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Judge not lest ye be judged

Let me ink a word or two before the heat surrounding the news of the fatal shooting of one of the occupants of The Cincinnati Zoo sizzles out. One morning, Harambe, the Gorilla, must have got up to a chirpy new morning, minding his own business playing dance monkey to the visitors. It was the same old mundane life for Harambe till a young visitor literally decided to drop in for a surprise visit. Amused, Harambe must have swung his arm like a ragdoll, leaping from one corner of his enclosure to another as he knew this action excites his spectators. This time, however, they were not amused. They yelled, screamed and reciprocated with a sharp dart over his torso. His head grew dim...

 Almost instantaneously, keyboard warriors the whole world over sprung into action. On the blue corner, sorcerers were crucifying the zookeepers for their haste. The red corner was packed with those who question the integrity, the mental and criminal background of the parents for the child neglect, abandonment and lackadaisical attitude. The ringside spectators cheered, jeered and became overnight armchair experts. By default, they self-selected themselves as judge, jury and executioners!

 Just like how we use our judgement as to how a kid should be brought up and handled, we all have our own yardstick to judge others on their apparently appallingly lousy parenting. When a child yells and screams in public, we are quick to say that it is terrible parenting. For all you know, it could be a case of ADHD or bipolar disorder, undiagnosed and untreated. We cringe when we see others feeding soda and fast food to their toddlers; we say what is wrong with these people, lest we forget that they are just bowing to the incessant bombardment of children-directed advertisements.

 We all think we all know it all. When the time comes, we will always be better than them. We know better, and only the best would do for our offspring. When put in that situation, we would probably also fail miserably by our own standards. So what is next? The pressure to be the best parent, not wanting to be accused of not rising to the occasion, would let us forever live life with guilt that we failed in one job we were entrusted. Should we feel disappointed when we are accused of wrong parenting when the outcome of the future of sibling turns out far from satisfactory? The pressure to excel is so enormous as if there is only one way to nurture that we yearn for guidance and leave the responsibility to professionals who profess to know what they are doing. The problem is these people have the bad habit of shifting the goalpost ever so often.

 Reference: Theos Director Elizabeth Oldfield, podcast: Thought for the Day, BBC.
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