Venting: What's with the word "kid"

Yesterday I was on the radio with the Peace Corps Volunteer of the National Youth Council of Dominica promoting our Summer Camp, 2009. It was a great experience until some callers decided to make petty, trivial comments that had nothing to do with the spirit of what was being discussed. At that moment, I understood clearly what people have been saying for a long time. Dominicans just like to talk for the sake of talking and make every non-issue the issue at hand.

First there was this calling asking about the presence of Dominicans as Peace Corps volunteers in the United States and even asking me to do some research for him. Off course, I knew exactly what he was getting at because Dominica has no peace corps service offering anybody. There is also a belief that Peace Corps volunteers are secret CIA spies who come to distabilize the country and learn its local customs in order to provide information to the United States.

Then there was this caller who made an issue with the theme of the Summer Camp: Art and Expression; Changes Lives. She wanted it changed to Arts and Expressions Changing Lives, which off course I have no big issue with because it was intended with good intent. We actually had a good conversation with the caller during the program and I did take note of her point.

But it was the third person that really just upset my spirit for the rest of the day. I was making a point and I mentioned that parents should take a greater role in raising their kids and that society should be a support system and not the main player. A few seconds after the phone rang and the caller just fired off at me:

"Mr. Delroy Registe, you should not refer to children as kids, kids are little goats, thank you very much" and she hung up. Her tone wasn't a welcoming one nor one that was gracious.

First of all, I dont mind correction, I actually take it in the spirit in which it was given, that is why I couldn't understand why I was being attacked for using the word kid. It is really issue to call the talk shows, give your point and hang up but I would have loved to have been able to respond to the lady. What made it even worse was that even while she was trying to correct my mistake, she was guilty of making one herself because my name is Delroy Williams, not Delroy Registe (Mr. Registe is a politician, Mr. Williams is a Dominican).

There are so many things that are wrong with our Dominican society, so much to talk about, so many things to try to improve but the minute someone tries to assist in whatever way they can, we find ways of reducing the person's contribution or even sidetracking from the point.

I was so upset that I cut the interview short, off course, I didn't make that obvious to the listening public. That troubled my mind for the rest of the day, I even went to search up the meaning of kid on the internet at dictionary.com and this is what I found:

Kid/kɪd/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kid] Show IPA noun, verb, kid⋅ded, kid⋅ding, adjective

– noun
1. Informal. a child or young person.
(used as a familiar form of address.)
2. a young goat.
3. leather made from the skin of a kid or goat, used in making shoes and gloves.
5. a glove made from this leather.

So now I have to wonder if there is something wrong with the word kid. Or maybe there is something wrong with using words that have multiple means. If so, then we would have a hard time using the English language. My conclusion is that the problem is with us, as human beings, who tend to put issues where are none and who always brush aside the true story for the sake of sensationalizations and making news.

Let me stop now before I say something I shouldn't. Next thing I know, someone copies my blog and provides it to Matthias Peltier and I end up on the Hot Seat on Q.95 Radio, lol.

Nesta