[Vagabundo]

So I had a bit of a freak out on the bus there on my way home from work. Here's the story:

I was down the back of the bus. Bus is packed. This family comes on the bus. Both parents are fairly rough looking: tats, gaunt, etc. The child is about two. They stow the buggy and sit down the back with me, right beside me at first. The child is eating something. The mother is contantly correcting the child, but I can really see whats happening as she is in-between me and the baby. Then I move closer to the window and the child is moved right next to me as there is more room. I smile at the child and she says something to me and offers me some of her rice cake.

The mother starts slaping her for stupid reasons. The kid is barely moving, but any time she does shift or move slightly the mother gives out to her and shoves her hard down in the seat. And she slaps her on the legs and hands hard at least 5 times in the 15 minutes they were on the bus with me, causing the kid to howl for a while while the mother again gave out to her for crying.

The mother seems to be in the horrors. Very aggitated. Talking fast with her boyfriend. They are both meeting someone and the mother seems to very anxious about it; I'm assuming it was a dealer, beacuse of where they are going. Both of the look like druggies, but who knows.

Anyway each time the kid gets shoved down in the seat hard or gets smacked so she cries, I get angrier. I'm sitting there fuming. Until I blow and tell her "Enough". She tells me to mind my own business and she hit her kid if she wants, The kid has ADHD apparently. The kid has barely moved the whole time I was there. I say I'll call the Guards (cops) the guy tells me "I'd think twice about that if I was you mate... Call brian (to the woman)" Brian was the guy they were meeting.

Anyway I'm fuming and get off the bus before I do something stupid.

What do you think GAF?

Disclosure: I'm against hitting kids at all, but I think this crossed the line of legal corporal punishment anyway. I have a little girl nearly two.

[ChuyMasta]

Mind your own business and call someone if you really must.

[Omegasquash]

Call the cops. Clearly it was anger and frustration motivating her behavior, which isn't an OK thing for a parent to do.

[Suairyu]

Mind your own business and call someone if you really must.

child abuse: not your business.

[Claude]

Don't get involved.

[Kyoufu]

I would call the police in that situation.

[ChuyMasta]

child abuse: not your business.

AND call someone if you must <-Someone being the authorities.

[Darklord]

Mind your own business and call someone if you really must.

Don't get involved.

Are you people gutless or just don't give a fuck about others? Serious question.

[shagg_187]

Call the authority? Too late now.

Are you people gutless or just don't give a fuck about others? Serious question.

This is NeoGAF dude. Half of us haven't even raised a child.

[AnathemicOne]

What's with all the apathy to do something opinion here on GAF?

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Mind your own business and call someone if you really must.

Uh, no. A defenseless kid being abused is everyone's business.

[ChuyMasta]

Are you people gutless or just don't give a fuck about others? Serious question.

Second part. I don't give a fuck at a biological level. That kid is not mine, I don't even have the basic instinct to protect it. It can go die and I will be fine.
BUT! A kid is a kid and we have a system for these situations so, yes, AND call someone if you really must (someone being the police/authorities/911/child services, whatever)

[btkadams]

Second part. I don't give a fuck at a biological level. That kid is not mine, I don't even have the basic instinct to protect it. It can go die and I will be fine. BUT! A kid is a kid and we have a system for these situations so, yes, AND call someone if you really must (someone being the police/authorities/911/child services, whatever)

yikes! i see your point, but that's a bit harsh.

[Darklord]

What's with all the apathy to do something opinion here on GAF?

It's not GAF. It's society. I saw a girl getting physically abused by some arsehole boyfriend in the middle of an airport with like 5 guys standing right near it and no one did shit. Not even the security. The fucking security! If I knew that was going to happen I'd have run down there and smashed him before my plane left.

[hawkshockey11]

Second part. I don't give a fuck at a biological level. That kid is not mine, I don't even have the basic instinct to protect it. It can go die and I will be fine. BUT! A kid is a kid and we have a system for these situations so, yes, AND call someone if you really must (someone being the police/authorities/911/child services, whatever)

You must be great with the ladies.

[Fari]

I saw a gang of junkies get into a fight with a gang of Roma Gypsies once. The Roma had the upper hand because they were more flexible and agile.

Both sides had babies with them, so it was a bit depressing. Poor kids never have a chance.

[cousins]

Mind your own business and call someone if you really must.

dude, seriously? You sound like a stand up guy.

OP, you should've called the cops.

[Borgnine]

I wouldn't have passed up the opportunity to say WELL I'M MAKING IT MY BUSINESS.

