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I’ll never forget the day my mom swooped into our after school program, the tails of her trench coat trailing behind her. She was coming to confront a little boy who had, the day before, hit my younger sister.
She, towering over the little boy, leaned down into him, pointing her finger in his face before telling him that the next time he wanted to hit someone, he should put his hands on her. By the time the three of us left, the boy was in tears. And he never hit her again. It’s a funny story, a tactic that usually works in dissuading children to stop hitting someone else’s child.
But it doesn’t always work so easily.
Most young men who were raised with any type of decency were taught never to hit women. And it starts from childhood. You don’t hit girls. It’s practically a slogan. It’s a standard, an understanding, a life principle. But a video from one woman made me wonder if there are exceptions to the rule.
The video from actress, writer and host @crazymarolive went viral after she shared a sentiment that seemed to go against everything many of us have been taught.
As you can see in the video, she explains that she’s spoken to both the chid and her mother and the hitting has continued. If the story she’s sharing is a true one, and it seems like it could be, then this is the little boy she’s referencing.
He’s precious and tiny. And chances are, he wouldn’t be physically capable of slapping the estrogen out of that little girl. Still, the thought that this little one would be taking blows from anyone, is pretty sad. I can’t imagine what she’s feeling, knowing that her child is being abused. There were women who argued that teaching her son to hit back in retaliation would set him up for failure. But her point about teaching your daughters to keep their hands to themselves is an equally important lesson for their safety and protection as well.
Is she supposed to instruct her son to just stand back and take it? Or should she tell him to defend himself, even if it means hitting a little girl.
