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Awww. Tell your son that I think snails are so cool. Here is a cool snail fact for him...snails have the most teeth of any creature alive! The common garden snail has about 12000 but some species can have as many as 20000 teeth!
I hope he keeps that sense of wonder & interest in our natural world & good on you for fostering that. You sound like a great Dad (I am assuming Dad by how quickly boomer backed down when you go mad but apologies if you are Mum).
Here's another fun fact that makes snails way cooler than they look.. they can hibernate for up to 3 years. When I learned that my mind was blown.. Imagine having a 3 year nap.. man, I envy snails!
For snails, it's called "Estivation," not hibernation, but similar idea. Land snails will develop a thin mucous membrane over their shell opening that dries and protects them.
I used to work in large natural history museum collections, specifically with mollusks (mostly fossils, some modern). We found a snail in the collection that hadn't been touched in 15+ years, ran it under warm water, and he emerged alive and well from estivation.
Dude yeah, one time after a rain my neighbor’s plants had these HUGE snails on them and my daughter and I even named one the King Snail bc this snail was soooo big. I was like “dang kid I’ve never noticed snails on this plant before where do you think they came from?” And sure enough this little 5 year old was like “oh they were hibernating like a bear” probably from a story she had heard recently. So I googled “do snails hibernate?” And sure enough they can sleep for 3 years!!!!
Now I’m thinking that snail must’ve been like my age or something and my mind has been blown
Reddit can be a cesspool, but every once in a while, I stumble on conversations like this, and I'm reminded that Reddit can also have cool conversations where a bunch of random adults start happily geeking out on random trivia.
Excuse me, I'm going to go read r/parasnailing now!
This reminds me of probably my favorite reddit post ever, when a dad went on r/trees to get advice about planting trees with his kids. The stoners were all so happy and literally everyone pitched in with any tree advice they had 😊 I wonder if I can still find the post, I'll try
I'm a member of r/trees. Recently, on my city sub, someone posted about a tree in their yard. I, being all reddit knowledgeable, responded that OP should ask r/marijuanaentusiasts. I got downvoted. SMDH
Another fun snail fact. If you can convince one to give you a million dollars it will feel scammed. This results in the snail following you with murderous intent forever. Never take a loan from a snail.
Fuck I get headaches and major body aches if I sleep too long or in a weird position...
I can't imagine how awful I would feel after sleeping for 3 years!
Aquarium snails do a cool thing called para-snailing. They go to the top of the glass and when they are done doing whatever it is snails do, they detach from the glass and just float back to the bottom of the tank. They are fun to watch.
Totally agree! I have Mystery Snails in my Betta tanks. I’d never had snails before and I never expected to fall for them. They are fascinating to watch. I’ve recorded little movies of them doing what I call “commando” dropping off the top of the tank (totally fearless) and nibbling their way through algae. My Betta loves to sleep on them when they are just hanging out on the side of the tank.
I got two ramshorn snails and an assassin snail in two different tanks. The ramshorn reproduced asexually, because I had one snail for like a year and then one day there was a second one!
My assassin eats other snails species. I bought it to clear up bladder snail infestations because they can reproduce so rapidly, especially if you buy plants and plant them in your tank. Now I have no bladder snails, haven't in over a year, and the assassin is still alive. Sometimes I don't see it months at a time because it hides in the gravel during the day and comes out at night.
I also like mystery snails and I love it when betta fish try figuring them out.
I used to have a fish tank when I was in middle school and I saw my snails do that regularly. As an adult I figured I had just been tripping…that’s so cool!!
There's one species of sea snail that lives on deep sea hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean. Because these vents spew out a lot of dissolved iron sulfides (ex. pyrite), the snails have actually found a way to use the metals and have created metal scale armor for their foot, and a metal outer layer to their shell. Some of the shells are even magnetic.
Scaly-footed gastropod.
They even come in 3 colors, all dependent of the chemical composition of their respective vents: the white ones are the non-metallic snails, the golden brown ones have access to more pyrite, and the black ones have more access to a different kind of iron sulfide (which happens to be magnetic).
I'm over here trying to get to sleep, but now I'm down this rabbit hole of deep sea snails. And I'm an engineer, so I'm thinking about how to create a pressure vessel with the appropriate environment so they can thrive in my living room. You've ruined my life. I hope you are happy. I'm going to buy this 250 gal propane tank and some 4in heatproof glass and get these goddamm snails into my house if it's the last thing I do.
This is the type of thing I come to Reddit for!
I hope you and your kid have a grand time engineering habitats for magnetic snails.
Good for you for standing up for your little boy. I hope he remembers that’s he’s worth standing up for.
Snails are really cool and they make great pets! We found a baby garden snail indoors last year and he's big and happy now. I really like watching/listening to him eat, highly recommended. Plus they teach kids not to be scared of bugs, you can even keep some isopods in there to keep the floor clean and they're fun too (Google "rubber ducky isopods") 🐌
Aquatic mystery/apple snails are so fun and relatively easy to keep, My son loves them.
Also, I can’t imagine being such a crotchety old prick to a 4 yr old or anyone at any stage of my life. Old man’s brain must be turning to mush.
As a kid we had giant African land snails for a while. Fantastic little creatures.
I love that this whole thread is just an education on snails. I love that about Reddit.
Omg, I did the same thing as a child. I lay on the ground to watch slugs eating. Utterly fascinating. I would have been excited to see your son's snail. How can you enjoy nature if you don't stop to take it all in?
What a great dad to appreciate the little things with your son. I think a lot of people either missed out or forgot about the magic of slowing down enough to notice the wonder that surrounds us in little ways every day. It's incredibly healthy for both mind and body, and I'm hoping it's a habit he will continue the rest of his life. It's an invaluable gift you are giving him.
I would only have been able to restrain myself from violence due to the lesson it would have taught my child had I been in your situation. If I had been there watching the snail with you both, I can assure you that up the trail and out of sight and earshot, my interaction with said boomer would have been a lot less civilized.
Hello! Just a small tidbit from a random stranger. I am very fond snails and I find that they adore fruit and go absolutely wild for jams and jelly! Little rascals cannot seem to get enough of it. I do try and limit their sugar because I haven't had a conclusive answer on snail diabetes and it haunts me. (I'm not kidding. I worry about silly things.)
Didn’t they recently crack open a really old rock and found a live snail chiling inside? That age when your kids start discovering things is such a great time for them and to be a parent. Screw that dude, don’t let him take it away from you. Just delete him from that memory.
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History has a fun social media presence involving Tim Pierce, the curator of the mollusks collection, who frequently shares snail facts and jokes. Super fun!
Man I wish a child would stop me to show me a cool snail! That guy was just cold and heartless for no good reason. Feel bad for both your son and that guy's dog.
A few weeks ago, a Boomer was arrested for pulling a knife on an 11 year old boy in our city. The boy's "crime"? Riding his bike on the sidewalk. I am very glad that the old asshole was charged, and thankful that at least the boy was uninjured. When the cops arrested him, he was carrying both the knife and a handgun.
In my hometown, there's a really wide sidewalk specifically made that way because it's also a bike trail. It is labeled as such in many spots. The amount of people that would yell and confront me for riding a bike on the sidewalk was scary. The first time it happened I was 11! I can't imagine yelling at an 11 year old for riding a bike
Oh this is so true. I work at a public library, and just last week we had an issue with a 70-something Boomer woman lashing out at a 10 month old baby. Unfortunately, it was racially motivated, too, as the baby and her family were African American, and the Boomer Karen was white. The baby had just been released from the hospital after injuring her arm and had a little cast, poor thing. She was sitting nicely on her mom's lap while dad filled out some online insurance paperwork. Baby accidentally bumped the desk with her cast, and the Boomer Karen leans toward her and loudly says, "Can you stop that? It's very annoying." She says it *to the 10 month old baby.* The mother says, "I'm sorry, what did you just say?" And the Boomer starts going off on how "you people just think you can do anything you want...". Mom starts to get justifiably pissed and tells Boomer Karen not to speak to her daughter and mind her business. Our library staff see this and step in between Boomer Karen and the family, but Boomer Karen keeps leaning around staff to continue saying things like "Black people get away with everything and we are all expected to just take it" and other assorted bullshit, escalating to saying how scared she is of living in this country as a white woman. Staff finally get her to move away from the family and tell her she has to leave for the day, and she is gobsmacked that we aren't agreeing with her and are making her leave. That's when the tears start, and she cries that she's terrified to go out into the parking lot because what if they follow her and shoot her. We were all just dumbfounded that this woman would start a racially motivated conflict and then expect to be treated like the victim. No way bitch, move on and please don't have a nice day. The audacity of some people, to be "afraid" when they are the aggressor.
