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conundrum of conscience

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Smittyboy

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What would you do if somebody did this to your kid?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nTYT1im_BM"]YouTube - Father puches guy after guy kicks his kid.[/ame]


The little twist to this is the guy has down syndrome.
 
Don't think I'd throw the punch, the kick didn't seem to do much damage but I'd sure as hell be throwing a few strong words in their direction.
 
I don't have kids but I would get physical. I'm not even a little bit ashamed of it.

Edit: Didn't notice the bit about the down syndrome. Let me rephrase: I wouldn't punch the guy right away like the guy in the video. I would have approached the guy to assess him. If there was no excusable reason why this guy acted like he did, and he was just a pissed off guy kicking a kid, I would get physical.
 
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I saw this video a while back when it came out on the net and somewhere I saw a comment (I think it was on yOutube) and it pretty much went like this

"if the guy is competent enough to be using a cell phone, out in the world on his own without supervision, then he should know better than to hit a kid."

I also saw a comment saying that sometimes when people with DS get frightened/startled/surprised their reaction is to kick or hit. If you notice on the video the little kid does kinda surprise the guy.

I have no idea what I would do in this situation but I feel sorry for all three of the guys involved. A simple trip out to McDonalds and your entire day is ruined if not more.
 
I don't care if the guys has Downs, Turrets whatever he kicks my kid and he's gonna get the same thing. Only difference is if he was of sound mind and kicked my kid I ain't stoppin' till they pull me off.
 
Having worked in specia education, I would hope I would be able to teach my child that it is important to never sneak up on people or go into public places in a way that could be startling.

That being said, there would most likely be plenty of harsh words for the "perp" int he heat of the moment.
 
He barely even touched the kid and immediately backed away in confusion. I see both sides but I get the impression that dude liked the opportunity to punch someone. He didn't even look back at his kid for quite a while. Weird situation.
 
ive been guilty of something similar..early into my g/f (now wife) relationship i was witness to a petty argument between my wife and her teenage brother which ended up him pushing my wife over..i flipped and had him against the wall a foot off the floor by his neck..he then almost passed out from having an asthma attack..certain scenarios trigger me to act first and ask quetions later especially when it concerns the wellbeing of a loved one
 
I see both sides, but in the heat of the moment, someone attacked your child. The guy might have done it out of reaction, but the father also acted out of reaction. As a father, I do not see how the father could have known in that split second that the person had down syndrome. All he saw was a person the size of a grown adult kicking his baby. I think I would have reacted the same way. After the fact, I know I would have felt bad, but I will do anything to protect my babies. In this day and age, you cannot be too careful.
 
I would never get physical if someone brushed my kid like that, but I would be super pissed.

The kid barely got touched so I'm not sure the best way to teach him a lesson would be to deck the guy who did it. The situation could get out of hand pretty quickly. Better to resolve it verbally than end up getting shot in front of my kid (I know a guy with DS isn't gonna have a gun, but in a different situation someone might).

Now if I'm alone and I saw someone intentionally tip over my bike ALL BETS ARE OFF! I'd definately mix it up in that situation - even if the guy was huge, had anger issues, or was a cop armed in full riot gear. You get the idea......I'd take a chance of getting my ass kicked in that situation (and I probably would get whipped). This doesn't mean I value my bike more than my kids - it's a matter of the situation and what I want to teach my kids. I know this doesn't exactly make sense.
 
Man, I don't know. I'd probably have a quick word first and if the guy gave me ANY attitude at all about it he'd get the same treatment.
 
I agree with Mississippi.

If anyone ever hit/kicked/slapped my kid without provocation, I would be on them so fast that they wouldn't have a clue what hit them. There would be no harsh words, no assessing the situation, no nothing. Sure, the kid didn't get kicked hard at all, but that would be inexcusable in my eyes. I am extremely protective of my family. Anyone hurts or tries to hurt them immediately has to deal with me.

Understand though: I am not a violent person. And I hope the above statements don't make anyone here think that I am. All my life I've tried to follow a personal mantra of "do no harm." Even when I used to be a bouncer. But if someone tried to hurt anyone that I loved, I don't believe that I'd be able to contain myself.

As for the video, it appears that the guy attacked the other guy with Downs before he realized that he had it. Sure, the kid may have surprised him by running up on him like that, but kids don't always realize what they are doing, be it an innocent issue or otherwise. In no way to I blame the child for what happened. The whole scenario seems to be a huge misunderstanding. Hopefully no one really got hurt.
 
That is a tough call. Even though I don't have kids, I would have definitely been in his face mad. And, if somone kicked my dog... :disapprove:
 
You're saying that the kid surprised him? He turned around and had to walk a few feet before he was even in reach! All the kid did was run up to the counter...I'm just not buying the whole surprise factor...
 
It is hard to judge from this distance, but the attacker immediately backed away. It seems the kid startled him and he just reacted. DS people are usually very peaceful as far as I know, so I guess this was an unthought out reaction due to being startled.

So, unfortunately, was the father's. He reacted rather than responded. I don't think any assessment of the danger level went into his thinking. It was just "someone hit my kid" and he was off to the races.

He would have been totally justified had the attacker not backed away. Even as it is, his reaction in the heat of battle is somewhat understandable. But ideally the father would have taken a split second more to get to the heart of what had just happened before throwing so hard a punch.

If you need to use force, then use it - and use it effectively, or it will only escalate the consequences. But force should be the last resort. I'd say both the father and the DS guy could use some counseling.
 
I have worked with children with all sorts of problems including Downs Syndrome and I have never seen a DS react like this to someone they did not know.

I would not have punched him but I would have got hold of him and screamed right in his face and frightened the crap out of him. He would remember what he had done then.

The child looked as though he was ok and I think dad over reacted a little bit...but understandably in the circumstances.

Steve
 
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