One of the wackiest centers of public discussion today is the issue of gender. Examples of the silliness abound: Parents advocating for so-called “gender-free” bathrooms for their non-binary elementary aged children, letting their children choose their own gender when they’re ready, to allowing young children to undergo gender-reassignment so their bodies can come into line with who they “feel” themselves to truly be. The wackiness exists because the whole gender studies theory its based on is pure ideology divorced from any semblance of objective reality or human experience. Sadly it gets more silly by the day. Take the issue of McDonald’s Happy Meals.
A high school junior wrote an essay about her five-year battle with McDonald’s to have them stop asking parents whether they want a boy or girl happy meal toy for their child. Slate judged the essay worthy of their blog space. At age 11, she became so outraged at this sexist practice that she finally went right to the top, writing the CEO of McDonald’s explaining that this matter was as wrong as asking a prospective employee if they wanted a “man’s job” or a “woman’s job.”
The CEO’s answer was unsatisfying to her (Go figure.) so she embarked on a study of each of the other McDonald’s in her area (more than a dozen she tells us) to see if this transgression was normal business practice for the food-chain or only present at her local Mickey Ds. She found the chain was universally filthy with the problem and filed a formal complaint with Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. The Commission summarily dismissed her complaint as “absurd”. (Go figure again.) But Ronald McDonald underestimates the tenacity of this modern day Rosa Parks. “But I still couldn’t let it go” she explains and she hasn’t. Her campaign marches on, hence Slate helping her alert the world of the problem.
Now the proper response to such a story should be “She’s a high-school student. At least she has conviction and is fighting for her ideals. Let her be.” I tend to agree… if that were all there is to the story. It is not.
Not only has she obviously done this with her parent’s assistance, she’s done so with the very proud and cooperative support of her father who is no off the rack wackadoo. He’s a distinguished Professor at Yale Law School and a popular blogger at Freakonomics.com. His daughter’s fight for justice is a joint pursuit between them as he proudly tells us in his Freakonomics blog. In fact, they have co-written a serious academic paper detailing their crusade and the grave injustices discovered there. This is clearly serious business for these privileged New Haven burg dwellers.
I’m just glad some children will never be subjected to such indignities at the hands of the folks under the Golden Arches.