[mernst23]

If no one else more closely intimate cares enough to try and bring intervention in for the child, what chances will some random person on the bus be able to drastically change this kid's life for the better?

[Mammoth Jones]

Are you people gutless or just don't give a fuck about others? Serious question.

It's a slap. The kid ain't dying. I'd call the cops and hopefully get them both busted for drugs which would get the kid out of that situation. In the meantime I'd shut the fuck up to the cracked out mum and her "boyfriend".

Everyone's a hero on the internet....

[AAequal]

Are you people gutless or just don't give a fuck about others? Serious question.

What are you going to do? Give them lecture how it's not cool to hit your kid? Give them beating? Steal their baby? Really not much you can do, except call someone with authority.

[Lord Snow]

Call the cops.

[stutte]

Mind your own business and call someone if you really must.

Hate this attitude. The world would be a far better place if more people stepped in and helped/reported/etc.

[cousins]

Hate this attitude. The world would be a far better place if more people stepped in and helped/reported/etc.

This. People like that make me sick.

[ChuyMasta]

dude, seriously? You sound like a stand up guy. OP, you should've called the cops.

Hate this attitude. The world would be a far better place if more people stepped in and helped/reported/etc.

Omg....Internet heroes.



is the AND part not ringing any bells?

It's like you guys ignore everything that's after it.

I would've mind my own business and not say anything to the couple, but subtly call someone.

[Vagabundo]

I think the thing that got to me is that if she is like this when she is in public what kind of treatment does the kid get at home?

Some other choice comments: "Sit still you're making a show of me." this is after the kid has been howling after a few smacks.

My mother has fostered a lot of these kinds of kids (around a hundred or so over the past 25 years). So I've seen what some of these kids have had to go through. I think I made myself angrier and there was a better way to handle it.

I got off the bus after the guy made the threat. Calling the cops could have given them some trouble. Anyway they were looking to get their mates to meet me further on.

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Omg.... is the AND part not ringing any bells? It's like you guys ignore everything that's after it.

It's like "mind your own business" and "call someone if you must" cancel each other out.

[Mammoth Jones]

Hate this attitude. The world would be a far better place if more people stepped in and helped/reported/etc.

You can have your cake and eat it too. Call the fucking cops and be done with it. What will a shouting match with two douchebags do except to make sure the kid gets an extra strong ass kicking from mommy for "embarrassing" her in public?

Remove pride from the equation and the only sane solution is to call the police and hopefully get the kid somewhere safe.

[Senoculum]

Anyway they were looking to get their mates to meet me further on.

And it's at that point it's not worth it. Good job; could've been ugly.

I'm with some posters here, call the authority if it's really bad.

[Darklord]

It's a slap. The kid ain't dying. I'd call the cops and hopefully get them both busted for drugs which would get the kid out of that situation. In the meantime I'd shut the fuck up to the cracked out mum and her "boyfriend". Everyone's a hero on the internet....

It's not being an internet hero. It's just having a pair and speaking up when needed. Which he did anyway.

[cousins]

Omg.... is the AND part not ringing any bells? It's like you guys ignore everything that's after it.

You just said that you don't give a fuck about other human beings, and you're questioning why people are looking down on you? Shut your mouth if you don't want anyone to judge what comes out of it.

[zoukka]

Yeah my day is ruined if I witness any type of abuse be it pets or kids or anyone. Just thinking what happens behind closed doors gets me depressed sometimes.

[thetrin]

"Mind your own business"

I hear this sentiment a lot in America, and I find it really shocking. It's your job as a citizen to help others when they need it. We're not just a bunch of people who HAPPEN to live in the same place. We're supposed to be a nation. A group of people whose best interest is the health and safety of everyone around us.

Instead of being an selfish isolationist, grow up a little, be an adult, and help those in need. Wouldn't you want the same from someone else?

[Harry_Tequila]

Omg.... is the AND part not ringing any bells? It's like you guys ignore everything that's after it. I would've mind my own business and not say anything to the couple, but subtly call someone.

You're a monster.

[Mammoth Jones]

"Mind your own business" I hear this sentiment a lot in America, and I find it really shocking. It's your job as a citizen to help others when they need it.

That shit happens all of the world. Don't pretend this sentiment is endemic to the United States, lmao.

[Tashbrooke]

Are you people gutless or just don't give a fuck about others? Serious question.

i'm not, child abuse is wrong, proper addicts shouldn't be allowed to have kids, one of my best friends was raised by two serious alcoholics, they frequently had the police round, one time one stabbed the other, still nothing happened and the social services did nothing.

