We Are All Toddler Parents
Last week a friend who doesn't live in Juneau sent me screenshots of an online rant and said, “I think our neighbors complained about us on Reddit!!!” The Reddit post began, “Hello neighbor from the [redacted] block, Launching mortars last night was a really inconsiderate move.” Uh oh. It was my friend’s block, and while my friend had not been home, her family had apparently launched New Year’s Eve fireworks. The post incited a predictable onslaught of anonymous vitriol. Outrage and allegations built. At some point the original poster added: “The thing that gets me the most is that they are a very nuclear family with a bunch of rowdy teen boys and the parents were the ones lighting them off. These are the same people that threw a rager and left beer cans and puke in my yard.” Most of this did not sound right. “I don’t think it’s you,” I reassured my friend. “Yeah,” she said, “We haven’t had a party here in years.” But soon a hand-written note showed up on their doorstep.