slatten49 wrote:
Woman Nervously Confronted "Cruel" Kids at Target — and Then Their Mom Showed Up
June 24, 2017 by Kate Schweitzer
If you're a parent who has a fear of confrontation, let Mary Katherine Backstorm be your inspiration!
The Southern mom was in the checkout line at Target when she noticed a young boy and girl — roughly 11 or 12 years old — in front of her, snickering at the cashier, who had clearly suffered a "very devastating accident and cranial reconstructive surgery." He had staples in his head and a drooping eyelid, and Backstorm noticed that the kids "were getting their cell phones out and trying to take pictures of him with Snapchat filters" to text to their friends.
"I'm just not very confident sometimes in my adulthood . . . that I can be an adult in situations like this," Backstorm said in a Facebook video, admitting that often these kids intimidate her.
Today, however, the self-proclaimed "super-nonconfrontational" mom, heart racing, set her cart aside and approached the two kids and told them they were being "very cruel" to that man.
"In that moment I realized, 'Yes, yes, I'm an adult,'" she said. "'I can do this. I can take control of the situation and teach them a lesson.'"
The kids apologized, but Backstorm didn't let things end there.
She asked them how they were getting home, and they said their mom was picking them up. She decided to wait with them so she could let her know what happened.
And to her surprise, what "started out just awful" ended in a way that gave her hope.
Although it's better to watch the video* to hear Backstorm retell what happened when she confronted the other mom, her final message is one worth repeating:
"I just wanted to say to the lady whose kid just acted like a complete butt-hole in Target that you're a really good mom. Kids can be butt-holes some time. If my kids are ever in Target being butt-holes or bullies or making fun of people, I hope you do the same thing. It's hard to hear criticisms from other parents or hear your kids are acting contrary to how you know you've raised them, but that's part of them growing up. We all need to be keeping an eye on each other and each other's kids."
*The video was unavailable for posting
Woman Nervously Confronted "Cruel" Kids ... (
show quote)
My guess is, most people either wouldn't even notice ignorant behavior, join in..............or do a selfi video about it and post it on youtube.
People are NOT afraid of confrontation - as long as it's anonymous, or behind the safety of a computer/phone screen.
At Walmart one evening, I saw several kids pull toys off the shelf, sit down in the middle of the aisle and play with them. Bored after a few minutes, they moved to the next aisle to repeat the behavior. I saw store employees whispering together about how to deal with this, even a manager or two, who at least said something to the dad & mom who were ignoring the kids behavior - and who ignored the manager.
I, being old, crippled and in constant pain, have lost the fear of consequences in social situations and certainly do not fear the censure of my fellow man. First, I began to berate the adults for not supervising their children, very, very loudly, Then, I hollered at the kids to get their asses up, pick up those toys and put them back where they found them and in EXACTLY the same position. After about 10 seconds, a crowd began to form watching the scene - and I made sure that it was QUITE the scene, ranting, raving, throwing my arms around for emphasis, etc. I did not cuss, call anyone derogatory names, but I didn't forbear to use plenty of legitimate adjectives in describing both the parents and children's behavior.
The kids picked up most of the toys ( although they didn't put them exactly back ), the parents collected their kids and left. I did get an ovation from both bystanders and employees, but that wasn't the best part; the best part was the release achieved by calling people out for their ignorant behavior - in person - so I could see the look on their faces. They were utterly shocked that someone dared confront them, then anger, until they realized there were multiple witnesses - then, believe it or not - shame.
Confronting people about their behaviors, without judging the PERSON, is a fine art and a learned sk**l - none of which can be learned or honed over the net. Humans are designed to effectively communicate face to face, as body language ( including facial expressions ) conveys 75% of it. Phone/computer communication cripples the human race.