Sunday, July 12, 2009

What would you do...

if you saw someone smacking their kid around in public?
Posted by at

8 comments:

Bill Mill said...

I've seen parents hitting children in Hampden twice. Both times I saw one slap and I didn't say anything.

One of the times I thought about it, in the park near my house, but there was a big group of parents with just a few children, and they all had seen it without saying anything.

I don't know what the right thing to do there was, it was a very unnecessarily hard hit and I was extremely angry.

(re: the racial angle from the story, all these people were white, as am I.)

Sun Jul 12, 11:56:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said...

Having been an abused child myself, I would have called the police immediately. If you challenge the parent, the parent will punish the child later. But if you get the police involved and get child protective services involved there is a chance something could change.

It's tricky because when you're an abused child, you still feel attached to your parent and think that they're hitting you because of something you did.

When a person steps in, you feel humiliated for making your parent hit you.

At least that's what I experienced and have learned is typical. I wish someone had intervened by calling social services to get me out of the home.

Mon Jul 13, 04:13:00 AM EDT
helix said...

I would say something if I had seen the same incident. ONE slap is understandable, without knowing the situation, you can't really judge too much from that.

But several slaps to a child is just unwarranted under any circumstance. To be honest, I think I would speak up not so much because I feel that would make a difference, but rather to just STOP the beating because it is so unbearable to watch.

Mon Jul 13, 08:39:00 AM EDT
ppatin said...

It depends on the circumstances. I'm no anti-corporal punishment zealot, but smacking a 4-year old numerous times in public is not ok.

Mon Jul 13, 09:18:00 AM EDT
ppatin said...

BTW, I loved this comment that was below the NYTimes article:

"I once told a girl who was hitting her kid, “you should have just had an abortion, because clearly you don’t love or deserve your child.” She screamed at me but stopped hitting her kid."

Mon Jul 13, 09:20:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...

I'd do what I have done in the past : Have someone else call the cops and stop the abuse from happening. I've been assaulted back and even arrested but I CAN'T STAND AND WILL NOT TOLERATE SOME A**HOLE FROM HITTING A DEFENSLESS CHILD. Abusers always pick on someone they know can't defend themselves. I know, I've been that victim........

Mon Jul 13, 11:55:00 AM EDT
Maurice Bradbury said...

thank you for speaking up anon.
I wonder what the law is, what would happen if you called the police.

I don't think one slap is understandable. (Well, maybe understandable, but not okay)

Mon Jul 13, 11:57:00 AM EDT
Anonymous said...

I witnessed a man beating a young boy with a belt at Lake Montebello. I called 911 and by the time a patrol car finally showed up (over 10 minutes later), the man and boy were long gone ...

I would still call again.

Thu Jul 16, 12:33:00 PM EDT

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