He told BFM TV: "Children who see me learn tolerance of others. When they are adults, they may be less likely to be racist or homophobic, and they will not look at disabled people as if they were something from a circus."
Should've known he was a member of *that* crowd. A sense of entitlement seems to be a mandatory requirement.
Young children are incredibly tolerant of others when left to their own devices so this bloke is full of it. He's got delusions of grandeur, that because of him, children learn "tolerance". The only thing he should be teaching children is how to count, how to read and write etc, not trying to indoctrinate them with his identity politics.
Children might question why someone looks different from them eg "why is he in a wheelchair?", "why is her skin that colour?" etc but that is their curiosity. They're not being racist, homophobic or any other bad thing which a certain crowd likes to pretend is happening unless *they* do something about it. It's all about a saviour complex. *That* crowd like to make up problems just so they can give themselves a pat on the back when they feel that they do something to combat the imaginary problem that they created in their minds.
I think he raises an interesting point. Do we have to stick within rigid appearance expectations to be able to perform a task? Is a decent life lesson for kids that scary looking doesn't always mean bad and more importantly just because someone looks nice doesn't mean they are?
I think he's an idiot. Something is only "scary looking" if it provokes a fear response. This can vary between individuals hence why some people like clowns and some don't. A fear response is a survival mechanism eg "fight or flight". If something is "scary looking", it's normally because it is dangerous in some way. There are exceptions to the rule on both sides, but let's not pretend every nasty looking thing is all sweetness and light beneath the exterior.
This guy is assuming that children are automatically intolerant (they're not, hate and prejudices are taught) and that it will only be because of him that these children grow up "tolerant". He's completely ignoring all the other factors in the child's life that help shape a child's personality eg parents, family, friends, even the children themselves. It seems as far as he is concerned, it is only because of him and him alone that the children will grow up into decent human beings.
How many of the children actually look at disabled people as if they were "something from a circus"? The answer is probably none, it's just him inflicting his identity politics on others and accusing innocent people of being guilty of something they're not guilty of, just so he can "save" the day.