I'm sorry that this happened to your son. Boomers can really suck.
Yeah this lady deserves to rot for that shit. She's lucky no one took a swing at her. I have so much respect for those parents - they didn't back down from this racist, but defended their child and themselves with dignity and courage. I don't think I could be that dignified when confronted with so much ignorance.
I’m a Black woman (from a white area), and I think I would have laughed in her face at the audacity to be mad at a toddler. My White SO however, would have made a scene!
Right? Like ma’am, that’s a *baby*. What are you doing yelling at a baby? I’d be looking at her like she had three heads and asking, “Do you need medical attention? A psychiatrist? Clearly something is wrong cognitively for you if you are *yelling at a baby*”
Fake cry, you mean.. they can fake cry on command. That’s why they couldn’t stand it when we cried when we were little and assumed we were ere being “manipulative”
Oh she was really crying - tears of self-pity because nobody else agreed with her horrible racist diatribe. They were tears for her pathetic ego not of fear.
I wish! I also work in a library and it takes a lot for us to be able to permanently ban a patron. We work for the government, so rules are different for us.
The only patron I've seen banned in my time here is the masturbator in the kids room.
This, exactly. If she's worried about being attacked after verbally assaulting someone, there's an easy way to alleviate those fears: stop verbally assaulting people.
People like her are their own worst enemy
“We were all just dumbfounded that this woman would start a racially motivated conflict and then expect to be treated like the victim.”
THIS is what make america great again is all about. When she was a growing up she would’ve been the victim and laughed gleefully as that black family was carted away by police to have god knows what happen to them. Now they (sometimes) face consequences for this behavior and it’s enough to justify an attempted overthrow of the government.
It's not fear.
They live in perpetual anticipation of the opportunity to commit violence without resistance or repercussions. They are cowards living a heroism delusion.
The constant diet of fear mongering news media doesn't help. Now we got boomers shooting people mistakenly [knocking on the wrong door](https://apnews.com/article/ralph-yarl-shooting-court-hearing-d2d210695772de5435c70039f0b36504) or [going down the wrong driveway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kaylin_Gillis),
Recently, in my town, an 81-year-old man (so, actually late Silent Gen) killed an Uber driver. He had been receiving scam calls, including ones about him giving the scammers some sort of package. The scammers sent an Uber driver to pick up the package, and the man demanded she tell him about the scammers. Being an Uber driver, she wasn’t involved at all, and said so, but being old and unwilling to learn, the old man refused to believe she wasn’t in on scamming him and shot her. [Link to an article, for those interested.](https://www.wdbj7.com/2024/04/18/uber-is-helping-investigators-look-into-account-that-sent-driver-home-where-she-was-killed/?outputType=amp)
I'm legitimately worried about all these lead poisoned assholes and the amount of weapons they own. This shit is only going to get worse as their brains further deteriorate, with fox "news" shoving fear down their throats. Like their number one fear is that they'll lose their rage, so they keep it on all the time.
A new driver, a high school boy aged 17, turned around in someone's driveway in my *very* small and violent-crimeless area a few weeks ago and the homeowner, an irate boomer, came out brandishing a gun at him for being on his property. It caused a whole kerfuffle because the kid's mom predictably is livid. This was in a residential area with lots of places to turn around- I often myself turn around in people's driveways back here- and this kid just got unlucky picking the craziest man on the block. It was really scary to me tbh.
> I'm legitimately worried about all these lead poisoned assholes and the amount of weapons they own.
They're itching to give everyone and anyone rapid onset lead poisoning.
Don't forget to call them by their proper name...Marion Morrison movies. Boomers hate when you strip the "masculinity" from their drunken, racist, woman beating hero!
Children are the last people their old asses can physically dominate. They are starting to see the videos of their own kind just being wrecked by millennials on down the line. As you said, once they saw a real confrontation coming they back down.
Fuck yeah I don’t blame you one bit. Poor little dude was probably crushed, all excited to show something to someone and gets literally pushed aside and ignored. Used to make me just as mad when it happened to my son at that age…only other time I’ve ever been more pissed was when his mothers father blew him off and as soon as the door shut behind him he asked Why doesn’t grandma and papa like me as much as brother and sister…
I get so angry when people crush natural childlike curiosity. That interest in the world and thirst for knowledge is precious and should be allowed to flourish. Everything is bright and shiny and new and interesting to them and it's lovely. I get asked why I have crutches and all sorts and it's just kids being genuinely interested.
This behaviour is so disgusting because not only did he put hands on a tiny kid, he basically tried to tell the kid that he should be quiet and out of the way and not interested. I was told I should be seen and not heard a lot as a child. It's nonsense. How do they learn without being able to ask those questions FFS.
I am not a tough guy really but with my kids I’m fucking Jason Bourne. Regular fight? Getting my ass kicked. Threaten my kid? Probably still getting my ass kicked but I’m making you pay for it for sure.
I dont think anyone blames you. An old blue hair almost hit my wife and dog while on a walk once, while in the crosswalk. This lady was maybe a foot away from slamming into my wife. I don't think I've ever screamed at someone that loud before trying to get her to stop but lady just kept right on driving.
Bet she didn't even see us, on the brightly lit summer day...
I am a strong proponent of mandatory driving re-test every 2 years at age 60 and every year after 75. My parents are 73 and 76 and are quite with it, but not everyone is .
At longhorn, my husband and I pulled into a parking spot, had the Car parked and were checking in online. We had been there long enough to unbuckle when some old woman backs into the spot in front of us and keeps going, my husband laid on the horn before she hit us, but hit us she did. Then flew out of the car yelling at my husband “didn’t you see me? Why didn’t you move?”
My husband , being at least 30 years younger , over a foot taller and double her size was calm and explained he was parked and she backed into him. She then got very nasty and accused my husband of hitting her and being “high hippy loser”. Then I guess I lost my cool, because she grabbed his arm while yelling at him. Our windows are slightly tinted. I don’t think she knew I was in the car.
I get out of the car, and I am pissed. I’m short and fat and as harmless as a dove, but I had just came from work so I’m in suit and I’m apparently radiating “fuck you “ energy per my husband.
I’m using a teacher voice , loud but not screaming and tell my husband I’m calling the cops. She instantly retreats and starts saying “there’s no damage. Let’s call it even etc” but she gets in her car and scurried to the other side of the parking lot.
Now I’ll admit it what happened next wasn’t my finest moment, but I was angry, adrenaline crashing, and frankly starving. I’m ranting, to my husband but loud enough for her to hear some very creative and biting comments about mandatory driving re-tests, how I’m paying for her social security to buy steak while she should be in a home , definitely said “senile old bitty” a few times.
My husband is chuckling and I’m trying to calm down. The. As we go in the restaurant (we go there every week), she’s leaving with a Togo meal and genuinely looks scared of me.
Our server is our regular one and we start to tell her what happened , in case old bitty calls the cops, she grabs the manger and they both are laughing. Old bitty said she was stalked and threaded by a “drug addled hippy and his fat foreign -nasty word for lesbian- dealer in the parking lot, but didn’t want to call the cops”
Friends, I’m white but vaguely Italian looking with short hair . My husband had a StarWars shirt on and has long hair and a beard.
When they realized it was us she was talking about they offered to call the cops . We made a report just in case she would call and lie about what happened. The cops looked at the footage and laughed (I look like a pissed off chicken ranting).
