Man Says Adults Who Are Mean To Their Parents Are The ‘Scum’ Of The Earth
He gives some grace to the children of “bad parents.”
Ckstockphoto / CanvaPro As many of us spend our teenage years wishing our parents would back off and the early part of our adulthood focused on our own lives, parents oftentimes don’t get the love and appreciation they deserve. Before you know it, they’re gone, leaving you to look back on almost a decade that could have been spent cherishing the time together.
Content creator, Trevor Abney, posted a video expressing this sentiment and urged people to change their perspective now and start being nicer to their parents.
This young man called people who were ‘mean or rude’ to their parents the ‘scum’ of the Earth.
“People that are mean to their parents are the ‘scum’ of this Earth …” Abney said, “I’m talking about normal people who are mean to their parents for absolutely no reason.”
While he gave a pass to people who had absent or “bad” parents growing up, he condemned some of his close friends' behavior and called them out for taking their parents for granted.
“I was with one of my buddies … his mom called him, and he answered the phone and said ‘What? What do you want?’” Abney explained. “Dude! That is your mother! Why are you talking to her like that?” he responded.
He admitted to being a teenager and not appreciating his parents but found that the older he got, the more respect and appreciation he gave them. For some of his friends, that was not the case and he was shocked to see that many people in his generation were taking their parents’ love, affection, and sacrifices for granted.
Maturity taught Abney the value of having a healthy relationship with his parents.
Spending time with another friend, this realization became apparent. He recalled walking into his friend’s home and hearing his friend call his mother by her first name. “Dude, that is your mother!” he said. “Have some respect.”
Even without having children of his own, he recognized all the work that his parents had done since he was a kid. Getting older only deepened his love for his parents and he couldn’t help but call it “insanity” when he saw his friends’ blatant disregard.
Photo: Georgijevic / Canva Pro
“I really do think this is something that matures with age,” he said, “and the more you grow up, the more you realize how much your parents really do for you.”
He admitted to disregarding his parents' advice as a kid, but now he shamelessly asks them for advice “24/7.” He pointedly added, “You never know when the last day you’ll see them is.”
The lesson seemed to be that the ‘less you rely on your parents’ the more you start to ‘appreciate them.’
Other Gen Z and Millennial creators on TikTok have shared their thoughts about the common trend of disrespect towards many parents today. The Ya Neva Know podcast on TikTok hosted two younger men who talked about this phenomenon and how their perspectives shifted over the years.
“We're at an age where we rely on our parents the least, but appreciate them the most,” one of the men shared on the podcast. “My brother is getting married,” he said, “I had to get a new suit and get it fitted.” Instead of his mom telling him, her fully adult son, to just go and do it, she made him an appointment to get fitted and assured him that she’d go with him.
It was gestures like these that many took for granted.
Reframing your perspective is a reminder to appreciate your parents.
Jesse Itzler, an entrepreneur and author, shared some motivating thoughts on spending time with parents, no matter what your age. Typically full of aspirational and uplifting content, this episode of the Rich Roll Podcast was a humbling reminder of how quickly time passes.
“Let’s say your parents live to be 80,” he started, “you would say ‘I have five more years with my parents,' but that’s not the case. You only have 10 more days with your parents if you see them twice a year.”
Especially during the holiday season when everyone is stressed, overworked, and focused on materialistic things, it’s important to take a moment to think about what you’re grateful for.
In the blink of an eye, your parents could be gone. Reflect on the last interaction or the last year of interactions, you’ve had with them, and ask yourself how loved you think they feel. A simple phone call, text, or hug could mean the world to you both. Don’t take them for granted.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a news and entertainment writer at YourTango focusing on pop culture analysis and human interest stories.