A whale swimming in the golden jade pool under the sun

When I was in preschool, my parents often encouraged their friends to ask me about the colors of our national flag. I was three years old and always late for school. I didn’t know they would raise our national flag before school started. I thought the flag could be in any color I like.

My earnest reply would be pink because I was a little girl who loved bright colors. Instead of teaching me about the national flag, the grownups, including my parents, would make fun of me, making me ashamed of myself for not knowing such a simple thing as a fucking national flag.

Now that I’m a grownup, I swear I’ll color anything any fucking color I fucking want, flag or not flag. If your kids make a mess on their coloring books, just think for a second that they’re kids. And you’re the adults here, so leave them be and fucking shut up.

–Petra