To Froula Park Dad: Hey man, I am almost 70 years old and have raised a son, so I know the challenges. I was walking past Froula Playground when your kid and two other young boys jumped out of the bushes and began beating me about the legs with the large sticks, even as I tried to evade them!
I reacted like an adult should, asking them to stop, asking, “Why are you hitting me?” etc., but they did not relent until I ran. But the group of adults supervising nearby had me puzzled, so I circled back. And by now, I was pissed.
One of the little perps was talking with you, and when I asked you if this kid always assaults strangers, you told me that you would talk to your son, and that I didn’t need to “get involved.” So now I was livid.
“Keep your little fucking mongrel way from people, he is dangerous!” And then your wife pipes up with: “Don’t you dare that use language in front of my child.” (Really?) So apples don’t fall far from trees after all! But Dad, you actually followed me part of the way home, muttering obscenities at me. So hilarious. My advice: Save up for future bail money instead of college. Maybe crowdfund that with all the other fuck-up parents at Froula Park.
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Posted?
Never too late to file a police report.
2: So you’re not going to say anything about the parents refusing to stop their kids beating an innocent old man? I thought you folks on the right were all about “personal responsibility”. Keeping your kids from harming older people who have never done them any harm is about as personal as it gets, isn’t it Phoebe?
PoC?
@3: Well, you just said whatever you think I should have said.
5 OK, how about “those people who did nothing to stop their kids assaulting you should feel ashamed of themselves, and THEY should get the cops called on them as much as their kids, because they raised them to be like this”? That’s what a personal responsibility response.
Why, instead of that was your default answer to blame the victim- who is a traumatized 70 year-old man- for not immediately calling the cops himself? It’s not as it he deserved the stick-beating, Phoebe.
@6: Your premise is one of sarcasm that I’m blaming the victim, when I’m clearly not, that I can’t parse into an answer that will satisfy you – @5 proves that! My “default answer” of filing a police report shouldn’t trigger you.
Indeed, all assaults should be reported regardless if it’s too late for the police to be called. That poor man. I’m nearly 70 myself.
It didn’t “trigger” me. It’s silly for right-winger to act as if every disagreement with them is emotional, as if nobody has any valid reason to hold other views. The truth is, there’s no genuinely valid reason to hold right-wing views, and it’s THOSE views that are usually informed by emotion- the emotions of paranoia and hatred.
I’m just calmly pointing out the absurdity your dismissiveness towards the victim, and the judgmental tone you took towards the victim of the assault for not immediately filing a police report, when the trauma he experienced is a perfectly valid reason for not filing such a report as his immediate response.
@8: I regret if saying to file police report seemed dismissive. It was not my intention.
@9 You know, that would have come off more like simple insincerity, if it wasn’t the chronic feedback you receive regarding your pronouncements. One might wonder how your stated intentions manage to be so consistently at odds with the reported results.
@10: Oh really? Explain.
I’m 75 years old with balance issues and find that an even greater problem is people who let their dogs run loose in parks (and I’m not talking about off leash parks) where they jump up and paw all over you (what is it with city folks and huge dogs). Maybe we need a leash law for children?
Sounds like your traditional Rick and Karen parents. They will reap what their entitled asses have sown.
@4 You automatically assuming that the kids aren’t white is so on brand that I can hardly stand it.
Children possess a natural moral clarity that has not yet been tainted by age and cynicism; the job of parents is to listen attentively to their children, to honor and empower their decisions, and to help them realize their dreams.
In this case, the dream of beating old people with sticks.