Let's teach our children that it's good and right for them to take up space, to be heard and seen, to have what they need. Children are fully human, even if they are small humans.
Let's also teach them that if the space they're taking up is causing someone else to become smaller, unheard, unseen, disrespected, dismissed, or lacking what they need, then they might be taking up more than their fair share of space.
The next time I walk down a sidewalk, on one side, in my lane, and some fool comes barreling down the middle of the sidewalk towards me with no intention of leaving space for me to continue walking straight forward on a public sidewalk, expecting me to fully step aside and stop in my tracks until he has passed, I will continue forward and fully shoulder-check him instead, and my shoulders are pointy and strong. Then when he exclaims in indignation, "Hey! What the fuck?!" and gets in my face, I will smile sweetly and say, "Stay in your lane, bro."
Jaclyn Edds Konczal | January 2022