This morning as I was walking through the 14th St subway stop during rush hour, there was a woman walking through the crowd in front of me, with a little boy in tow. The child was obviously on his way to school, and dragging his feet over it. He kept stopping and digging his heels into the ground and transforming his body into a limp deadweight in the way that only children can.
I was about to start feeling sympathetic for the mother when suddenly she stopped in the middle of the crowd and started screaming at the boy: "YOU BETTER GET YOUR F'ING ACT TOGETHER AND GET TO SCHOOL RIGHT NOW, OR I'LL SHOVE MY F'ING BOOT INTO YOUR MOUTH."
Passersby stopped in stunned silence. The child looked up in wide-eyed terror. But she just continued shouting, unfazed: "NOW START ACTING YOUR F'ING AGE AND GET TO SCHOOL."
Then she jerked the little boy by his arm so suddenly that he fell over, sprawled on his front. He scrambled up in haste and scampered after his mother who was already stalking away.
A station full of rush hour commuters, and nobody did anything. Subconsciously, the crowd had edged away to form a circle around them. I felt I should have intervened, but was paralyzed by alarm, and all too suddenly, the moment was over.
The scene has been pounding in my head all morning. I don't know what, but I should have done something, I should have done something.
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1 comment:
I'm not sure what you can do in those situations. I mean, ultimately the relationship is between the mother and the parent, and even if the bystander thinks that there is something wrong, she can't really do anything? Unless she somehow gets hold of details of the parent/ child and notifies child services? i don't know, if I were yelling at my kid and somebody intervened, I'd be really pissed. O the other hand, there is a difference between yelling at a child and doing what you say the mother was doing.
Rambling thoughts. Caveboy.
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