Now that Northville's "The Diary of Anne Frank" controversy from last week has become a national embarassment, I could write a thoughtful and nuanced explanation of why this is an example of the political muscle of anti-intellectual meddlers. The very notion that adolescent children are incapable of reading about an adolescent child discuss her body in biologically accurate terms is patently absurd. However, to go into detail would just be a time-wasting exercise in choir-preaching.
There will always be that small, if vocal, minority of ignorants who seek to force all of society to fit into their narrow worldview. Attempting to reason with someone like Northville "concerned parent" Gail Horalek is like trying to argue with a crazy hobo about the weather or discuss the events of 9/11 with Alex Jones.
The better solution is simply to shame these buffoons onto history's dungpile.
Let's stop thinking of Gail Horalek as a person we should take seriously. Instead, let's make her a symbol for all the awfulness that helicopter parents have wrought.
With more indignation than sense, these people harangue teachers for daring to impart into children the wisdom of great works of literature. Their worrying deprives kids of the very autonomy they're supposed to develop at summer camp. They make sure their offspring remain in a state of arrested development by obsessively meddling in their college careers.
You'd think that in 2013 we'd understand that children produced by literally billions of years of natural selection aren't delicate figurines of glass to be protected always from the realities of life and a general understanding of basic human anatomy. You'd think that, but you'd be wrong.
If there's one thing we've learned over the last couple weeks around here, it's that meme-shaming can be an effective way to make a point. So, congratulations, Gail Horalek of Northville, we've made you the face of the Overprotective Suburban Mom meme. Feel free to make your own. It's fun and easy.
