When metaphors come to life

[hrj]

A couple weeks ago, during a kerfluffle on one of my e-mail lists about a person being upset that the list failed to respond (or rather, not respond) in a specific way to a specific type of posting, I suppressed the urge to post a metaphor about how if I were to create an intricate sand painting on a public walkway, I wouldn't really have a reasonable basis for throwing a fit it some kids ran through it and messed it up, because I was the one co-opting a public space for something contrary to its primary purpose. Well lookit here. News items on this story alternate between blaming the mother for not supervising her kid more closely and praising the fatalistic patience and forgiveness of the monks. Well, I say it was the floor of a public place of business fergoodnessakes. If you're going to create a piece of performance art in the middle of a public walkway, it shouldn't be any great surprise or marvel if somebody walks through it!

Comments

[xrian.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I come down on the side of saying that the mother ought to have been more on top of things. Turning your back on a three-year-old for more than three consecutive seconds is asking for trouble. And in this society, nobody else is going to control your child (or more worrisome, protect them in most cases) if you won't.

OTOH, I expect the three-year-old was most likely acting without malice -- just enjoying the pretty colors. So what are monks going to do? Blame a three-year-old for being three, or accept that life is just like that sometimes and move on?