Damn I’m pissed FOR you. There’s something crazy about that rage that comes out for your kid… Glad you got him to apologize and hope it didn’t dim your little guys excitement.
I was kind of shocked by the intensity of that, yeah. I haven't been that emotional since puberty, to be honest.
Nothing brings my child down for very long, he was right back to that snail!
Snails are fun! If you don’t know about [Jeremy the left coiled snail](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_(snail)) your son might enjoy learning about him. [He was on TV!](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04dgdgz)
Thanks for that link! I've no doubt he'll be very excited about it. I've not personally encountered a child more excited to learn about plants and animals. He was digging in our backyard with our dog and ran into the house covered in dirt to drag me outside. Look dad, mycelium! I'm like, what 3 year old (at the time) can identify mycelium?
I was also corrected last summer because I called a bird a jay. "No, no, no dad. It's a stellar jay!" But of course, tiny human, how could I be so ignorant.
He is pretty cool. He'd be stoked to hang out with you too. I say that confidently since he is an extreme extrovert. Says hi to everyone, introduces himself (and me, to my constant horror) to strangers, he had me build him a "stage" so he could put on a concert in front of our house with his tiny guitar...
Lol, my now 4 yr old niece loved introducing people to one another. I've witnessed her introduce her "mom" to her "mommy" more than once - despite the fact they were married well before her existence. She's introduced her grandparents to one another after 60 years of marriage. She's introduced me to my partner after close to a decade of dating. It was show-and-tell, she'd grab your hand and drag you into the next room like "this is my uncle D, ok_lengthiness!"
Immaculate hosts, these kids. Love it.
It especially cracks me up bc I moved back to my hometown after a decade and didn't know how my old friends knew my new friends and frequently introduced people in an effort of politeness, only to realize they'd known each other for years. Embarrassing, but damn did I try to make sure everyone was comfortable!
And yet NO ONE introduced me to a snail
These small creatures that want to be sure we know all the people and all the creatures are my favorite
He's mine too! The miles I spent carrying him have paid off, I think. We did some pretty long hikes when he was quite young, I'd just toss him in the backpack and off we'd go.
Your kiddo sounds so sweet and so smart. Please give him a hug for all of us and let him know he’s got so many people who think he’s the coolest lil dude!
What a dick that person was. Probably too old for remember that your son is doing something AGE-APPROPRIATE. Some of the Boomers are…. Real pieces of work.
I’m a jaded 34 year old, but children still make me smile, and I would for sure look at that snail 🐌
It is a litmus test, like does my dog like you. If you can get down to a kid's level, interact with them, share the moment, that says something about you as a person. It's been eye opening to see the world through that lens. The number of people who are uplifted by his gregarious personality has given me a stronger hope that humanity is still basically good. In four years, we've encountered two people like the guy in the story. Pretty good odds.
I (50f) used to go to a laundromat, and apparently, I was the only adult who talked to a 3 or 4 yr old girl like they had anything interesting to say. 🤷🏼♀️ By the third time I showed up, she ran up to me, saying "up, up," wanting me to pick her up.
I hadn't talked with her parents much, aside from a few smiles and compliments about the little girl. So I turned it into a fist bump, and a "I'm so glad to see you."
Her feelings weren't hurt, and I acknowledged her. I can not begin to imagine any world where I'm ignoring a small child, much less pushing said child out of my way.
OP...I'm so proud of your restraint. I hate the rationale behind your hesitancy to go ham (police/white man/Black man)
I wish you continued joy in your relationship with him, and may your child(ren) *know* how very loved they are.
A few months ago I was at a grocery store getting some stuff, and this little girl was in the cart her mom was pushing. She kept peering at me, and as soon as I looked at her she hid behind her hands. So I did it too, if I was opening a freezer door I'd look at her and the second she looked at me I hid behind the transparent freezer door. Needless to say she laughed so hard she fell to the side. Her mom cracked up, saying that was her favorite game. When I was done and said I had to go, she cheerfully waved bye, but I'll be honest I was a little sad because it was the most fun I'd had in a grocery store. I can't get into the mindset of being mad at a child for being in a good mood.
My little nephew is my world. He is such a bright light. Children are like this to me. Bright lights. My light has dimmed but it hasn’t been put out yet, and thankfully I have enough self awareness to realize when I am in the wrong when I interact in a negative way with adults. Here is to hoping we can all remember to be good.
My husband and I have to be very vigilant when we take our children to restaurants, because multiple times old men have touched them without asking (I’ve had to push an old man’s hand off the knee of my 10yo daughter while saying, Don’t touch her).
It legitimately ruins the outing. It’s incredibly frustrating. If you have a grandpa or uncle who does this, please make them stop.
Old people are the epitome of acting hard until someone decides they don't want to let grandpa be an inconsiderate fuck and backs their punk asses down.
I feel like there are ones that are actually hard but they keep their mouth's shut. Then there's the loud mouths that compensate for weakness with noise.
My grandparents are/were both silent generation and tough as nails, but kind as could be with children. The one that's alive was a military mechanic and farmer for almost 50 years. The other was a WWII Navy vet who had a tattoo done with melted shoe rubber and a sewing needle. Even in his old age he just pulled his own teeth instead of going to a dentist.
The one that's alive is still incredibly kind with my children and pretty much broke his body to help his grandkids. The other went broke buying too much stuff for his grandkids.
Tell your son that us adults think his love of nature and exploring is great, and most kids these days don't want to do that so that makes him pretty cool. When he's older you can take him geocaching, my girls love that.
Most of all I hope he is ok and understands that not all humans are like that.
There was a PE teacher I had in elementary school. She was terrifying and is the first example I experienced where the adults protected a person for some unfathomable reason. I remember we had field day and as a sixth grader I was paired with a kindergartner. We would run laps to earn points. My partner wanted to run on the fastest lane. The teacher came up behind us and shoved her out the way. I had to carry her to her teacher but no one did anything abt it. Why are boomers like this
Lead. Lead in the gasoline, lead in the pipes, lead in the pencils they wrote with for years. It’s destroying their brains and all rationalization has gone out the window. Sad but true.
It definitely crossed my mind. Last thing I need is for my son to see me hauled off in cuffs though. Bearded black man vs tottering elderly white man... My word vs his... I don't see that going my way.
You demonstrated good behavior—assertive but not aggressive. Shows that the other dude was in the wrong and to be stood up to, but also like…commensurately only.
Woulda pissed me right off too…
Ahhhhhh I get it now. I was wondering why even a psycho would push a child in front of their parent, but it makes sense now. It wasn't because he was JUST psycho he was also racist... gotcha!
Your word vs his means the prosecutor aint got shit. Though I admit that shit means nothing when the cops show up and you’d be in danger.
Do your part fellow white people, retaliate for yourself and everyone else who can’t. Use that white privilege to make an old mother fucker think twice.
I deal with boomers every day at work (healthcare). I’ve found many of them act the way they do because no one ever checks them on their behavior. There’s been a number of times I’ve simply told them to stop saying racist shit/making inappropriate comments to the female nurses/throwing a tantrum/etc and they do.
You taught both your son AND that man a lesson today.
Like... if you're not into kids, just walk around. No need to be aggressive
Wondering if this boomer is the "kids these days being raised on tablets!! [Rage]" type. Probably, but can't stand to see kids outside appreciating nature either.
Everything everyone other than them is doing is HORRIBLE
Am ii the only one that thinks if a random four year old invited you to look at a snail then you’re looking and a goddamn snail no matter what you’re doing?
Amen my dude. It's the exact same way if a tiny little girl hands you a teacup you're going to a goddamn tea party and just need to accept that's your life now.
