Why not just say, "No, thank you"?

I realize, that much as we were told back in the day, that it takes different strokes to move the world. But try as I might, sometimes I just don't understand why people find the need to act like total jerks.

A woman in Baldwin, New York, decided she didn't want her seven-year-old son to attend his classmate Sophia's birthday party.

Does she not approve of tie-dye parties because the 70s are over? Does she think that at this age, boys shouldn't go to little girls' birthday parties?

No, none of those things. She didn't want her son to attend the party because Sophia is raised by her gay fathers.

But instead of showing her son how to handle things with class, this mother wrote on the invitation, "Tommy will NOT attend. I do not believe in what you do and will not subject my innocent son to your 'lifestyle.' I'm sorry Sophia has to grow up this way. If you have an issue or need to speak to me: [number erased]."

Seriously. As misguided as I clearly think it is to penalize a little girl for who her parents are (much as I'd like to penalize this woman's son), why was this behavior necessary? This wasn't a party where the kids were going to a same-sex marriage ceremony, a food bank helping people with AIDS, or a Human Rights Campaign Fund event. This was a little girl's birthday party. I'd wager a guess that the so-called "lifestyle" of this girl's fathers would have closely resembled everyone else's.

If there's a bright spot, when this story was originally posted on Huffington Post, the woman's phone number was still listed on her response. I'd be willing to bet she got more than a few phone calls from people telling her what they thought of her behavior.

Raising your child in the midst of ignorance and prejudice will do more harm than going to the birthday party of a girl with two dads.