Engl 133 - Role Reversal

Role Reversal

Robert Payne

Southwest University

Reading Comprehension

ENGL 133

Naomi Klein

May 20, 2016

Role Reversal

On a late Sunday afternoon sitting in a city park with minimal noise form other outside disturbances. I am reading the Times Magazine while my wife reads a book. I hear a sigh come from my wife as she puts her book down and gracefully watches over our three year old son playing in the sandbox. There was not a soul playing on the swings, seesaws, or monkey bars. There was a faint noise of a family rollerblading to their vehicle to leave. However, there were two boys playing in the sandbox. As I sit reading my magazine I am enjoying the warmth of the sun shining down on my pale face and arms. As my wife is watching our child the other little boy stands up with a shovel full of sand and throws it towards our son Larry. I then hear my wife tell the other child “No little boy that is not nice.” My wife quietly searches for the parent or parents of the little child. My wife noticed a bench a few feet away with a huge man taking up the whole bench. This man was reading the Comic Section of the newspaper. My wife believes that this man is the father of the other little boy in the sandbox. Within minutes the boy that is throwing sand again grabs a shovel full of sand and throws it. This time the sand landed in Larry’s hair and face. Larry then turned and looked at his mother to verify if he should cry or not. My wife wanted to jump up and clean the sand off of Larry’s face, but at the same time she wanted to let him learn to fight his own fights. I then hear my wife tell the boy not to throw sand. That the sand could get into people’s eyes and hurt them. The big man sitting on the bench then told his son that he can throw as much sand as he wanted it is a public sandbox. That is when I set my magazine down. I then proceeded to tell the man with a smirk on my face that I would use when I am informing my students of their errors when they think irrationally. I was being reasonable when talking to the individual. I told him that he is right it is a public place. However, there are things that should not happen. That is when the man put down his newspaper and looked at me. The man sized me up from head to toe. The man told me that his son has all the rights that my son has here in the park. That if his son wants to throw sand he can throw sand. My wife noticed the tension in my jaw as I was getting angry. That is when I told the man that he must realize. Before I could finish the man told me to shut up with a deep and serious voice as he is the boss. As I was told to shut up I stood up as did the big thick man sitting on the bench. He then took a couple steps towards me as we were standing. I noticed my wife tense up and I had a feeling of worry and fear overcome my body as the tension of the situation kept rising. As I adjusted take a second and adjust my glasses I think reasonably about what to do in this situation. I blurted out in a trembling voice how ridiculous this situation is. The man standing in a position ready to fight said, “oh yeah you and who else.” We stood there looking at each other for a brief few seconds. That is when I decided to walk away from the situation. I turned around and told my wife “come on lets go.” I then walked to get my son from the sandbox with my head hanging down as if I was a sad dog that was just wiped by his master. Larry did not want to leave the park. He kicked, cried, screamed, and pleaded for reasons to stay and play, as my wife and I pulled him to the car. As we walked to the car I could see disappointment in the face of my wife. I stated that “it would not have proven anything.” My wife stated, “What?”  That is when I told her, “fighting. All it would be proving is that he is bigger than I am.” I then began to explain the only possible outcome of fighting. I stated, “What for truth, for justice.” My wife said, “of course.” That is when I feel that my wife was disappointed in me for being passive about the situation. I began to get upset even more with the attitude I am also receiving from my spouse. I hear my spouse say in a fierce and stern voice, “Stop crying” with a statement that followed. “I am ashamed of you!” I think she felt that we were a weak and pushover family. This made Larry cry louder. With all that happened and the irritability of a loud crying child. I popped off and yelled. “Can’t you keep him quite?” I then told my spouse, “If you could not discipline our child then, I will.” That is when I made a move towards Larry. I then got stopped dead in my tracks by the sound of my wife’s cold, gut wrenching comment, “you and who else?” This made me feel like I was weak as a man. Made me think that my wife lost respect for me due to being a respectable individual and not an individual who would rather fight and teach the wrong things to children.