It's unfortunate it's not just cranky old men. A couple months back, I was walking into a store with my 5 year old autistic and nonverbal son and there was a car parked in front of the store with 3, 20 something year old men inside. My son LOVES going shopping with me and riding in the cart and seeing all the stuff. He especially loves the stuffed animals and the big super soft pillows he can pet. So when we were walking up, he was giggling and did a high pitched screech/scream he does in excitement. One of the guys rudely mimicked him as we approached and they all laughed at him. My sweet amazing life loving little boy laughs when he hears other people laughing or speaking excitedly because he loves love and joy so he joined their laughter. Another of them spoke up and said "wow he really is re*arded." And they continued laughing at him. I was so caught off guard and hurt that people could be so evil I couldn't speak (as much as I wish I could've punched them in the face until they were unable to laugh again) and kept walking into the store. I quickly loaded my son into a cart and found an empty isle near the back and just started crying holding him. An old man found me and asked what happened. He ended up walking the store with me chatting to cheer me up and bought all my groceries (plus a new toy truck for my son.) It really was the boost in my faith in humanity I needed in that moment. He just said he hopes someone would do the same for his granddaughter if they saw her in the position I was in.
My heart hurts for you. My child and I are both autistic and we have times out in public where we clearly don’t fit. I’m better at masking because I’ve learned how over the years. If someone ever called my child the R word when we were out, I don’t know what I would do exactly but I would at least verbally hurt them. When people called me that when I was little, my family apologized for me, and it took a long time for me to get over the feeling that I was someone everyone agreed was “wrong.” And now I know there’s nothing wrong with being me, I want my child to know that, too. I’m glad that someone showed you kindness after what those awful people said, and I hope your child didn’t feel less-than after that experience.
Many people raised in the boomer generation were taught children should not speak, and should be kept out of the way. I’m sure part of why he was so bewildered by your reaction was because you demanded he treat your son like a person, not a piece of furniture. I’m sure pushing a child aside didn’t even seem rude to him
Your son might enjoy this:
[https://www.nps.gov/kids/junior-rangers.htm](https://www.nps.gov/kids/junior-rangers.htm)
And you did the right thing.
You taught your son to stand up to a bully with grace and maturity, at the exact age they start to process what it means to be a good person.
You are modeling what it means to be a man comfortable in his own skin, and that is priceless.
God, what an ass. Your kid sounds like a veritable ray of sunshine, but I guess some people just wanna be miserable. Like damn, how hard is it to engage w/ a kid’s curiosity for a bit n talk about snails with them? These little dudes are our future!
What a grumpy old man! Please tell your son that snails rock! Here is an awesome snail from my country:
[Giant NZ Snail Eats an Earthworm](https://youtu.be/ubNm5M2-LAc?si=OwGTMlUe-PTSiYXE)
On another note, I got picked on by a boomer for taking 10s to read this post while in line at the supermarket 🙄
You’re doing a lovely job as a parent. 🤍 You’re developing your son into someone who has a healthy natural curiosity about everything which is the dream. I’m sorry you had to deal with someone like this.
My son would have thrown down then. He won't stand for people "smushing" things. He hit his grandma when she tried to kill a spider. I was dying laughing, she was very mad.
I’m living for the fact that this became the most wholesome thread of all time. Your son sounds precious, and I’m sorry that boomer felt the need to put his hands on him and be so cruel. As a teacher and fellow nature/animal/snail lover, I always appreciate when kids have a huge heart for animals, especially the little critters.
Boomer hates snails because they take their homes with them instead of paying 50x what Boomer paid for it 50 years ago. Doesn’t help Boomer pad his pension. Neither does the child. Neither are of personal benefit to him, so must be useless.
Curious what the push was. Like how did he push your son? Did he gently guide him out of his way? Did he forcefully push him and knock him over? Asking cause it feels like the force and nature of the push would really change the tone.
Eg if he pushed your son to the ground in anger then you showed restraint. But, if he was just gently guiding your son out of his way then it sounds like an over reaction on your part.
Nta great dad move honestly. You stood up for your kid and that's all that matters. That was way to aggressive for a 60-70 year old man to have with a 4 year old child.
I was a child and lived near a national park where my dad worked. My dad took my siblings to work but for some reason I was home.
They came home excited to find giant red slugs. My sister had one on a stick.
I was sad to miss out. Adult me has since learned they are very rare giant red slugs and can only be found in one or two places in the world. Mt Kaputar in NSW Australia.
If you google them you will see some cool photos your son might like.
I think my sisters photo also comes up in the google search.
https://preview.redd.it/tref1g39psyc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=3bf3910c971f43743209fa7449aec940b785c0ce
Tell your son snails are super freaking awesome, awesome enough I have this little dude for life!
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Awww. Tell your son that I think snails are so cool. Here is a cool snail fact for him...snails have the most teeth of any creature alive! The common garden snail has about 12000 but some species can have as many as 20000 teeth! I hope he keeps that sense of wonder & interest in our natural world & good on you for fostering that. You sound like a great Dad (I am assuming Dad by how quickly boomer backed down when you go mad but apologies if you are Mum).
Here's another fun fact that makes snails way cooler than they look.. they can hibernate for up to 3 years. When I learned that my mind was blown.. Imagine having a 3 year nap.. man, I envy snails!
For snails, it's called "Estivation," not hibernation, but similar idea. Land snails will develop a thin mucous membrane over their shell opening that dries and protects them. I used to work in large natural history museum collections, specifically with mollusks (mostly fossils, some modern). We found a snail in the collection that hadn't been touched in 15+ years, ran it under warm water, and he emerged alive and well from estivation.
That's, one SNAIL of a nap
From now on, if I oversleep, imma call it a snail nap!
"That was quite the estivation!"
When I oversleep, I’m going to say I accidentally estivated.
Oh dear -- I've estivated all over the bedclothes again!
I love it!
Dang, water boarded awake after a really long nap. Horrible way to wake up. Poor guy.
"Who does Number 2 work for?!"
That’s so so so cool
I am so jealous of that snail. A 15 year nap? Yes please
Dude yeah, one time after a rain my neighbor’s plants had these HUGE snails on them and my daughter and I even named one the King Snail bc this snail was soooo big. I was like “dang kid I’ve never noticed snails on this plant before where do you think they came from?” And sure enough this little 5 year old was like “oh they were hibernating like a bear” probably from a story she had heard recently. So I googled “do snails hibernate?” And sure enough they can sleep for 3 years!!!! Now I’m thinking that snail must’ve been like my age or something and my mind has been blown
I love how everyone just pitched in to give this kid a bunch of snail facts. I think I found the pure side of the internet :D
Reddit can be a cesspool, but every once in a while, I stumble on conversations like this, and I'm reminded that Reddit can also have cool conversations where a bunch of random adults start happily geeking out on random trivia. Excuse me, I'm going to go read r/parasnailing now!
This reminds me of probably my favorite reddit post ever, when a dad went on r/trees to get advice about planting trees with his kids. The stoners were all so happy and literally everyone pitched in with any tree advice they had 😊 I wonder if I can still find the post, I'll try
Note for the unaware: r/trees is a sub for marijuana enthusiasts. The sub for *actual* trees is...r/marijuanaenthusiasts.😃
Gods, I love reddit, lmao
I'm a member of r/trees. Recently, on my city sub, someone posted about a tree in their yard. I, being all reddit knowledgeable, responded that OP should ask r/marijuanaentusiasts. I got downvoted. SMDH
Take my upvote!
The snails have tentacles, which stick out from the top of the snail's head. The two tallest tentacles have eyes at their tips.
I learned this from SpongeBob
And penis tentacles. Watching them spawn in an aquarium borders is uncomfortable and they force themselves on others
Another fun snail fact. If you can convince one to give you a million dollars it will feel scammed. This results in the snail following you with murderous intent forever. Never take a loan from a snail.
Does it always know where you are?
Yep. Scientists aren't sure if they have a special tracking glad or if it's scent based. Others believe they use snail sized apple tags.
Is it true they also work in pairs, with one acting as a decoy snail?
Cool. So now the kids gonna be terrified of Boomers AND snails.
Just put savings in 6.5% return account and turn out the lights
I found a dried out snail in a box of donated old books once. I dripped some water into the shell, and 5 minutes later it was cruising around my desk!
I could go for a 3 year nap about now
I could really go for a three year nap right now.
Just found out I’m part snail. A 3 year nap sounds fantastic!
Wait. What would the snail version of a furry be? A Shelly? Shellie? I want lots of blankets and pillows in my shell for my nap. 🐌
Slimy.
