From No!No!No! to Swastikas

Weird title, right. I know.  The idea for this post came while I was sitting at a fast food restaurant affectionately known around my house as the Monarch.  As my wife and I waited for our order, i noticed that some jack-ass had carved a Swastika into the table.  This restaurant was located in the heart of suburbia near a large county park and oddly enough not far from Wayne Newton's house (no joke).  All this is to say, I don't think a local chapter of any hate group was having a meeting or burger get together.  So more than likely this was the work or indiscretion of bored suburban youths, kids that actually go to good schools.

So were these ne're do wells actual hate mongers?  Probably not.  Teens often do things to get a reaction or to test the boundaries of acceptable behavior. Teenager feel they don't have much control over their lives, so they rebel.  Anyone read Salinger's Catcher in the Rye.  Holden was a little shit.  Teenagers love that book, and consequently many high school English class doors, desks and other flat surfaces wind up with scribbled message in reference to fornication.

What does this have to do with being the dad of an infant.  Well, teenagers carve swastikas in fast food restaurant tables, the infant version of this is "No! No!No!" with accompanying vehement head shaking. Does my son actually mean "No!"? Well, no, not at all.  He's knows that the word "No!" gets a reaction out of me (and mommy.)  He's just testing boundaries. Finding something that he can control, like a teenager. 

It's interesting to realized that the two behaviors are basically the same, just during different periods of development. Today: Noooo!  Tomorrow: "F' You", piercings, tattoos and brooding.

    - Clark's Dad