Miserable Parent Misses the Point of Kids Painting Kindness Rocks by Throwing Away the Ones That Aren’t up to Their Standards

In a truly heartless example of “they had us in the first half, not gonna lie,” a post was shared on Twitter where a parent wanted folks to weigh in on whether or not they were being petty for, um, throwing away rocks children painted on?!

These, quote, “ratchet ass rocks” appeared around the neighborhood with positive messages like HELLO and SMILE (the audacity, I guess?). According to this parent, these rocks paled in comparison to the rocks their own daughters painted.

Yeah.

They didn’t just throw the rocks away because they didn’t like them.

They threw them away because they thought the rocks didn’t look as good as their daughters’ rocks, oh, and because this parent thinks they invented the idea of “kindness rocks” (spoiler: they didn’t) and feels that these other kids, quoting again, “in the ‘hood couldn’t stand to let someone else get all the attention.”

via GIPHY

Originally shared on the Twitter account Best of Nextdoor, I should’ve known the story was gonna go sideways since the account is for sharing “quality neighborhood drama.”

Okay, honestly, I’ve spent enough time over at Am I The Asshole to know that the story would go wrong, I just didn’t expect, well, THIS:

It starts out simple enough. A parent talking about how their two daughters worked so hard to paint these rocks to spread kindness throughout their neighborhood. People in the area have given good feedback on the rocks, as one does when children are being both positive and creative. But then you remember that this parent is asking if they’re being “petty,” so you’re waiting to get to the part where someone, I dunno, leaves a note on their door that tells them to stop promoting joy through the artistic efforts of a child.

What a fool I was to think that would be the twist. Instead, the parent goes completely off the rails, dropping into a sudden burst of profanity and words like “ratchet” and white hand clap emojis that make me picture some suburban Karen who would probably say the n-word (hard er) under her breath if she found out these other rocks were painted by a Black child, then call the police for ruining the property value of her house because the rocks make her azaleas look bad or whatever.

Karen proceeds to be appalled at the fact that her daughters spreading kindness has inspired other children to … spread kindness…? Not only does Karen accuse these new rocks of being part of a “mom’s shitty homeschool project,” but she also makes the leap in logic that the new painters just couldn’t stand the fact that someone else was getting attention in the neighborhood.

You know, Karen, perhaps your daughters encouraged other children to keep up with the kindness, which is the entire point of this kind of project, right? You could be happy about that … or you could be a total cockroach and throw the other rocks away.

“Take your shit ass rocks somewhere else,” is how the post ends.

It’s so infuriating that I almost forgot that this parent had a question, so let’s circle back to it: is it petty to throw away the rocks? Well, I’d say it’s immature, disheartening, and abysmal, but I suppose we can throw petty in there as well.

Didn’t think this needed to be said, but I guess it does, so: if you start an art project with your children for the purpose of gaining the attention you’re lacking in your own life because you’re clearly getting off on the neighbors praising this idea of yours, don’t take out your frustrations on other children who actually understand the kindness message you’re supposedly trying to spread throughout the community.

I hope the parents of those other children have them paint rocks to set on your sidewalk, then you step on one of the rocks like it’s a stray Lego.

(Image: Disney)

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Briana Lawrence

Briana (she/her - bisexual) is trying her best to cosplay as a responsible adult. Her writing tends to focus on the importance of representation, whether it’s through her multiple book series or the pieces she writes. After de-transforming from her magical girl state, she indulges in an ever-growing pile of manga, marathons too much anime, and dedicates an embarrassing amount of time to her Animal Crossing pumpkin patch (it's Halloween forever, deal with it Nook)

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