Random 8 yr old stabbed multiple times by 22 yr old stranger in arcade.
You are dad and walk up on this in progress. How does it end?
It was the father who subdued the attacker, are you saying what would I do if I was him?
To be honest Id probably be more focussed on helping my son with first aid in that situation rather than catching the attacker if he was doing a runner. But its a pretty short article, maybe his partner is a doctor or whatever.
Otara
I’m a mom not dad, but it ends with the man’s eyes clawed out and about 20 strangers having to pull me off of him (or perhaps help me claw his eyes out). Are you KIDDING ME? (not you, the situation). I mean, I can’t imagine a single parent who would come up in the middle of this and NOT go Rambo on the guy.
Wow.
It ends with the intestines of the guy who attacked my kid being hung on at least three separate video games.
Or, translating - it ends in you getting stabbed!
Anyway, I guess tending to the wounded child takes priority over revenge.
But you said “you walk up on this in progress” NOT “after it was done with”. If it’s in progress the man is still going to be attempting to stab my child…DERRRR
If I walk up on it in progress, my instinct is going to be to protect my child and that DOES mean going bonkers on him, to get him OFF my child and away!
Of course if I come upon it after the fact I’m going to immediately tend to my child.
Priority one is, because my hypothetical child’s life is in danger, to put myself between him and the attacker, even if that means putting my own life at risk. Priority Two is to neutralize the attacker (Eye gouging, disembowelment, whatever). Priority Three is attending to my kid’s wounds and confirming that someone has already called 911. If I took a few slashes in the process, well, the ambulance is already on its way, right?
ETA: I agree with CanvasShoes.
Stop the attack immediately.
For me, that means 4-5 rounds of .45ACP in the spine and head.
Begin first aid for child while instructing others to call 911.
Mama grizzlies only **think **they’re as mad as me when someone messes with my cheerins.
I think the first move is to make lots of noise and grab anything that could be used as a weapon. A belt buckle can do harm if used properly. A shirt over the hands can protect from a knife-sometimes. It’s hard to tell exactly how you will react. It pays to have a mindset and attitude about these things ahead of time.
My dad was a combat vet, back when infantry actually didn’t really have all the bells and whistles, but a gun and a knife. I would go to the hospital, the attacker would get picked up by the morgue. Save the state the cost of a trial.
I’d like to think that I’d get between the attacker and any 8 year old child. I know you never know how you will act in such situations but I’ve put myself at risk before for total strangers so hopefully I’d do it in that situation as well.
If behind the attacker I’d hit him in the head with the biggest and heaviest thing available and worry about the law and his potential death afterwards.
He’d be dead. No silly fantasies about revenge, it’d be quick -neutralize his threat then tend to my son.
I know some serious self-defense. I once took down a guy trying to abduct me.
This animal would be really, really hurting when they took me off of him.
Even if I wasn’t the parent, I would be making sure the 22 y/o would be leaving the arcade in a body bag.
One of the reasons I chose a hickory cane was it’s (admittedly unlikely) use as a weapon. One blow to the cranium should do it.
Man, do we have a lot of Internet tough guys & gals. You really know how to make a turnip tremble!
Dude, it’s your offspring. I don’t know for sure how I would react, but my guess is that I’d completely snap and try to kill a man I found stabbing my(hypothetical) son. (I’m not a violent person, I’ve never even been in a fight in my life, but knowing myself, I would lose all sense of self and go into focused adrenaline mode. It’s happened to me in other stress situations where the adrenaline kicked in, so that’s what I’m basing my guess on.)
I don’t think this is “internet tough guy.” I think this is just human instinct.
This, for certain. I just may be one of the world’s most NON-confrontational people, but when I had a dream that my husband severely spanked our then 5 month old son just for crying (something he NEVER would’ve done, don’t know why I’d dream something so awful), I went nuts. In my dream, I was hitting him as hard as I could and frustrated because all my blows seemed to have no force, when what I wanted to do was knock his damn block off. Then I woke up, trembling with the sheer magnitude of my rage. By now, of course, I knew it was only a nightmare–but I was still so angry that it took every ounce of my willpower to not sit up and beat the crap out of my still-sleeping husband. Because of a DREAM.
While I hope with all of my being that I never have to find out, I can’t even imagine that if someone hurt my babies in the real world that I would stand passively by and let it happen. The words “dead meat” come to mind when I think of any would-be attacker.
Agreed. I’m not a tough guy (gal) at all. I’m basically a weenie. Except when it comes to my kids.
I once witnessed a much larger child shoving my child and I wanted to take him down. Actually stabbing my kid? You’d better believe I would unleash whatever fight I have in me to stop it from progressing. I’m a scrappy thing, too. Claws and kicks and bites for that mofo.
I can guarantee that if someone was stabbing me in front of my mother she’d jump in and at the very least try and take every stab for me. I’m 39. I’m her baby and always will be no matter what I do or say.