You’re Much Alike
Have you seen this video yet?
Transcript:
(little boy) Husband’s a boy?
A wife is a boy, a husband is a boy?
Then you two are husbands!
Wives are girls, husbands are boys.
(camera guy) Right, right. So if you’re a boy…
(little boy) You’ll be husband.
(camera guy) right, yea, we’re both husbands.
(little boy) You’re both husbands? You married each other!?!
That’s funny.
(camera guy) that’s funny, right?
(little boy) Yea. I always see husbands and wives, but this is VERY FIRST TIME I saw husbands and husbands. (laughter from behind the camera)
(little boy continues) That’s so funny.
SO THAT MEANS YOU LOVE EACH OTHER!?!
(camera guy) Yea.
(little boy) yea.
They’re much alike. They’re much alike.
Hey, I’m going to play ping pong now.
(camera guy) ok.
(little boy) You can play if you want to.
I love the simplicity of this statement. Once this little boy figures out the terms, relative to what he’s used to, he makes the cognitive connections to his existing knowledge and figures out the important stuff: “SO THAT MEANS YOU LOVE EACH OTHER!?!” He says it with such emphasis – like an epiphany that suddenly clarified his world.
It’s easy to say something like “I wish grown ups could get this. It’s so simple, even a child understands.” But for adults who don’t really understand gay marriage (or even just gay relationships for that matter) – they have much more complicated cognitive frameworks. Their brains are full of memories (conscious or unconscious) about social norms, religious morals, negative media portrayals and inherited homophobia. For some people the cognitive dissonance is too much for the concept of gay marriage to sit comfortably – and so they reject the notion outright at any given moment. It’s important to realize however – that repeated incidents of cognitive dissonance can build to a person taking critical stock of their thoughts/values/emotions relative to the issue – and possibly light a spark for change.
Interesting post. I’m a huge supporter of gay marriage (and am gay myself and in a long-term relationship). But this video, which I know has been around the traps, worries me. Yes, in some ways it’s interesting how the child responds to the situation, and I do wish more people – adults – would respond in such an open, accepting way. BUT there’s just something that’s not quite right: I can’t help thinking the poor kid’s been trapped, or, at best, set-up. And now he’s been immortalised on-line, what will he think when he’s an adult? Shouldn’t we allow him to be innocent in private??
I see your point – and it is hard to know the lasting legacy videos like these will hold for children when they grow up. But your caution is prefaced on the possibility that this kid will be embarrassed in some way when he’s an adult – which therein implies that there might be something in this video that is worthy of embarrassment. I have hope that when he’s an adult, his reaction to this video will be a version of “look how awesome I was.” I hope that should he be made to feel embarrassed or regretful (I say “made to feel” because it is outside influences which school us in how we should be) that he uses his intellect and reason to come back to the simplicity of his youth – and to remember that what’s important about this video is that he was right in his simplicity and in his innocence.
I think he’ll grow up to be proud of this video – for this is the truth, stripped of the baggage that adults carry. But that’s my opinion.