Things are changing. That’s all I could think while watching this new “Kids React To” video, where a group of children ages 5-13 are shown two of my favorite recent flash mob proposals (one + two) and then asked to talk about what they saw. Watching this gave me my daily dose of the warm-and-fuzzies, both because these kids are downright adorable and because they had some really smart, insightful things to say.
The metaphors these children use to explain why they believe in marriage equality are much more elaborate and sophisticated than I would have come up with when I was in elementary or middle school. I noted references to slavery, interracial marriage, the Civil Rights Movement, women’s suffrage and separation of church and state, especially from the older interviewees. The younger ones were almost completely on-board with the ability to love whomever simply for freedom’s sake. The adorably confused Mr. Evil Eyebrows was the main exception here, but even he wasn’t sure what was so bad about gay people getting married, just repeating over and over that “gay is bad for you.”
Some of these kids have clearly thought about gay people before and are probably borrowing language overheard from adults — Which is a good thing! Let’s teach equality to our children! — but even those who are baffled by the “boy proposing to a boy?!” quickly assured the hosts that people should be free to love whomever they want. Of course, that’s no reason not to throw some sass in the direction of the anti-marriage-equality crowd, as 13-year-old twins Megan and Shannon did, instantly becoming my new personal heroes:
“Get a hobby.” “Cry me a river, build me a bridge, and get over it.”
waterworks at the home depot video JEEEZZZZZZZZ
I knowww. That song is one of my new favorites, but on the downside I tear up whenever it starts to play. Oops.
I listen to it at least a dozen times a day. Is it just me, or is there something about it that feels incredibly gay?
You could tell the lone anti-gay marriage kid would be bad news right off the bat, because he has a major case of evil eyebrows. It’s not his fault; he was predestined to be a vaguely threatening B-movie villain.
Mascara. Everywhere.
This gives me so much hope! I’m still trying to get my kids to this point; being in Tennessee makes it a smidge more difficult.
I’m in TN too, Shelley. I would be thrilled if we could get a few more *adults* to this point here.
“how did they get home depot to approve this though” MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY
are you kidding? imagine if they said no, they would lose SO many customers!
eyerolled so hard at “it’s like Macklemore said!” but yay for kids being forward thinkers
I swear I’m going to start carrying around a cis white straight dude and call him “little macklemore” so people can hear and process when I say things!
I’ll feed him social justice cookies when he is being a decent human being and quench his thirst with white tears. He’ll live a North Western liberal cage called “Portlandia.”
For real.
I smell a kickstarter campaign in the making
“little macklemore™, giving you a voice each and every day!”
This. Is. Genius.
who left those onions by my face.
My favorite part is “I’M YOUR FRIEND!! AIR HUG!!”
Me too! I for real was like THANK YOU FOR BEING MY FRIEND LITTLE GIRL YOU ARE TOO SWEET.
But really I just love “Cry me a river, build me a bridge and GET OVER IT.”
IF I WOULD’VE GOT A BOX OF MICROSCOPES, WOULD I BE GAY
i’m afraid, and there’s tornadoes, and i don’t want to go there. but i have to, ’cause i want to marry someone i like.
He’s going to be so relieved when he discovers that he needs to get the heck out of tornado alley to get gay married.
But into earthquake and hurricane territory! Poor kid, he just wants a nice natural-disaster-free gay haven.
The people who get married, they’re like oh we own a mansion. The other people are like, small cottages
All of these are the best quotes.
Haha, did this child just whip out some Marxist analysis? I motion to have 6 year-olds as guest lecturers in college courses.
All these kids (except the sad baby vampire, I hope his parents stop abusing his mind like that) were great, but this kid! This blinky, tousle-haired kid with his creative logic and analogies. I want to give him all the air hugs.
Dying at “sad baby vampire.”
Wow. These kids are so cute and sassy and funny and their reactions just make me feel so hopeful.
AIR HUG!
“Justin Bieber married a guy…”
“Does that mean you’re a gate? Or a Golden Gay Bridge? I just don’t know where the name comes from!” omg this kid.
this was my favorite part!
I am DEFINITELY calling it the “Golden Gay Bridge” from now on.
awww that kid singing that macklemore song is the closest i have ever come to liking that macklemore song
Interestingly, he actually sings the part sung by Mary Lambert rather than Macklemore. Small victories?
the automatic “get a hobby” was… she has my heart, they are all adorable! Not sure how they found them… it doesn’t feel they represent much of today’s society…
I want the “Air Hug” girl’s outfit, polka-dot-heart shirt with faux fur vest & cheerleader hair-tie, & I also want more air hugs.
“Golden Gay Bridge.” Shit, that is brilliant.
This is just too cute and funny! I wish my little cousins were this funny/open-minded but no their turning into little machines of intolerance because my uncles and aunts suck.
*imagines air hug…and vest because it’s cute and I need it in my wardrobe*
This makes my heart warm! This is the kind of thing that gives me hope for humanity in a world when my hope is crushed daily. Thanks for lifting my heart kids!!!! AIR HUG RIGHT BACK!!!! And air high five for that matter!
AIR HUG!!!
I love how forward thinking these kids are! Waterworks through the whole video! -___-” They said some sweet sweet things. I’m your friend too!!
This is definite proof we live in a modern world!
2013 is definitely the year of the gay.
I wish older adults would watch this so they could see that being gay to children is ok and how accepting they are. The words gay and lesbian don’t seem to corrupt their minds like the conservatives claim!
AIIIIIIIIIRRR HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGG
“I don’t know I’m just all new to this” is simultaneously the most honest and the most adorable thing ever said. Also adorable, the fact that her main concern about gay marriage is fine dining etiquette.
The video is seriously adorable, but I really liked the moments like this, where they were able to admit that they didn’t know what to do or think and ask honest questions. If only adults could react the same way to learning about scary new things!
I loved when she said that too. It was so honest. I also died laughing at “What would two boys do at a fancy restaurant? They’d just be burping the whole time!”
“you’re just a little spec, no one cares what you think” Well, I’m thinking that may be my new comeback to just about everything.
Air huuuuuuuug! <3
I am obsessed with the eyebrows child’s eyebrows. I took a screenshot of them and made them my desktop wallpaper and my girlfriend is really perturbed.
I wish I knew how to put pictures in here so I could show off the greatness.
My favorite was the brown-haired girl’s comments on homophobes. “I wouldn’t exactly say, ‘You suck, get out of my life,’ but…I’d say that in the nicest words possible.'”
Also, despite the adorable Mr. Evil Eyebrows’ whole “gay is bad for you” thing, I was actually pretty impressed that he even knew what “gay” meant. I sure didn’t when I was his age. Sadly I guess it’s probably because he hears people talk a lot about how bad it is to be gay.
I feel like OSTEM or something should steal the microscope thing and make t-shirts that say “Microscopes make you gay.”
So I’m pretty sure that little girl in the green is gonna grow up to be Leslie Knope.
YES
(That was supposed to be in response to the Leslie Knope comments.)