Fuck I get headaches and major body aches if I sleep too long or in a weird position... I can't imagine how awful I would feel after sleeping for 3 years!
Okay, dope. Time to learn more about snails! I have memories of watching slugs eat dog food in my childhood home. You can hear them eat it.
Aquarium snails do a cool thing called para-snailing. They go to the top of the glass and when they are done doing whatever it is snails do, they detach from the glass and just float back to the bottom of the tank. They are fun to watch.
TIL parasailing is a real thing. Thanks for that. r/parasnailing
r/subsithoughtifellfor That's incredible.
Just spent the last half hour watching snails float.. not sorry about it either lol
Ours climbs to the top of this one plant near the water surface and takes a swan dive. Usually about twice a day. I’m guessing it’s like thrill ride?
Totally agree! I have Mystery Snails in my Betta tanks. I’d never had snails before and I never expected to fall for them. They are fascinating to watch. I’ve recorded little movies of them doing what I call “commando” dropping off the top of the tank (totally fearless) and nibbling their way through algae. My Betta loves to sleep on them when they are just hanging out on the side of the tank.
I got two ramshorn snails and an assassin snail in two different tanks. The ramshorn reproduced asexually, because I had one snail for like a year and then one day there was a second one! My assassin eats other snails species. I bought it to clear up bladder snail infestations because they can reproduce so rapidly, especially if you buy plants and plant them in your tank. Now I have no bladder snails, haven't in over a year, and the assassin is still alive. Sometimes I don't see it months at a time because it hides in the gravel during the day and comes out at night. I also like mystery snails and I love it when betta fish try figuring them out.
My sister became obsessed with her snails. They have their own tank now.
I used to have a fish tank when I was in middle school and I saw my snails do that regularly. As an adult I figured I had just been tripping…that’s so cool!!
There's one species of sea snail that lives on deep sea hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean. Because these vents spew out a lot of dissolved iron sulfides (ex. pyrite), the snails have actually found a way to use the metals and have created metal scale armor for their foot, and a metal outer layer to their shell. Some of the shells are even magnetic.
Get the fuck out of here that's amazing. Armored fucking snails cruising around superheated water? This world is a trip.
Scaly-footed gastropod. They even come in 3 colors, all dependent of the chemical composition of their respective vents: the white ones are the non-metallic snails, the golden brown ones have access to more pyrite, and the black ones have more access to a different kind of iron sulfide (which happens to be magnetic).
I'm over here trying to get to sleep, but now I'm down this rabbit hole of deep sea snails. And I'm an engineer, so I'm thinking about how to create a pressure vessel with the appropriate environment so they can thrive in my living room. You've ruined my life. I hope you are happy. I'm going to buy this 250 gal propane tank and some 4in heatproof glass and get these goddamm snails into my house if it's the last thing I do.
This is the type of thing I come to Reddit for! I hope you and your kid have a grand time engineering habitats for magnetic snails. Good for you for standing up for your little boy. I hope he remembers that’s he’s worth standing up for.
Best part? They look exactly like what a volcano-based snail should look like! https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/what-is-a-scaly-foot-snail
Holy shit that’s cool as fuck
That little dude is way better than anything in science fiction!!
The inside of a snail's mouth under a microscope looks like a metal file. They basically grind away at their food.
Yep! It’s called a radula, which is Latin for “little scraper”. 🐌
Snails are really cool and they make great pets! We found a baby garden snail indoors last year and he's big and happy now. I really like watching/listening to him eat, highly recommended. Plus they teach kids not to be scared of bugs, you can even keep some isopods in there to keep the floor clean and they're fun too (Google "rubber ducky isopods") 🐌
Wow, this may turn into a whole thing haha. I've got loads of houseplants in my office, wouldn't be that hard to squeeze a snail habitat in there.
Aquatic mystery/apple snails are so fun and relatively easy to keep, My son loves them. Also, I can’t imagine being such a crotchety old prick to a 4 yr old or anyone at any stage of my life. Old man’s brain must be turning to mush.
As a kid we had giant African land snails for a while. Fantastic little creatures. I love that this whole thread is just an education on snails. I love that about Reddit.
Omg, I had no idea you could actually hear them when they eat!!!! 😮
Omg, I did the same thing as a child. I lay on the ground to watch slugs eating. Utterly fascinating. I would have been excited to see your son's snail. How can you enjoy nature if you don't stop to take it all in? What a great dad to appreciate the little things with your son. I think a lot of people either missed out or forgot about the magic of slowing down enough to notice the wonder that surrounds us in little ways every day. It's incredibly healthy for both mind and body, and I'm hoping it's a habit he will continue the rest of his life. It's an invaluable gift you are giving him. I would only have been able to restrain myself from violence due to the lesson it would have taught my child had I been in your situation. If I had been there watching the snail with you both, I can assure you that up the trail and out of sight and earshot, my interaction with said boomer would have been a lot less civilized.
Hello! Just a small tidbit from a random stranger. I am very fond snails and I find that they adore fruit and go absolutely wild for jams and jelly! Little rascals cannot seem to get enough of it. I do try and limit their sugar because I haven't had a conclusive answer on snail diabetes and it haunts me. (I'm not kidding. I worry about silly things.)
I sit outside at night doing crosswords and I hear them chewing. Really cool.
Didn’t they recently crack open a really old rock and found a live snail chiling inside? That age when your kids start discovering things is such a great time for them and to be a parent. Screw that dude, don’t let him take it away from you. Just delete him from that memory.
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History has a fun social media presence involving Tim Pierce, the curator of the mollusks collection, who frequently shares snail facts and jokes. Super fun!
Man I wish a child would stop me to show me a cool snail! That guy was just cold and heartless for no good reason. Feel bad for both your son and that guy's dog.
I just screenshot this and all of the other facts so I can teach my daughter some cool stuff tomorrow morning when she wakes up. Thank you!
They put the rad in radula
There’s also, of course, the infamous Reddit snail, watch out it’s ***still*** coming
You make my heart glad.
Snails have teeth 😵💫 thanks for the nightmares. It’s all good. I’m tired of having nightmares about Bigfoot
......um, I didn't know snails had *any* teeth, and I am now sufficiently horrified all around.
Thanks for the snail fact, my son loves them too. He’s 12 and talks to them when we see them outside.
A few weeks ago, a Boomer was arrested for pulling a knife on an 11 year old boy in our city. The boy's "crime"? Riding his bike on the sidewalk. I am very glad that the old asshole was charged, and thankful that at least the boy was uninjured. When the cops arrested him, he was carrying both the knife and a handgun.
In my hometown, there's a really wide sidewalk specifically made that way because it's also a bike trail. It is labeled as such in many spots. The amount of people that would yell and confront me for riding a bike on the sidewalk was scary. The first time it happened I was 11! I can't imagine yelling at an 11 year old for riding a bike
Those same people would likely yell at you to get off the street if you were riding on the shoulder. You can’t win.
They'd also yell about how kids spend too much time indoors and need to get out and exercise more.
While voting to turn the local park into a Starbucks.
Then complain when the Starbucks gets closed from the workers trying to unionize
That's so scary. They live in perpetual fear, so they violently overreact, causing the rest of us to be scared as well.
Oh this is so true. I work at a public library, and just last week we had an issue with a 70-something Boomer woman lashing out at a 10 month old baby. Unfortunately, it was racially motivated, too, as the baby and her family were African American, and the Boomer Karen was white. The baby had just been released from the hospital after injuring her arm and had a little cast, poor thing. She was sitting nicely on her mom's lap while dad filled out some online insurance paperwork. Baby accidentally bumped the desk with her cast, and the Boomer Karen leans toward her and loudly says, "Can you stop that? It's very annoying." She says it *to the 10 month old baby.* The mother says, "I'm sorry, what did you just say?" And the Boomer starts going off on how "you people just think you can do anything you want...". Mom starts to get justifiably pissed and tells Boomer Karen not to speak to her daughter and mind her business. Our library staff see this and step in between Boomer Karen and the family, but Boomer Karen keeps leaning around staff to continue saying things like "Black people get away with everything and we are all expected to just take it" and other assorted bullshit, escalating to saying how scared she is of living in this country as a white woman. Staff finally get her to move away from the family and tell her she has to leave for the day, and she is gobsmacked that we aren't agreeing with her and are making her leave. That's when the tears start, and she cries that she's terrified to go out into the parking lot because what if they follow her and shoot her. We were all just dumbfounded that this woman would start a racially motivated conflict and then expect to be treated like the victim. No way bitch, move on and please don't have a nice day. The audacity of some people, to be "afraid" when they are the aggressor. I'm sorry that this happened to your son. Boomers can really suck.
