Would you sacrifice your job to stop child abuse?
 

This is something that actually came up at work. Someone was savagely beating a child and no one did anything because they'd risk being fired for physically confronted a customer.

Before you ask, I didn't find out until after the fact. Which is good for me because child abuse is one of my buttons and I'd have flat out attacked the guy. Someone even said "maybe the child deserved it" I was just... :argh: now I want to punch them for even implying that it could be justified.

*in case you cant tell I'm really just fuming and mostly venting so feel free to ignore.*

Did they call the police at least?

no, but there wouldn't really be a point. He did it outside the view of cameras, and technically she didn't see it just heard.

Or maybe it was just apathy. Like I said this is second hand

To me it seems unbearable to be put in a position where you're not allowed to do what's right because of your employer or other authority figure. So I just, you know, never got a job in the first place.

There are other reasons for that too, to be sure. But I think "I might lose my job" is a pretty weak excuse under all circumstances. If you risk getting fired for interrupting a child abuser from their abuse it might be time to leave that job anyway.

But if your only worry is "physically" confronting them I've got some ideas. Go stand next to them. Engage stink eye. Take pictures if you have a camera. Try to get close enough that Parent of the Year hits you with their back swing. When you get their attention, direct the conversation in lines along "Does it bother you to do what you're doing when grown-ups are watching you?", "Why don't you hit someone your own size?", "You know, if you're a good parent you have nothing to fear if child protective services were to investigate you", "If you call that 'raising' your child, I don't think you know what that word means" or "Did you know corporeal punishment has been conclusively proven to be at best ineffective parenting, and more often than not a reason children get screwed up later in life?"

The child should be safe for the moment. Though if you're dealing with the kind of person who can continue to beat a child while engaging in conversation it's probably time to call the cops if you didn't already.

That's a fantastic way to get your ass beaten AND fired, all the while not doing a damn thing for the child.

First... and i do mean this kindly... when we put "he was savagely beating" right next to "so i was told" it comes to mind just how on the line your account of the events are. You tell me "Savagely beating" and i'm thinking kicks to the head and a tire iron. Is that what you account for?

Does that mean that any degree of physical punishment to a child is justified? No. Not to me anyway. But if you don't think that context matters anyway, your thought wrong.

Also, more often than you would think (and hope to see) people put themselves in excuses that aren't there. Like "i might be fired", weak sure... and a decent person wouldn't want to work for a boss that fires people who step in the way of child abuse in the first place, so there is that...

On the other hand, you still have a large chunk of people in this world that believes that the occasional slap on the bottom (or sandals... or belts...) or the arm are a "way" of telling a child where is the "line". But that's abuse, isn't ? Physical aggression.

A child throws itself on the floor and screams bloody murder cause a single mother had a rough day at work and just doesn't have the mindset to make him a grilled sandvich right now cause she needs to work overtime just to pay the bills, snaps, gives the kid a firm spanking to the bottom, and now she can be sued... loose her child entirely, which will now live in a home and under special care for abused children...

Do we have child abuse? Sure. Nasty people who are certainly not capable of raising children? Absolutely.

Cause, guess what... as much as i would love to see it not being like that... there are still a lot of cases where kneeling down to you your knees to look your kid in the eyes and calmly explain in a soothing voice that he or she needs to behave themselves nicely... well... that part doesn't always work. the Spanking part works? i hope not, but i'm not raising any kids of my own to know THAT part, just being around enough kids to see the first part. And i can damn well tell ya that i've seen my fair share of good decent people who don't savagely beat their children and still need to deal with some really patience draining stuff...

In this particular case? If you actually see someone abusing a child? You just have to do what a decent citizen needs to do. You call the police, and if you can, you take photos with your cel.

Cause if you wanna talk about consequences than you gonna have to talk about all the consequences. And there is nothing proving me that a person that is capable of "savagely beating" a child in broad day light in front of a crowd is not carrying a gun or a knife in their belt. Wanna talk about loosing your job? We can also talk about loosing your life or at least getting the shit kicked out of you because the person you just "shamed" in front of your store is not waiting for you on the next day, outside, waiting the end of you shift?

Again, nobody should stay deaf, mute and blind to child abuse... there are shitty parents out there. Quite a few more than i would like to admit actually... that doesn't make acting without thinking a good response.

How do you figure them beating your ass instead of their child doesn't do anything for the child? Although I don't doubt that the job market is screwy enough that "being the victim of assault" can be a valid reason to be fired, that part confuses me. You figure they'll hit you until you leave them alone and then go back to working over the kid? In broad daylight, with zero consequences?

But you're right, and I don't condone this course of action, for parts of the world where you typically have to worry about any given person stabbing or shooting you. I seem to easily forget such places exist. <shelteredscandinavian>

Hmmm, what's my salary and benefits package at this job?

one sad thing I learned is assaulting an adult will actually result in a greater punishment than child abuse. With good behavior someone that tortures a child for years can get out in about 10 months.

Part of the issue, with me personally is I wouldn't be rational. Yes recording the incident and reporting it would in the long run be better than stopping it. But I just go into a blind rage at things like that
I think you might be abit out of touch if you think me and my co-workers get a salary and benefits

Bells, if they hit you then they go to jail for assault.

If the child is already being abused, having yourself get hit won't undo that. It will only be one more person being hit. never less. It's all broadly circumstantial, but that's the whole thing... i can't predict what a person who beats its own child in public will do if i come up to that person and tell them that they are a "bad person for doing that". Maybe they will have an Epiphany, maybe they will kick my ass... maybe i'll get ticked off and tackle the guy, which will then, lead the asshole to sue my boss, which will get me fired.

Regardless, none of that will prevent the child of being abused again or undo the harm done. So it's no good.

But if i call the cops on him, anonymously even... and/or take pictures of the act, THEN i don't have to get my teeth kicked in, and can in fact help the child not be abused again... so it's good.

Or if you want to be Vigilante about it, record it and put it on Youtube.


Then they cry "entraptment", and their lawyer makes a full case on how he was not on the perfect faculties of his mind at the time, and how he was being provoked in a fragile momment for his state of mind yada yada yada, he gets community service, goes back to beating his kid (more carefully now) and you still got your ass beat... because the legal system can be major Assage Clusterfuckerson from time to time..