The Running Of The Bullies

As we all know bullying is bad, m'kay. But I'm not referring the kind of bullying that has the media going stir crazy these days, I'm talking about bullying amongst the younger generation. I took my kid to McDonalds today so he could wear his little self out on the playground. At first he had the place to himself (we're not crazy enough to take him during the lunch rush), then this family came in and this little boy of about 5 or 6 started playing with Brody, my son. Now bear in mind, my son is very social, and he is used to playing with kids older than he is. His youngest cousin is getting ready to turn 5 so it's not like he isn't accustomed to playing with other children that size. No sooner had they climbed the stairs to the jungle gym do I hear this kid start to yell at my son. Now my kid doesn't just scream for the hell of it. He's not soft, as a matter of fact, he's quite the little tough guy. So I knew this kid was doing something he really shouldn't have been. I honestly would have been okay with the situation if his parents would have stopped him, but they didn't. They just sat there and let it happen. My son and the little boy went deeper into the little tunnel and got to a viewing area where I could finally see them and I about lost it. That kid was dragging my son by his foot through the tunnel laughing like some deranged lunatic. And the more my son screamed STOP the harder the kid laughed. I saw red. Folks, this is not good. I was furious. My mom saw this and she finally coaxed my son into coming down, while steadily yelling at the pint sized prick to leave my son alone. We made Brody sit with us for a while, and when the kid went back to his table, we allowed Brody to play on the little tiny slide that is made for the kids who can't even walk yet. And what does the little terror of a child do? He gets in my son's face AGAIN. He is in plain view this time tormenting my son, and his parents didn't move an inch. I could see my son getting really worked up and it got to the point where he was squaring off with this kid getting ready to deliver him a healthy knuckle sandwich, and these neglectful parents had still not done anything. We grabbed my son and took our leave. I was so angry that that child's parents let that go on, without lifting a finger, or making a protest to stop it from happening. How can someone do that? I understand not wanting to give your kid a spanking in public, but I got news for you: you look like a worse parent for sitting there doing nothing. Those are the kind of children that grow up to be the sort of bullies you hear about on the news. When these stories air, the parents of the bully try to get the sympathy vote saying they don't know where they went wrong, they don't see how their child could push someone so hard. Well hello! It starts early! You letting your children push other kids around on the playground is where it all starts! You have to educate kids at a young age about the difference between right and wrong. If not, they are going to turn out to be sorry pieces of crap that get their jollies messing with people who are smaller or different from them. The parents of these kids need to put on their grown-up panties and educate their children. If you can't do that, you are not worthy of even being a parent, and the blame for the future hate crimes your kid commits will be on your sorry shoulders.