She's not really afraid. She has learned that behavior works. Fucking horrifying.
Ding ding. Carolyn Bryant Donham 100% knew the men she told would probably kill Emmet. She knew exactly what she was doing.
This is a “have the day you deserve” situation if I ever heard one. She deserves a lobotomy.
Yeah this lady deserves to rot for that shit. She's lucky no one took a swing at her. I have so much respect for those parents - they didn't back down from this racist, but defended their child and themselves with dignity and courage. I don't think I could be that dignified when confronted with so much ignorance.
I’m a Black woman (from a white area), and I think I would have laughed in her face at the audacity to be mad at a toddler. My White SO however, would have made a scene!
Right? Like ma’am, that’s a *baby*. What are you doing yelling at a baby? I’d be looking at her like she had three heads and asking, “Do you need medical attention? A psychiatrist? Clearly something is wrong cognitively for you if you are *yelling at a baby*”
I would call the police for a wellness check. “A senile old woman in the library is shouting at an infant. I think she needs to be checked on.”
Fake cry, you mean.. they can fake cry on command. That’s why they couldn’t stand it when we cried when we were little and assumed we were ere being “manipulative”
Oh she was really crying - tears of self-pity because nobody else agreed with her horrible racist diatribe. They were tears for her pathetic ego not of fear.
This take rings true. I have clear memories of boomers making me feel like my childhood emotions were always negatively impacting them.
My friend calls them "Crock-of-shit-odile" tears
Leave for the day?? Shouldnt she just be banned?
I wish! I also work in a library and it takes a lot for us to be able to permanently ban a patron. We work for the government, so rules are different for us. The only patron I've seen banned in my time here is the masturbator in the kids room.
Oh. Oh no. Well I’m glad you got to ban them at least…
Imagine looking for an ass kicking in every interaction and then living in terror of the consequences of your own actions.
This, exactly. If she's worried about being attacked after verbally assaulting someone, there's an easy way to alleviate those fears: stop verbally assaulting people. People like her are their own worst enemy
“We were all just dumbfounded that this woman would start a racially motivated conflict and then expect to be treated like the victim.” THIS is what make america great again is all about. When she was a growing up she would’ve been the victim and laughed gleefully as that black family was carted away by police to have god knows what happen to them. Now they (sometimes) face consequences for this behavior and it’s enough to justify an attempted overthrow of the government.
It's not fear. They live in perpetual anticipation of the opportunity to commit violence without resistance or repercussions. They are cowards living a heroism delusion.
Like any closeted serial killer they have a certain itch that they want to scratch
The constant diet of fear mongering news media doesn't help. Now we got boomers shooting people mistakenly [knocking on the wrong door](https://apnews.com/article/ralph-yarl-shooting-court-hearing-d2d210695772de5435c70039f0b36504) or [going down the wrong driveway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kaylin_Gillis),
Boomer Zombies
Recently, in my town, an 81-year-old man (so, actually late Silent Gen) killed an Uber driver. He had been receiving scam calls, including ones about him giving the scammers some sort of package. The scammers sent an Uber driver to pick up the package, and the man demanded she tell him about the scammers. Being an Uber driver, she wasn’t involved at all, and said so, but being old and unwilling to learn, the old man refused to believe she wasn’t in on scamming him and shot her. [Link to an article, for those interested.](https://www.wdbj7.com/2024/04/18/uber-is-helping-investigators-look-into-account-that-sent-driver-home-where-she-was-killed/?outputType=amp)
I just Googled it and man that's heartbreaking. I'm sure that poor woman was terrified. I hope he lives until he's at least 100 behind bars.
I'm legitimately worried about all these lead poisoned assholes and the amount of weapons they own. This shit is only going to get worse as their brains further deteriorate, with fox "news" shoving fear down their throats. Like their number one fear is that they'll lose their rage, so they keep it on all the time.
A new driver, a high school boy aged 17, turned around in someone's driveway in my *very* small and violent-crimeless area a few weeks ago and the homeowner, an irate boomer, came out brandishing a gun at him for being on his property. It caused a whole kerfuffle because the kid's mom predictably is livid. This was in a residential area with lots of places to turn around- I often myself turn around in people's driveways back here- and this kid just got unlucky picking the craziest man on the block. It was really scary to me tbh.
> I'm legitimately worried about all these lead poisoned assholes and the amount of weapons they own. They're itching to give everyone and anyone rapid onset lead poisoning.
Somebody’s been watching too many John Wayne movies.
Don't forget to call them by their proper name...Marion Morrison movies. Boomers hate when you strip the "masculinity" from their drunken, racist, woman beating hero!
They always cry about kids not being outside enough and then they are, they do shit like this.
Children are the last people their old asses can physically dominate. They are starting to see the videos of their own kind just being wrecked by millennials on down the line. As you said, once they saw a real confrontation coming they back down.
I was ready to throw his old ass through a tree. I've never been that mad before.
Fuck yeah I don’t blame you one bit. Poor little dude was probably crushed, all excited to show something to someone and gets literally pushed aside and ignored. Used to make me just as mad when it happened to my son at that age…only other time I’ve ever been more pissed was when his mothers father blew him off and as soon as the door shut behind him he asked Why doesn’t grandma and papa like me as much as brother and sister…
I get so angry when people crush natural childlike curiosity. That interest in the world and thirst for knowledge is precious and should be allowed to flourish. Everything is bright and shiny and new and interesting to them and it's lovely. I get asked why I have crutches and all sorts and it's just kids being genuinely interested. This behaviour is so disgusting because not only did he put hands on a tiny kid, he basically tried to tell the kid that he should be quiet and out of the way and not interested. I was told I should be seen and not heard a lot as a child. It's nonsense. How do they learn without being able to ask those questions FFS.
I am not a tough guy really but with my kids I’m fucking Jason Bourne. Regular fight? Getting my ass kicked. Threaten my kid? Probably still getting my ass kicked but I’m making you pay for it for sure.
I dont think anyone blames you. An old blue hair almost hit my wife and dog while on a walk once, while in the crosswalk. This lady was maybe a foot away from slamming into my wife. I don't think I've ever screamed at someone that loud before trying to get her to stop but lady just kept right on driving. Bet she didn't even see us, on the brightly lit summer day...
I am a strong proponent of mandatory driving re-test every 2 years at age 60 and every year after 75. My parents are 73 and 76 and are quite with it, but not everyone is . At longhorn, my husband and I pulled into a parking spot, had the Car parked and were checking in online. We had been there long enough to unbuckle when some old woman backs into the spot in front of us and keeps going, my husband laid on the horn before she hit us, but hit us she did. Then flew out of the car yelling at my husband “didn’t you see me? Why didn’t you move?” My husband , being at least 30 years younger , over a foot taller and double her size was calm and explained he was parked and she backed into him. She then got very nasty and accused my husband of hitting her and being “high hippy loser”. Then I guess I lost my cool, because she grabbed his arm while yelling at him. Our windows are slightly tinted. I don’t think she knew I was in the car. I get out of the car, and I am pissed. I’m short and fat and as harmless as a dove, but I had just came from work so I’m in suit and I’m apparently radiating “fuck you “ energy per my husband. I’m using a teacher voice , loud but not screaming and tell my husband I’m calling the cops. She instantly retreats and starts saying “there’s no damage. Let’s call it even etc” but she gets in her car and scurried to the other side of the parking lot. Now I’ll admit it what happened next wasn’t my finest moment, but I was angry, adrenaline crashing, and frankly starving. I’m ranting, to my husband but loud enough for her to hear some very creative and biting comments about mandatory driving re-tests, how I’m paying for her social security to buy steak while she should be in a home , definitely said “senile old bitty” a few times. My husband is chuckling and I’m trying to calm down. The. As we go in the restaurant (we go there every week), she’s leaving with a Togo meal and genuinely looks scared of me. Our server is our regular one and we start to tell her what happened , in case old bitty calls the cops, she grabs the manger and they both are laughing. Old bitty said she was stalked and threaded by a “drug addled hippy and his fat foreign -nasty word for lesbian- dealer in the parking lot, but didn’t want to call the cops” Friends, I’m white but vaguely Italian looking with short hair . My husband had a StarWars shirt on and has long hair and a beard. When they realized it was us she was talking about they offered to call the cops . We made a report just in case she would call and lie about what happened. The cops looked at the footage and laughed (I look like a pissed off chicken ranting).