THE POINT IS. nobody wants to risk taking children away from the parents, if one of the parents commit suicide, they'll be liable, thats what I think anyway..

[snesfreak]

I see shit like this all the time, it's fucking infuriating.
I've heard people BRAGGING about how they knock their kids around.
Some people just don't care, they see their kids as property that they can do whatever they want to.

I once heard some lady call her daughter (who was maybe 3 or something) a "fucking little bitch."
2 minutes later some guy gets on the bus and is talking to someone else, cursing a little bit.
She starts yelling at him to "not fucking curse" in front of her kid.
I just sighed.

[stutte]

I just think that if EVERYONE on that bus threw a fit and shamed that parent, if enough of society would condemn actions like that more, people wouldn't get away with shit like that.

[Sol..]

I'm not buying this.

[Sentry]

Mind your own business and call someone if you really must.

OP has bigger balls than you ever will.

[Vagabundo]

I'm not buying this.

Oh god. I've woken the GAF conspiracy theorists.

What about my story doesn't sound true and I'll clarify?

I just think that if EVERYONE on that bus threw a fit and shamed that parent, if enough of society would condemn actions like that more, people wouldn't get away with shit like that.

I do hope someone else said something to them if she started up again.

There was a lot of attention from the rest of the bus after I walked off.

The guy made wanking gestures out of the back window as the bus pulled off.

[Darkmakaimura]

I would be careful, OP. They were going to call Brian....

Anyways, best thing to do is call the cops and/or let the bus driver know so they can take appropriate actions. I'm assuming you're from Australia, so I don't know how the legal system works down there but here we usually inform the bus driver and they usually call the proper authorities.

Just don't get in it with Brian.... I heard he's one bad dude.

[Deadly Cyclone]

So they were going to put a hit out on you via the drug dealer so they could keep hitting their kid? What the hell.

I'd have called the cops.

[NaturalHigh]

Bystander effect

This is a perfect example of it. When people are in groups they tend to not do shit when they should. Not really sure if it is your place to intervene in this situation as I was not there and you may be more sensitive to this type of stuff than others. Everyone assesses these situations different. If I was there I probably would of just tried to talk to the kid more and hope that the parent would slack off on hitting her while she knew I was paying attention.

[CcrooK]

It's hard to sit there and listen to it. I've heard it multiple time when I take the trax down town. But I've seen plenty of others step in and say something which leads to this big argument about "I'm on the parent, I can do what I want!" stuff, to the point of it coming down to a straight up brawl. Eventually we'll have cops stop the trax and take care of it because someone did call in about the situation but still, it's a tough decision of you're going to get yourself involved. Do nothing, and watch the kid suffer from the parent. Or do something, and have to deal with the parent being up in your face and potentially start swinging fists.

[Starfish_Oxide]

Sounds like Dublin city alright.

OP I'm surprised you even done anything some of them Dublin buses can be cesspools.

And yeah people should have a bit more cop then hitting their kids at all especially in public places

[Vagabundo]

I would be careful, OP. They were going to call Brian.... Anyways, best thing to do is call the cops and/or let the bus driver know so they can take appropriate actions. I'm assuming you're from Australia, so I don't know how the legal system works down there but here we usually inform the bus driver and they usually call the proper authorities. Just don't get in it with Brian.... I heard he's one bad dude.

Ireland:

Hitting children is against the Convention on the Rights of the Child which Ireland ratified in 1992. Signing up to this convention meant that Ireland agreed to advance children’s rights and report progress. The last 2005 report, commenting on parents and corporal punishment, states, unbelievably, “The common law recognises the right of a parent to inflict moderate and reasonable physical chastisement on a child.” The UN, responding to the government’s report in 2006, “was deeply concerned that corporal punishment within the family is still not prohibited by law”. It urged Ireland to “explicitly prohibit all forms of corporal punishment in the family, to sensitise and educate parents and the general public about the unacceptability of corporal punishment, and promote non-violent forms of discipline as an alternative to corporal punishment”. None of these recommendations have been acted on in the past six years.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...310997481.html

Yeah Biran sounds pretty dangerous . lol Unless it is Brian "The Butcher"

[Speevy]

Someone's going to kill you OP.

[Kinyou]

I would be careful, OP. They were going to call Brian....

I don't know man. There has some crazy shit happened already...

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=439885

Getting involved is the right thing to do, you just shouldn't let the situation escalate.

[AtomskEater]

I kind of agree with ChuyMasta. Legally, you can't do anything like remove the kid from their custody and starting a fight on the spot is a poor decision. Tell the parents that's not cool but otherwise there isn't much you CAN do except contact the authorities.