One of the pillars of the trans movement is the twisted notion that children are wise and mature enough to decide things for themselves without parental guidance.
“The Andy Griffith Show” simply but lucidly addressed the danger of this belief in an episode called “Opie’s Hobo Friend,” which aired Nov 13, 1961, well before the trans movement gained traction.
In the episode, Sheriff Taylor, played by Andy Griffith, pulled his squad car up to a worldly hobo, played by Buddy Ebsen, who was squatting on public land making a fishing lure.
Taylor began talking with the hobo, giving him a lighthearted interrogation over a chicken dinner and pie that he stole and shared with Andy’s son, Opie.
Letting the half-hearted excuses for the theft go, Taylor said, “Well that’s not why I’m here … It’s about Opie.”
The hobo asked Taylor if there’s something wrong. “Did he eat too much?”
“No, it goes a little deeper than that … There seems to be something wrong with his thinking. He’s gotten a little twisted on things lately, like being able to tell the difference between right and wrong” Taylor replied.
He continued, “Not that that’s an easy thing. There are a lot of grownups still struggling with that same problem, but it’s especially difficult for a youngster cuz’ things rub off on them so easy.”
Taylor went on to suggest that the hobo wasn’t “fit company” for Opie.
The hobo then responded, using an attempt to appeal to moral relativism, “Maybe I do look at things differently than other people. Is that wrong?”
Who’s to say that the boy would be happier your way or mine? Why not let him decide?” he continued.
“No, I’m afraid it don’t work that way,” Taylor replied. “You can’t let a young’n decide for himself. He’ll grab at the first flashy thing with shiny ribbons on it. Then, when he finds out there’s a hook in it, it’s too late. Wrong ideas come packaged with so much glitter it’s hard to convince ‘em that other things might be better in the long run. All a parent can do is say ‘wait,’ ‘trust me’ and try to keep temptation away.”
The scene is cleverly done in that the hobo was weaving ribbons around a hook as they spoke, having already given one such “gift” to Opie in an earlier scene. One could argue this is a subtle nod to grooming, which is another pillar of the trans movement.
The hobo, understanding Taylor’s less than subtle hint, agreed to leave. He then said, “That wasn’t so difficult. Your problem is solved.”
