Things like this always bother me on a base level.
There is a base movement that crosses both sides of the political divide that holds (what I feel is a utterly wrong assumptions) that if you hide something from view, you protect people (children) On the Liberal side this manifests in the 'Hide all Bullying' mantra of late. On the Conservative side it's 'hide all alternative sexualities'
But in both cases it's all "For the Children's safety" as if ideas are infections that you can save them from by hiding them away. Like real infections, you can dodge them for a bit by living in isolation, but odds are you are still going to be infected at some point in normal daily life.
The answer is not isolation it's inoculation. Kids need to be exposed to all sort so of ideas that are out there in the wilds, while a parent or guardian can discuss them, and help the child see why people act thusly, and why you feel they should take one side of the debate over the other. In short, kids need to have chances to think, and work stuff out with supervision from adults.
The fear of other, or of stupidity or ignorance in others is the argument made against this sort of behavior. And it's a compelling one that often leads to censorship and the endlessly futile attempt to hide all the pointy ideas that might poke into little Tommy and Sally's minds.
Kids Bully each other. It's not right, but it IS. Lucy is a Bully. She hits people to get her way. She yells to get her way. Charlie Brown tends to submit to it. He IS bullied.
The fear that children will take the lesson that Bullying is funny and possibly something to do is what drives the desire to censor this cartoon. But most children recognize exactly what is happening in the story, and very few of them will ever say they "like" Lucy, or want to be like her. They recognize her for what she is, because they have had friends do the same to them. And any parent that asked their kids what they thought about a pulled away football (And fess up parents, you've messed with your toddler that way at last once right?) and you'll hear they think its wrong.
We can't bubble wrap the world. And often it doesn't need to be.
Myriads
