬¬
Agent Monkeysee on 27/1/2004 at 23:58
I suppose that's true, though it was framed wrong since he ended with the question "Are acts of biblical genocide really suitable reading for two year olds?" which is the one sentence everyone's going to respond to.
It is kind of odd that Noah is always part of the standard cliff notes for kids. Although it's one of the few exciting things that happens in that book so it's a good hook, I guess.
First the world was created then... boring grown-up stuff... then BIG FLOOD RAWR!
I actually don't remember what I was taught after that, I think it may have jumped straight to Jesus being born at that point. Moses might have showed up briefly. It'd be interesting to see what happened if you went all the way to Revelations but that's a heavy trip to lay on a 2-year old.
