This is Merrill Markoe talking here. She created the David Letterman Show , among many other things, and is really damn funny and insightful:
The stuff that happens in early childhood, before you're three years old, you know, that's who you're dealing with when you're dealing with petulant adults, is somebody wasn't smart enough with their three-year-old. And who really knows how to get everything right with a three-year-old? So, you know, that's the history of violence and insanity in the world at large: mothers who can't really comprehend what they're doing to a three-year-old. And why would they be able to? Probably people not getting more sane anytime soon.Isn't that awesome? And so TRUE. You know, I read that on The Awl today, that quote, and I thought it was worth posting here, too.
So what I'm going to do is point out that it is actually from a much, much, longer, more involved piece by Doree Shafrir, which was posted on Jezebel.
Because I figure if someone took an obviously long time to produce such a long, involved piece of writing, and it's something that I feel is worth mentioning or quoting on my site, the very least I can do is to acknowledge that prodigious effort with proper credit and a link.
It's not even a question of whether the writing is any good--though Doree's whole interview with Merrill certainly is. And it's not even a question of finding one single idea that doesn't suck and is worth repeating--because in the case of the Jezebel piece, as I said, the whole thing is really quite nice. And obviously took a great deal of thought and effort and talent.
So I'm linking to it, and mentioning it. When I quote it.
Even though I found the quote I wanted to use on another site. I'm not just quoting that site and leaving Jezebel out of the picture.
Because that might kind of seem like a dick move.
Merrill Markoe On Dave Letterman, Dick Jokes, & The Love Of A Good Dog [jezebel via the awl]
Completely unrelated: "Herewith [at this link to BoingBoing] a dialectical and materialist Marxist critique of the Crayola crayon factory." [jezebel via covetable blog]
Every time my two year old does something crazy that goes unchecked I worry about her future. Have I just cemented the fact that she will bite her co-workers if they take a pen from her desk without asking?