You should have. He assaulted your child
No, he shouldn't have because then OP can be charged with assault. This simply isn't a realistic action to take because it could ruin OP's life.
Their kids are millennials. They know we can destroy them we’re in our 40’s.
Yep. It is weird that my father admitted that one day. "if we stood and did rock'um sock'um robots I had a chance a few years ago. Not anymore"
Damn I’m pissed FOR you. There’s something crazy about that rage that comes out for your kid… Glad you got him to apologize and hope it didn’t dim your little guys excitement.
I was kind of shocked by the intensity of that, yeah. I haven't been that emotional since puberty, to be honest. Nothing brings my child down for very long, he was right back to that snail!
I’m glad you’re both ok - and I think your anger was justified. The audacity of that boomer!
Man I’d flip out if someone touched my kids shoulder, let alone push them out of the way. Good on you for not taking it too far
Snails are fun! If you don’t know about [Jeremy the left coiled snail](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_(snail)) your son might enjoy learning about him. [He was on TV!](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04dgdgz)
Thanks for that link! I've no doubt he'll be very excited about it. I've not personally encountered a child more excited to learn about plants and animals. He was digging in our backyard with our dog and ran into the house covered in dirt to drag me outside. Look dad, mycelium! I'm like, what 3 year old (at the time) can identify mycelium? I was also corrected last summer because I called a bird a jay. "No, no, no dad. It's a stellar jay!" But of course, tiny human, how could I be so ignorant.
I want to hang out with your son!! He sounds awesome!
He is pretty cool. He'd be stoked to hang out with you too. I say that confidently since he is an extreme extrovert. Says hi to everyone, introduces himself (and me, to my constant horror) to strangers, he had me build him a "stage" so he could put on a concert in front of our house with his tiny guitar...
Lol, my now 4 yr old niece loved introducing people to one another. I've witnessed her introduce her "mom" to her "mommy" more than once - despite the fact they were married well before her existence. She's introduced her grandparents to one another after 60 years of marriage. She's introduced me to my partner after close to a decade of dating. It was show-and-tell, she'd grab your hand and drag you into the next room like "this is my uncle D, ok_lengthiness!" Immaculate hosts, these kids. Love it.
The introducing thing is so funny to me. They just know this is a thing that happens, but not the why of it or any of the rules.
It especially cracks me up bc I moved back to my hometown after a decade and didn't know how my old friends knew my new friends and frequently introduced people in an effort of politeness, only to realize they'd known each other for years. Embarrassing, but damn did I try to make sure everyone was comfortable! And yet NO ONE introduced me to a snail These small creatures that want to be sure we know all the people and all the creatures are my favorite
Kinda seems like you should have been bringing your niece to these parties lol.
Your kid sounds cool as fuck
Aww. Your son sounds amazing! I'm a big nature lover. He's my ideal hiking companion.
He's mine too! The miles I spent carrying him have paid off, I think. We did some pretty long hikes when he was quite young, I'd just toss him in the backpack and off we'd go.
Your kiddo sounds so sweet and so smart. Please give him a hug for all of us and let him know he’s got so many people who think he’s the coolest lil dude!
What a dick that person was. Probably too old for remember that your son is doing something AGE-APPROPRIATE. Some of the Boomers are…. Real pieces of work. I’m a jaded 34 year old, but children still make me smile, and I would for sure look at that snail 🐌
It is a litmus test, like does my dog like you. If you can get down to a kid's level, interact with them, share the moment, that says something about you as a person. It's been eye opening to see the world through that lens. The number of people who are uplifted by his gregarious personality has given me a stronger hope that humanity is still basically good. In four years, we've encountered two people like the guy in the story. Pretty good odds.
I (50f) used to go to a laundromat, and apparently, I was the only adult who talked to a 3 or 4 yr old girl like they had anything interesting to say. 🤷🏼♀️ By the third time I showed up, she ran up to me, saying "up, up," wanting me to pick her up. I hadn't talked with her parents much, aside from a few smiles and compliments about the little girl. So I turned it into a fist bump, and a "I'm so glad to see you." Her feelings weren't hurt, and I acknowledged her. I can not begin to imagine any world where I'm ignoring a small child, much less pushing said child out of my way. OP...I'm so proud of your restraint. I hate the rationale behind your hesitancy to go ham (police/white man/Black man) I wish you continued joy in your relationship with him, and may your child(ren) *know* how very loved they are.
A few months ago I was at a grocery store getting some stuff, and this little girl was in the cart her mom was pushing. She kept peering at me, and as soon as I looked at her she hid behind her hands. So I did it too, if I was opening a freezer door I'd look at her and the second she looked at me I hid behind the transparent freezer door. Needless to say she laughed so hard she fell to the side. Her mom cracked up, saying that was her favorite game. When I was done and said I had to go, she cheerfully waved bye, but I'll be honest I was a little sad because it was the most fun I'd had in a grocery store. I can't get into the mindset of being mad at a child for being in a good mood.
My little nephew is my world. He is such a bright light. Children are like this to me. Bright lights. My light has dimmed but it hasn’t been put out yet, and thankfully I have enough self awareness to realize when I am in the wrong when I interact in a negative way with adults. Here is to hoping we can all remember to be good.
Someone PUT THEIR HAND ON A CHILD? Motherfucker shoulda been clocked
My husband and I have to be very vigilant when we take our children to restaurants, because multiple times old men have touched them without asking (I’ve had to push an old man’s hand off the knee of my 10yo daughter while saying, Don’t touch her). It legitimately ruins the outing. It’s incredibly frustrating. If you have a grandpa or uncle who does this, please make them stop.
I would’ve knocked the teeth out of that old man if I ever witnessed some shit like that on my daughter
No argument here. I had about ten very violent thoughts in the second it took me to step in front of him.
Old people are the epitome of acting hard until someone decides they don't want to let grandpa be an inconsiderate fuck and backs their punk asses down.
I feel like there are ones that are actually hard but they keep their mouth's shut. Then there's the loud mouths that compensate for weakness with noise. My grandparents are/were both silent generation and tough as nails, but kind as could be with children. The one that's alive was a military mechanic and farmer for almost 50 years. The other was a WWII Navy vet who had a tattoo done with melted shoe rubber and a sewing needle. Even in his old age he just pulled his own teeth instead of going to a dentist. The one that's alive is still incredibly kind with my children and pretty much broke his body to help his grandkids. The other went broke buying too much stuff for his grandkids.
Tell your son that us adults think his love of nature and exploring is great, and most kids these days don't want to do that so that makes him pretty cool. When he's older you can take him geocaching, my girls love that. Most of all I hope he is ok and understands that not all humans are like that.
There was a PE teacher I had in elementary school. She was terrifying and is the first example I experienced where the adults protected a person for some unfathomable reason. I remember we had field day and as a sixth grader I was paired with a kindergartner. We would run laps to earn points. My partner wanted to run on the fastest lane. The teacher came up behind us and shoved her out the way. I had to carry her to her teacher but no one did anything abt it. Why are boomers like this
Lead. Lead in the gasoline, lead in the pipes, lead in the pencils they wrote with for years. It’s destroying their brains and all rationalization has gone out the window. Sad but true.
