Strollerderby : assault

Man Slaps Baby -- But There's More To It

Amy Kuras — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:30:00 GMT

We’ve all had the experience of walking in somewhere with our baby and people looking at us as if we’ve brought in a rabid dingo – but this story is something else.

Crystal Shunatona was at Wal-Mart in Witchita, Kansas with her baby and her two older kids when she saw a 30-ish man, Bruce Jones. swearing and throwing things in the aisles. She tried to avoid him – until he ended up in the checkout lane right behind her.

At which time the man smacked her baby on the back of the head. (!!)

Who would do such a thing to a little six month old?

But, of course, there are mitigating factors. Jones has autism, and told the responding police officer he’s done this before because he doesn’t like and is irritated by babies. His mother was shopping with him but had lost track of his whereabouts. She said she saw the baby, and was afraid her son would hurt him.

The baby, according to Shunatona, has some bruising but appears okay, but she’s angry because the police did nothing. While she agreed Jones probably should not have been arrested, she said she thought he should have at least been taken to a hospital.

Bruce’s mom said her son had never gotten much help for his autism, but she’d accept some now. "What am I supposed to do? Lock him up? Shoot him? I would just like society to tell me what to do," she said.

I’d like to hear from parents of kids with autism on this one – on the one hand, I don’t think this guy should have been allowed to smack a baby pretty hard and just walk away. On the other, I know people with autism have sensory issues and a place like Wal-Mart can overstimulate them to the point of major agitation. And I think his mother should have kept a stricter watch on him if she knew he’s been violent before.

What’s the solution?

When Adults Attack Kiddie Heroes

Jen Chaney — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:28:00 GMT

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.

Related Links:

Things You Should Never Say at a Chuck E Cheese Birthday Party

Pregnant Woman Arrested For Fighting At Chuck E. Cheese

Image: Safetybadges.com

Does PSA Blame Parents for their Daughters Being Raped?

JeanneSager — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:29:00 GMT

The public service announcement warning parents not to buy their daughters alcohol because of the heightened risk for sexual abuse for drunk teens is a total of 30-seconds long. But the Queensland Government in Brisbane, Australia has been drawing harsh critiscm around the globe for putting the blame in the wrong place - the victim.

Opening with a girl's stricken face as she weeps and fights off an attacker in a dark alley, the commercial follows the girl's night in reverse. It backs out of the alley, away from the guy into a party of teens drinking, then back to the girl's house where Dad hands her a box of booze and waves bye bye. "Don't kid yourself," an ominous voice says, "buy your children alcohol and they could pay the price."

Feministing, Jezebel and dozens of others have taken up bashing the Aussies for the short, charging the ad makers with blaming girls for getting raped and their parents for putting them in that situation. "I think what is upsetting about this is that it perpetuates the belief that rape is a young woman's fault and that if parents buy their daughters alcohol they are putting them at risk of rape," says Feministing blogger Samhita. "What about telling young men to not rape drunk women? That is what the focus of the PSA should be. Perhaps another conversation about youth and alcohol consumption is needed, but let's not tangle the issues."

I agree that there should be more education for guys about a girl's right to say no. But I think it's Samhita who is mixing the messages here. This is about parents not taking care of their kids. It's about a smarmy smiling dad (watch the video and you'll see it) handing his daughter a big box of booze, putting her in a car full of teenagers with said alcohol and waving without a care in the world. Rape isn't the only horrible thing that can happen to her out there.

Unfortunately, rape is a reality, and there is only so much parents can do to protect their daughters. The U.S. Department of Justice has surmised a woman is raped here in the states every two minutes. It can happen in broad daylight or a dark alleyway. It can happen with alcohol or without. And you don't have to tell me that girls who undergo some sort of sexual abuse often feel like it's our fault.

Which is why arming our daughters to protect them from some day being raped is part of our jobs. Not because they're the weaker sex. Not because they're doing something wrong. Because it's something that can, and shouldn't have to happen. Add alcohol to any situation where boys and girls co-mingle, and statistics show the risk of a rape occuring increases. The U.S. Department of Justice Violence Against Women report figures 45 percent of all rapes involve alcohol - which could mean the victim or the attacker. The numbers include adult women, but considering two in six rape victim are under 18, there are plenty of teen girls being raped where alcohol is a factor.

Not because they're bad kids or because they asked for it but because they lost their ability to function because they drank too much. They lost their ability to protect themselves from the dangers that are out there, and guess who failed to protect them? Their parents. The ones who sent them to a party with a bunch of alcohol and no education on what it can do.

So, yes, I do put a portion of blame on the parents. Which was the point of the PSA to begin with - to teach them not to provide ther kids with free alcohol, to teach their kids about the affects alcohol will have on the body - including the risk of blackout, the risk of losing the physical strength to push off an attacker, and the risk that someone else who's drunk may have their inhibitions reduced to the point where they'll do something stupid. Like rape a girl.

In fact, the PSA shows a girl being abused, but the narrator says "67 percent of teenagers have been abused or assaulted whilst under the influence of alcohol." She says "your children." She doesn't say girls. She doesn't say daughters. It's an advertisement about protecting our girls and our boys, teaching girls to protect themselves, teaching boys they're not allowed to use alcohol as an excuse.

It's an advertisement that puts the responsibility for kids in their parents' hands. And when they drop the ball, the blame belongs with them.

Angelina Buys Her Kid a Knife. What's Next, Maddox Jolie, Tomb Raider?

School Board Member Uses Gay Slur, Says Student Said it First

Gender's Up to Five-Year-Old Hermaphrodite, Not Parents

Don't Pay Child Support? Bid the Gun Rack Bye Bye

Does Batman Hit His Mom?

