In today’s world, where common sense seems to be on vacation, a story has emerged that is equal parts baffling and oddly amusing. Legend Whitaker, a sprightly 6-year-old, celebrated his birthday in what should have been a joyful moment, but instead it turned into a fumble of epic proportions. His teacher decided that teaching kids how to celebrate birthdays should include a little song that has apparently not aged well: “Happy birthday to you, you look like a monkey and you smell like one too!” Now, if that chorus doesn’t scream “awkward,” I don’t know what does!

First off, let’s pause and marvel at just how far we’ve come since the days when birthday songs were just about frosting and fun, not throwing a kid’s self-esteem into the lions’ den. You have to imagine Legend smiling proudly at his classmates, balloons floating above, and then boom! What’s that? A lyrical roast in the middle of a birthday bash? It’s safe to say that his mother, Desire Prather, had a full-on “Mama Bear” moment when she was sent the video of the performance. Can you blame her? She probably thought the only harm her son would face on his birthday was a sugar crash after too much cake.

Now, some people might shrug it off as a silly mistake. And sure, in some circles, kids singing silly songs about calling each other monkeys might be just another Tuesday. But here’s the kicker: this isn’t just a harmless jab at a kid; it’s steeped in some seriously outdated and problematic history. Last time I checked, calling someone a monkey has a long, ugly history of racism that goes back further than your great-grandma’s recipe for fruitcake. For crying out loud, even the animals at the local zoo are shaking their heads.

There’s a chance the teacher thought, “Hey, let’s make this equal! We can poke fun at everyone!” But here’s the thing: equality doesn’t mean treating everyone unequally by serving up a slice of history mixed with comedy gold. What ever happened to teaching kids to appreciate each other’s differences and use humor to lift people up instead of playing comedy club? I can just hear her now, “I thought it would be funny!” Lady, it’s 2023, not 1923! This isn’t just tone-deaf; it’s a symphony of cluelessness.

And let’s talk about the aftermath. With the school investigating the incident, one has to wonder what exactly they’re looking into. Did they consult a historian on kids’ birthday songs? They might as well have called in the experts on 21st-century birthday etiquette—because spoiler alert: no one’s won a gold star for educating in this way! In the end, the book of surprises continues to flip, but let’s just hope next year’s rendition at Legend’s seventh birthday involves a little less monkey business and a lot more kindness. After all, at that age, the only thing kids should be smelling is birthday cake, not past prejudice!