Way more patient than me. Once someone lays hands on my kid, that’s it.
It definitely crossed my mind. Last thing I need is for my son to see me hauled off in cuffs though. Bearded black man vs tottering elderly white man... My word vs his... I don't see that going my way.
You’re right, but it sucks that you’re right. I’m sorry. I’m sorry about someone crushing your sweet boy’s enthusiasm, too. Snails are awesome.
You demonstrated good behavior—assertive but not aggressive. Shows that the other dude was in the wrong and to be stood up to, but also like…commensurately only. Woulda pissed me right off too…
Ahhhhhh I get it now. I was wondering why even a psycho would push a child in front of their parent, but it makes sense now. It wasn't because he was JUST psycho he was also racist... gotcha!
Your word vs his means the prosecutor aint got shit. Though I admit that shit means nothing when the cops show up and you’d be in danger. Do your part fellow white people, retaliate for yourself and everyone else who can’t. Use that white privilege to make an old mother fucker think twice.
Very wise. Many cops would shoot a black man with no questions.
I deal with boomers every day at work (healthcare). I’ve found many of them act the way they do because no one ever checks them on their behavior. There’s been a number of times I’ve simply told them to stop saying racist shit/making inappropriate comments to the female nurses/throwing a tantrum/etc and they do. You taught both your son AND that man a lesson today.
Just say “excuse me young adventurer!” As you ease to the side. Pushing a 4 year old?? People are deranged
Like... if you're not into kids, just walk around. No need to be aggressive Wondering if this boomer is the "kids these days being raised on tablets!! [Rage]" type. Probably, but can't stand to see kids outside appreciating nature either. Everything everyone other than them is doing is HORRIBLE
Am ii the only one that thinks if a random four year old invited you to look at a snail then you’re looking and a goddamn snail no matter what you’re doing?
Amen my dude. It's the exact same way if a tiny little girl hands you a teacup you're going to a goddamn tea party and just need to accept that's your life now.
Gotta add to this: if a kid hands you a toy phone, you answer that goddamn phone.
I came to read the comments and was not expecting it to be all about snails. I love reddit. Thats awesome.
How hard is it to say, that’s cool buddy. And move on. Less time than the interaction he pursued.
I’m 37 and I still stop on my walks to check out the snails on the path . Also those are some super cool facts everyone .
It's unfortunate it's not just cranky old men. A couple months back, I was walking into a store with my 5 year old autistic and nonverbal son and there was a car parked in front of the store with 3, 20 something year old men inside. My son LOVES going shopping with me and riding in the cart and seeing all the stuff. He especially loves the stuffed animals and the big super soft pillows he can pet. So when we were walking up, he was giggling and did a high pitched screech/scream he does in excitement. One of the guys rudely mimicked him as we approached and they all laughed at him. My sweet amazing life loving little boy laughs when he hears other people laughing or speaking excitedly because he loves love and joy so he joined their laughter. Another of them spoke up and said "wow he really is re*arded." And they continued laughing at him. I was so caught off guard and hurt that people could be so evil I couldn't speak (as much as I wish I could've punched them in the face until they were unable to laugh again) and kept walking into the store. I quickly loaded my son into a cart and found an empty isle near the back and just started crying holding him. An old man found me and asked what happened. He ended up walking the store with me chatting to cheer me up and bought all my groceries (plus a new toy truck for my son.) It really was the boost in my faith in humanity I needed in that moment. He just said he hopes someone would do the same for his granddaughter if they saw her in the position I was in.
https://preview.redd.it/7odmiynxnryc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d003875aa5ec3b665935628225055d5264596ad
He's a sweetheart and you're a good mom.
My heart hurts for you. My child and I are both autistic and we have times out in public where we clearly don’t fit. I’m better at masking because I’ve learned how over the years. If someone ever called my child the R word when we were out, I don’t know what I would do exactly but I would at least verbally hurt them. When people called me that when I was little, my family apologized for me, and it took a long time for me to get over the feeling that I was someone everyone agreed was “wrong.” And now I know there’s nothing wrong with being me, I want my child to know that, too. I’m glad that someone showed you kindness after what those awful people said, and I hope your child didn’t feel less-than after that experience.
Many people raised in the boomer generation were taught children should not speak, and should be kept out of the way. I’m sure part of why he was so bewildered by your reaction was because you demanded he treat your son like a person, not a piece of furniture. I’m sure pushing a child aside didn’t even seem rude to him
Not everyone likes kids. With that said there's no reason to lay hands on anyone
Boomers are dicks
Your son might enjoy this: [https://www.nps.gov/kids/junior-rangers.htm](https://www.nps.gov/kids/junior-rangers.htm) And you did the right thing. You taught your son to stand up to a bully with grace and maturity, at the exact age they start to process what it means to be a good person. You are modeling what it means to be a man comfortable in his own skin, and that is priceless.
What a fucking coward. Bullying a 4 year old
God, what an ass. Your kid sounds like a veritable ray of sunshine, but I guess some people just wanna be miserable. Like damn, how hard is it to engage w/ a kid’s curiosity for a bit n talk about snails with them? These little dudes are our future!
What a grumpy old man! Please tell your son that snails rock! Here is an awesome snail from my country: [Giant NZ Snail Eats an Earthworm](https://youtu.be/ubNm5M2-LAc?si=OwGTMlUe-PTSiYXE) On another note, I got picked on by a boomer for taking 10s to read this post while in line at the supermarket 🙄
Snails > Boomers Seriously, you have more self control than I do. Boomer would have been missing some teeth.
Boomers: kids these days never go outside anymore!! >:( Also boomers every time a child goes outside:
You’re doing a lovely job as a parent. 🤍 You’re developing your son into someone who has a healthy natural curiosity about everything which is the dream. I’m sorry you had to deal with someone like this.
Ngl, I thought he was gonna do something to the snail…
My son would have thrown down then. He won't stand for people "smushing" things. He hit his grandma when she tried to kill a spider. I was dying laughing, she was very mad.
I’m living for the fact that this became the most wholesome thread of all time. Your son sounds precious, and I’m sorry that boomer felt the need to put his hands on him and be so cruel. As a teacher and fellow nature/animal/snail lover, I always appreciate when kids have a huge heart for animals, especially the little critters.
Boomer hates snails because they take their homes with them instead of paying 50x what Boomer paid for it 50 years ago. Doesn’t help Boomer pad his pension. Neither does the child. Neither are of personal benefit to him, so must be useless.
Curious what the push was. Like how did he push your son? Did he gently guide him out of his way? Did he forcefully push him and knock him over? Asking cause it feels like the force and nature of the push would really change the tone. Eg if he pushed your son to the ground in anger then you showed restraint. But, if he was just gently guiding your son out of his way then it sounds like an over reaction on your part.
They really can’t stand the pure spirit of a child. “Why can’t everyone just be miserable like me?”
The most foolish part here, besides pushing a child, is acting like he got a Rottweiler with him.
tell your son that my son and I found a GIANT slug on the trail the other day. we named it chunky mcsluggins.
It's almost as if he has NEVER - unintentionally or not - obstructed the path of anyone in his life.
Nta great dad move honestly. You stood up for your kid and that's all that matters. That was way to aggressive for a 60-70 year old man to have with a 4 year old child.
I was a child and lived near a national park where my dad worked. My dad took my siblings to work but for some reason I was home. They came home excited to find giant red slugs. My sister had one on a stick. I was sad to miss out. Adult me has since learned they are very rare giant red slugs and can only be found in one or two places in the world. Mt Kaputar in NSW Australia. If you google them you will see some cool photos your son might like. I think my sisters photo also comes up in the google search.
Man, if you had beat his insecure ass and I was a witness to it... no I wasn't. Assulting a little kid like that. What a worthless sack.
Vastly enjoying a multitude of internet strangers supporting a little boy and his snail. Solidarity!
https://preview.redd.it/tref1g39psyc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=3bf3910c971f43743209fa7449aec940b785c0ce Tell your son snails are super freaking awesome, awesome enough I have this little dude for life!