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:30:00 GMT

Christian Bale’s professional career may be at all an all-time high, but his family life certainly leaves something to be desired. Although Bale has remain tight-lipped about allegations that he assaulted his mom and his sister, a source close to the Dark Knight star has shed some light on the charges.

Bale has not exactly been tight with either his mom Jenny or his sister Sharon since his parents’ divorce over a decade ago. Christian sided with Dad; Sharon sided with Mom. (Apparently, no one explained the whole making-your-kids-pick-sides-in-a-divorce-causes-irreparable-psychological-damage phenomenon to Christian’s parents). But just before the Dark Knight premiere, Sharon and Jenny reached out to Christian, and he reluctantly agreed to meet them in his hotel room

Turns out they were hoping Christian would front them some cash for a business scheme they’d cooked up. Christian got mad and ordered them out of the room, allegedly pushing his mother out of the door. Sharon and Jenny went to the cops, who questioned Christian and then released him. He has not been formally charged yet.

Photo: Chicago Sun-Times

But that hasn’t prevented his mother from trying to sell her assault story to the media. Perhaps she won’t need her son’s financial assistance after all…

Maybe these pit bulls are dangerous

Brett Singer — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:00:00 GMT

I'm a dog lover (though not a dog owner), so I'm usually willing to sympathize with people that blame bad owners when their pooch attacks someone.

But with so many pit bull attacks, maybe these muscular little k-9's don't make the greatest pets.

Henry Piotrowski, a 90-year-old man in Staten Island, was attacked by two pit bulls and had to have his leg amputated. According to NY1, the owner, James McNair, allows the dogs to wander the neighborhood sans leash; Piotrowski was attacked outside his home.

Then there's the sad tale of Kamar Reynolds, a 3-year-old Brooklyn boy who had an ear bitten off by a pit bull a few days ago. He seems to be recovering nicely, or as nicely as he can, considering the fact that he had to have his ear reattached.

Now, to be fair, this particular incident happened because some jerk threw his dog through an open window into a room full of kids, including Kamar. The dog has been put to sleep, the owner is being held "on charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon - the dog." I've never heard of a dog being classified as a weapon, but this probably isn't the first time.

Are there any stories of poodles attacking people? Chihuahuas? Pugs? Golden retrievers? Labs? Maybe it happens and isn't reported. But I sort of doubt it.

This may be a bit of a stretch, but I think you can draw a parallel with gun ownership. Yes, guns don't kill people, people kill people. But one way to ensure that nobody gets accidentally shot is to not have a gun in the house.

Are pit bulls the doggy equivalent of a loaded gun? Or is it just stupid owners?

image: nydailynews

Related:

Pit bull attacks one-year-old girl

Brett Singer — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:29:00 GMT

A pit bull in Greensboro, NC attacked a one-year-old girl. How does something like this happen? The dog is a pet, and the child went to touch the pooch's puppies; when she did, the dog bit her.

The dog is now in an animal shelter for at least 10 days, or "longer if they can't determine if the dog has current vaccinations for rabies." I thought you had to keep records of that sort of thing, but maybe not.

The two comments on the site where I found this story are a bit over the top but do make a good point: "The big question is--where were the parents?" To paraphrase, leaving a little girl, especially a one-year-old, alone with a new mama pit bull and her litter is probably not a great idea.

If you look at the "Related Links" for this story on digitrad.com, it seems like there's an awful lot of pit bull attacks going on in North Carolina. One dog was put to sleep two years ago after attacking two kids, and this story where a pit bull killed another family's pet a month ago. In that case, the owner asked the now-really-unfortunate question, "What if this was a child?"

The little girl – a baby, really – is recovering at a local hospital. Hopefully she'll be OK.

For a video report, click here.

image: digitrad.com

Pregnancy Can't Be Good For Paris Hilton, She Can't Even Care For Puppies!

Pregnant Wife Killed for Refusing Sex

Dog Rips Off Baby's Genitals

Baby-Proofing the Pooch

Good game, good game - OW!

Brett Singer — Thu, 29 May 2008 18:00:00 GMT

In this video from MSNBC, a little leaguer gets sucker punched by someone on the other team during the end of game festivities. It's pretty screwed up, although I could have done without the extreme close ups of the resulting fat lip.

This is one of those times when I think you pull your kid aside and tell them its OK to hit back. It was a total sneak attack though, which makes it tougher to respond in kind. Who knows what provoked the punch but it kind of doesn't matter.

At the end of the video they say that the "authorities" are investigating the incident as a possible assault. Does one punch constitute assault? I didn't think it did but I guess I'm wrong. Is that the best way to handle a fight between two kids, even a really crappy one-sided fight like this?

Here's the video. You decide -- assault, bad behavior, or both?

(UPDATE: If the video does not appear below, click here and it should play. Stupid web video players, grumble grumble.)

Woman Sexually Assaults Mall Santa

Kelly Mills — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:22:00 GMT

I'm down for the count with the stomach flu, but I roused myself just long enough to bring you this crucial story: A 33-year-old woman has been charged with disturbing the peace and sexual assault in a case of Santa groping. Apparently the woman, Sandama Lamy, took her lap-sitting opportunity to try and feel up Mr. Claus, leaving him "shocked and embarrassed by the whole incident," especially since there was a line of kids waiting to see him.

When police tracked the woman down by phone, their first message was answered by a recording, and then they received a call back saying, "It's a false report and I don't have any idea." Hey, if you are gonna grope Santa, at least own it lady. But no Santa assault story would be complete without a quote from "Santa Tim" Connaghan, president of RealSantas.com and a Santa trainer. He said "he's never heard of a similar incident, though it's not unusual for adults to want to pose with Santa." He teaches his Santas to gently rebuff any lap advances. This all sounds like something out of my favorite holiday essay, The Santaland Diaries, which you must read.