i think the argument is that children exhibit selfishness and violence out of some sort of innocence and that adults should know better…

… most don’t though.

The truth is that parents probably spend more time than non-parents wrestling with the question of how to deal with other people’s obnoxious offspring in an acceptable manner, because there is no easy answer, and parents are more likely to be exposed to lots of kids.

I don’t agree that many people find greed/selfishness/violence cute in kids, though maybe that’s just because I don’t find them cute. Certainly non-parents rarely find them cute.

You’re always going to run into parents whose range of acceptable behavior towards their kids is so narrow as to preclude even allowing strangers to interact with them at all, but I think you’re relatively safe with most situations if you speak politely, with respect, to the child.

And often, persisting in speaking to the kid magically brings the parents around, and that changes the dynamic (admittedly not always for the better).

Do I sound cranky? I might be, tonight.