So I was at Mcdonald's today watching Maya play in the smelly indoor edifice.
Two little boys played together. The bigger boy got a bit too rowdy and hit the other child upside his smallish head.
"Wahhhhhh! Daddy! That boy hit me in my head!" wailed the boy.
His father was enormous. He was tall and wide and solid with a bald head. He looked menacingly at his son and boomed, "HIT HIM BACK!"
"Woah!" I said aloud (involuntarily). It's rare in the world of children's play places to hear such advice. The man looked at me. I went back to my book.
The little boy looked timid.
"I SAID HIT HIM BACK!" said the large man. "IF SOMEBODY HITS YOU, YOU HIT 'EM BACK!"
The little boy refused to hit his playmate. The playmate (clearly an opportunist) presently KICKED the timid child.
The eyes of the enormous man bulged out of his bald head in fury. "HIT HIM BACK!"
The little boy stared at his father. I could see the wheels turning in his smallish head. Fight or flight? FLIGHT! The boy ran and hid in the urine scented tube slide.
His father was clearly humiliated by his peace-loving (or butt-whoop fearing, as the case my be) son.
I watched the exchange in wonder. At first I thought, That daddy has some serious issues. Get a grip dude! But then I thought some more. Huh. Weird. His advice suddenly makes perfect sense! Hit him back!
It's certainly not what Jesus would do. But if some stranger hit me for no reason I have to say I would haul off and get Ape-sh*t on that person. (Unless that person was MUCH larger and could seriously maim me.)
Violence is rarely a good idea, however Leonardo da Vinci said he invented weapons of war only "to preserve the chief gift of nature, which is liberty." In this case, the little boy of smallish head certainly had his liberty impeded.
My advice? HIT HIM BACK! I'm just sayin'...
