Let's be honest. We moms and dads crack jokes from time to time about smacking that purple, simple-minded 
Barney, or whacking Spongebob Squarepants upside his porous, yellow head. But these are merely sarcastic comments made to fellow parents who also spend a little too much time with PBS Sprout or Nickelodeon. We would never actually do something like that, especially not in public, in front of a group of children.
Well, apparently not everyone has the same anger management skills. In the past week, a man has pleaded guilty to assaulting a Chuck E. Cheese at a kid's birthday party. And in Washington, D.C. a bus driver punched a police officer in a McGruff the Crime Dog costume, while several children on this guy's Metro Bus watched in shock.
In the Chuck E. Cheese case (new motto for that establishment: "Where a kid can be a kid, and an adult can horrify many kids"), a Massachusetts man ripped the Chuck E. mascot head off of the 19-year-old who was wearing it, then screamed at the guy because he believed the costumed character had purposely pinned his 11-year-old against a video game. Trahan Pires pleaded guilty and was fined $500 for his actions.
Clearly that behavior was uncalled for, especially since it's not the first altercation to take place at a Chuck E. Cheese recently. But it's slightly more understandable when compared to the situation involving McGruff the Crime Dog (new motto: "I take a bite out of crime and, sometimes, a punch in the face"), which occurred last weekend on the streets of our fair District of Columbia. Police officer Tyrone Hardy was dressed in McGruff garb and handing out anti-crime literature to kids when a Metro bus stopped at his street corner. The driver, Shawn Brim, got out, adjusted his mirrors and -- for no apparent reason -- slugged McGruff. Brim's subsequent explanation for said random outburst? He was "trying to be funny." He has been charged with simple assault.
Obviously these are separate incidents. But they point to what could be a larger problem: adults who can't keep their anger in check in front of children. And, more specifically, intense resentment toward costumed kiddie characters. I mean, what did McGruff the Crime Dog ever do to anyone? As public-service-oriented icons go, he's actually pretty cool. He's certainly more badass than Smoky the Bear.
Clearly lots of people are under stress at the moment. All the anxiety and tension about the economy -- working extra hours, keeping up with the bills, etc. -- can bubble up and manifest itself in some ugly ways. That's why every parent or individual who works with kids needs to take a few extra, deep breaths every time they find their blood pressure rising. It takes a village to take a bite out of flat-out cra-zay behavior.
Okay, McGruff didn't say that. But when he recovers from that recent attack, I have no doubt that he will.
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Image: Safetybadges.com
