From the title, perhaps you’re expecting me to talk about how we need to create a safe environment for our kids to protect them from smut, abuse, and Satanists.

Um, no such luck.

If anything, I think we’ve gone too far in making the world safe for kids, or at least that’s the pretext that has been used to silence lots of voices and crush free expression. The FCC silences real radio because of ‘the children,’ and apparently seeing a nipple during the superbowl was also scandalous because of ‘the children.’

Don’t get me wrong: I’m with Whiteny Houston here. Children are our future. But we desperately need adults-only spaces, and the encroaching worry about whether children will hear the word ‘fuck,’ see a nipple or a asscheek, and/or learn that sometimes people do crazy things has gone perhaps a little too far.

The latest case? I heard this morning on the radio that the Toronto Pride parade may be made more ‘family-friendly,’ which would mean an end to the buttless leather chaps and the million other kinds of fun nudity and ‘alternative’ behavior that can make any pride parade worth the trouble. I understand that an increasing number of gays and lesbians are raising children, and that’s commendable. But a gay pride parade isn’t the place for them if you’re concerned about them seeing someone’s ass, or learning to call someone ‘daddy’ who actually isn’t a member of their family.

Adults need their own spaces, and sometimes those spaces aren’t appropriate for children. What’s so bad about that? Keep your kids away if you don’t like it, but please don’t expect people to censor themselves or protect your kids for you.