Emperors Exert Their Power

It was a usual day playing our Friday afternoon game of basketball. The
weather was considerably warmer, so outside joining us around the
basketball court was a group of a half dozen 6 and 7-year old boys
playing with their cards, guns and dirt. Given the ample places to play
around the basketball court, we didn't consider starting a full-court
game of basketball to be a problem. Even after an hour and a half of
playing (being occasionally careful to avoid the little ones) there was
really no problem (though there were several close calls. Then, on one
breakaway, there was a little boy who stepped right in the way of a big
guy as he was backpedaling and fell down. Everybody was ok, but boy
that little kid was furious. He got up and started frantically yelling
and swinging his right arm round and around as fast as he possibly
could. I didn't hear until later that he was also giving some choice
words to these guys at least 3 times his age.

At that point, all of us playing basketball were in a tough position
because we felt bad for the kid, but their moms were right there
watching us play and didn't ever tell the kids to be careful. The kid
was also so mad at us he probably would have gone ballistic if we tried
to comfort him. So after several minutes of not much happening, and one
of the mom's suggesting we play half court. It was the most indirect
situation I've ever seen with no one saying anything or really doing
very much, just kind of shrugging their shoulders and not sure if they
should change their game and comply or just continue playing as before.

I finally stepped in and decided we better comply and play half-court.
As we took a few minutes to regroup and split up into smaller teams,
the situation went from weird to absurd. The kids understood which side
of the court was theirs and they began to play. But quickly they
lost interest in their own fun and took more delight in getting revenge
on the evil basketball players who were taking over their kingdom. They
ran over to the side of the court and began taking the clumps of grass
and dirt and throwing them onto our court. After it was too dirty to
play in we moved back to the other side of the court. To which the
kids, predictably, by now, responded by littering that side of the
court with grass clumps as well. We soon realized the hopelessness of
the situation and stopped playing altogether.

I was appalled at their behavior and the grins on their face, but even
more so by the lack of discipline from their moms who were watching
them from a very close distance the entire time. They didn't have any
sense of responsibility for their kids' behavior, and even seemed to
take joy in the actions of their children!

It was at this moment that I realized what the term "little emperor" and
this new "Me Generation" looked like. Complete disregard for what might be
the right way to act or treat others, and total indulgence into one's
childish nature of anger, whining, and revenge. These children are the ones
being served and they are not learning the word "no". Parents only have one
child, so their desire to give their "little emperor" anything he wants is
great and to punish him too severely is dangerous. My friends all agreed that
they were spoiled and needed to learn some lessons, but no one was taken
aback as much as I was by the situation. They know that's just what kids
are growing up like these days. But, "What are these kids being taught?" I ask.

That I'm not sure, but I am sure if they continue in their behavior, they will
have a tough "reign" ahead of them.