CarrieMpls said:

Exactly,exactly,exactly. .....How long can we get this?

razor said:

well the dad of the 4 year old was abviously NOT a reasonable person..his little son is going to learn from his father that it is OK to punch a guy to the floor BEFORE THINKING..that man is a PUNK ASS!!! i can see protecting your child but come on anyway i agree with your post
[Edited 4/20/09 7:03am]

FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT MISSED IT, ESPECIALLY THE SECOND HALF.

Cinnie said:

"At the very least" and depending on what the DS guy would do next, it might also take some shoving someone away, not just a few words. I wouldn't even know how to punch someone like that and I never have.

Somehow this whole thread changed from "can I understand how this happened from the perspectives of the people in the video" to "aww shit YOU ARE THAT DAD" from the rest of you, and I don't appreciate that at all.

JustErin said:

The difference is it would be "one to grow on", compared to mdiver saying "I see how you work now - revenge!" and you saying "I'm just not surprised (that you're an asshole)" and whatever else was being thrown around. That pissed me off.

JustErin said:

Thank you. That brings balance to this thread.


Remind me never again to show any sort of empathy to a point of view that does not directly reflect how I would personally react.

mdiver said:

Reply #231

Cinnie said:

It's very possible to empathize with a person while not agreeing with their behavior. I more or less said the same thing.

Vendetta1 said:

EXACTLY Imagine a lifetime of work with that son gone in an instant because a grown man couldn't control himself. Sickening.

LiquidGold said:

That's not the point. EVERY PARENT needs to keep tabs on their kids at all times especially considering the kind of world we live.

Vendetta1 said:

Me too.

the father had the right to react but could have done it non violently. There are much better ways to handle a situation like that.

Cinnie said:

First off, I never accused anyone of being an asshole. That's something you obviously mistakenly read into my response.

And let’s be honest here, the way you showed empathy was to basically belittle anyone that didn't agree with you by saying silly comments like below:


"oh no, not here at the org. we just say "hey ma'am, i don't appreciate all that kicking" and jump back on our motorbikes "

""Hi there, ahh ma'am? yeah over here if I could pull your attention away from the cashier for a moment. Yeah, see I didn't want to be the one to stop your DS son from kicking my son, so I just yeah, yep he just kicked him again... anyway I just wanted you to know I am soooo cool with all of this and understand what raising a DS son 3 times the size of my toddler must be. It takes a village but I was wondering if I could be your new husband and help you raise your family. I'm from the org... we don't fight, we only love to make things better."

And finally, all I said was that I am not surprised because many people tend to think in extremes - and your quotes above kinda solidified that.

Actually, finally....I still love the hell outta you.

JustErin said:

So uncanadian! My love is eternal as well

I'll bet he won't be kicking at any more kids.

Graycap23 said:

I'll bet the little kid will

PANDURITO said:

Ya, exactly. The little kid sure learned a lesson from his dad, didn't he?

And no, you can not say that the kid with DS won't kick others again.

You're making the definitive assumption that people with mental disabilities can fully understand consequences. Not true at all.

JustErin said:

The father was WAY over the top in his reaction. No question.

JustErin said:

Well you are wrong...at least in my case. I do not hit or spank or beat my kids. Never have. But I will defend them as I feel necesary! Even if it means I have to spend time in jail or give up my life to save theirs.

Sowhat said:

In the case of the maniac who is the father of my nephews, they totally get their cue from his inability to control himself. I won't ever raise my hands to my nephews yet they, at least one and likely another very soon, feels OK with raising their hands towards me.

That kid isn't likely to grow up without entitlement issues on expressing his manhood.

Sowhat said:

That's cool. It's nice to hear that!

Off topic but I was the 317th post and my birthday is 3/17!

AND I'm the 319th post!

I would like to add a few more observations....

....the video does not have any sound so it is not known if the boy with DS threatened the little boy or said anything else. That could also influence the Father's reaction. Like if the boy with DS said something like "I'll kill you" or "I'm going to hurt you" and then kicked him. There is no evidence he did say anything, but I have not seen that brought up as a possibility yet.

Also, people with disabilities like this can be even more of a threat because often they do not know their own strength or know that what they are doing is wrong. Disability or not, a big kid like this can do a lot of damage to a 4-year old in a hurry.

And finally I see many people here saying that it looked like the little boy wasn't even hurt. Well if someone shoots a gun at someone else and misses, the person that was missed is unhurt....but that does not mean the threat has gone away. What if the boy with DS was getting ready to kick the little boy again, only this time in the face????? Can you imagine the damage that would have been done if the bigger kid kicked the little boy square in the face.

Again I am not saying violence is the answer or that the Father should get a medal of honor or something like that.

I am saying that the parental instinct to protect children is very strong and almost instant in many cases. I can understand how the Father reacted like that. I would hope that in the same situation I could react better but I honestly cannot say I would not react the same way.

Does that make me a bad Parent or a violent person, absolutely not. It makes me a parent that deeply cares about my children. I am not perfect but I will defend and protect them to the best of my ability.

Sometimes situations come up in real life where instant or almost instant decisions need to be made...and unlike on this board, must be made without the benefit of video, discussion and unlimited time to analyze the situation.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

So there are instances when violence is OK in your opinions.....interesting.






.
[Edited 4/20/09 13:37pm]

Sowhat said:

No, no...that's not what they are saying at all. You're missing their point.

JustErin said:

That is very easy (but understandable) for you to say that because you're not a man. Also, you can never ever begin to understand what it might be like to be a man who just witnessed some guy (normal, DS, whatever) kicking your son, your male heir to your throne (symbolically speaking).

JustErin said:

She would be protecting her child and isn't that everyone's point?

TonyVanDam said:

Oh boy....

Ok.

JustErin said:

The cultural veil has been lifted

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Don't they claim that mother/child is the strongest bond of all and women will do anything to protect them?

JustErin said:

The cultural veil has been lifted