Cinnie said:

if he learned anything from it
will depend on how the people who care for him react, tell him how to think about it. Who was right and who was wrong.

heybaby said:

Exactly

Cinnie said:

why is a statement that the action was unacceptable - directly to the DS child and the mother - not appropriate? what's wrong with reasoning?

IrresistibleB1tch said:

You'll let them? Ummmm...okay...I was under the impression they could do it on their own, but whatever. My opinion about the situation stays the same, as does yours. Peace!
[Edited 4/19/09 16:22pm]

heybaby said:

Exactly.

IrresistibleB1tch said:

Yes, REASONING with a stranger who is kicking your toddler.

And the way I saw it, the "kicking" hadn't been stopped by anyone, grown-ass DS guy, or the caregiver responsible for grown-ass DS guy, until the dad was approaching (from the doorway off camera) so there's that... managing the threat. The threat of kicking at your defenseless unprovoking toddler and no one else giving a fuck. There's that.

mdiver said:

At least I NEVER had to deal with a DS person that was actually like a bully like the DS guy that kicked that poor child. You're right.

But if I ever did OR do, THAT specific DS guy would have been arrested by law enforcers with changes of physical assault of a minor.

Cinnie said:

This is how cool everyone on this thread says they would handle it.

Cinnie said:

Exactly, not even the store personnel came to the child's defense before or after. Let's hope that the mother of the son with DS will find a way to stop him from attacking people. There are mentally, functional individuals with DS, so none of us know his limitations, but on the video, one can see that he jumped at the child and kicked him, so apparently there is a problem there his parent needs to focus on working through with him. She's the parent, it is her job to find a way to control his actions. It is possible he could do this again. It's not like the 4-year old kid walked up to the guy with DS and kicked him.
[Edited 4/19/09 17:45pm]

IrresistibleB1tch said:

I'm very certain that the DS guy will NOT be kicking anyone else child ever again. Because he knows now that he will definitely get KO again or (at worst) killed if he ever do something so stupid like that to a child again.

It's a sad and harsh thing to say. But that is the real world we live in.

June7 said:

What he said.

mdiver said:

And I see that you aren't aware that not all DS people are as irresponsible as the DS guy that kicked that poor child.

babynoz said:

Co-sign. But it's too bad that Mdiver will disagree with the both of you.

IrresistibleB1tch said:

Do we not teach people they are allowed to defend themselves when they are being physically attacked? The dad was defending the toddler that could not do anything for himself (yet).

Will the mother ever trust her son? Sad news, but probably not if he is that GROWN and still KICKING AT TODDLERS. I highly doubt DS guy got to be that grown and never displayed (random) violence until that moment. As I see it, SHE failed to prevent the attack, not the dad.

I imagine that, if I'm a dad and I see an apparent grown person run up on my 4-year-old (who, if you notice in the video, backs away from him) and then kicks (at) him, my response will be pretty forceful.

I'm pretty sure high fructose corn syrup is the real culprit behind all this fast-food restaurant aggression and violence. Long live cane sugar!

ThreadBare said:

ThreadBare said:

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

coooool as a cucumber... in all situations

Cinnie said:

seriously. I mean, who the heck goes around kicking toddlers anyway?

JasmineFire said:

JasmineFire said:

i just give the parents stank eye if one of their kids are bothering me.

SCNDLS said:

Cuddles said:

I do that, too! I give them this look that says:

"You've failed. You know that, right? Your child all up in my space constitutes a parental failure of gargantuan proportions. Deal."

Then, I smile at them, as if to say: "Kids."

ThreadBare said:

Michelle Obama would agree with you.

TonyVanDam said:

First off - Making this about race??? x a billion

2nd, I can honestly say that the people who have said they would have reacted the same way are people I expected would say that...based on the type of posts I see from them on here day to day.

Last, I also have a strong feeling that many of the 'nobody touches my kid's are the same people who believe in spanking or whooping their kids as punishment. And to me that's really interesting.

JustErin said:

Does it seem hypocritical and confused to you?

wtf

I can't believe some of the posts on this thread. Commending the father?

See how quickly he reacts. I don't think that's the first time he's punched someone. My first instinct certainly wouldn't have been to run and punch him. Sure, the boy kicked his kid, but I'm glad I'm not someone to whom violence comes so easily. Whether to some that means I'm timid or fail at protecting the people I love, I'm glad in that situation I would've had time to consider the situation with some semblance of reason before choosing a course of action. Him running and punching that kid was totally over the top. Commended? Hardly. Understandable? Perhaps to some. Legal? That may well be. I'm glad I'm not him though. I don't want to be like that.

Ok, so some say it was an overreaction, some say violence wasn't necessary at all, while others have stressed that they'd instantly protect their child and would be willing to push or even punch someone to do it. The instinct to protect your children is understandable, but it's responses like the following that I just can't get my head around...

peacenlovealways said:

paisleypark4 said:

TonyVanDam said:

'Smash his damn face into the ground'??? That speaks to things that go way beyond the scope of just this thread. That honestly scares me.

uPtoWnNY said:

You can look at the kid and tell he has Down's Syndrome.