Adult Children

Well, if the Gazette is going to print my work, I may as well post it too! (Letter to the Editor, Nov. 17, 2010)

http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/letters/Names+hurt/3839797/story.html

(Disclaimer: in my letter, I did NOT reference any political figure, nor did I make mention of the Gazette story that the printed letter references.)

My submitted letter read:


"With a family name like mine, I got teased a lot as a child. My parents would often remind me to ignore it, and focus on more important things.

Maybe one day I'll become Premier and sue anyone who calls me a name I don't like.

Remember: sticks and stones..."

For those who don't know what this refers to, here are the facts only. This week one politician called the Premier of Quebec "the Godfather of the Liberal Party." The Premier took offence. He had his lawyer write to the politician who said this to demand an apology or face legal action. This is the second time in the last 2 years that the Premier of Quebec has threatened to sue (in the first case he actually did sue) someone for calling him a name.

Now I'm not going to comment on the merits of this case or make judgements about who is right or wrong, for a few reasons. What I will say, though, is that there are FAR more important things to be worried about every day instead of what someone else called you, especially if you're responsible for a family, an organization, or an entire province of Canada.

Lastly, I will say that I wish that adults acted like adults. All of us. And I sincerely hope that I won't be sued for calling certain adults "children."