Man Smacks Child In Wal-mart

I was both shocked, yet somewhat unsurprised given the current global climate to read of a 2 year-old American infant being physically assaulted by a senior citizen aged 61. Arrested and held on a count of child cruelty of first degree, the law has moved quickly however, to prevent the isolated incident escalating along with the worldwide media attention that has again embroiled America in controversy. By charging the male however, it may open a whole new can of worms regarding the physical boundaries that a person may reach before they can be said to be committing an act of ‘child cruelty.’

Reading more into the facts, the above statement may be somewhat exaggerated given the child was not in fact, the daughter of the accused, and also that the force used was described as a slap. The events unfolded as the small girl sobbed uncontrollably within the Atlanta megastore within Wal-Mart, Georgia. Upon notifying the child’s mother of his discomfort at the toddler’s misbehavior, 61 year-old Roger Stephens warned that if she failed to ‘shut her daughter up,’ he would proceed to do it for her. Following an exchange of words, Mr. Stephens then went on to fulfill his threat by hitting the child across the face several times. Although the tot was not seriously hurt, coming away with swollen cheeks, it is the principle of the matter that has enraged many worldwide. Disregarding the fact that the mother went on to offer her forgiveness to the felon, given his obvious defective mentality, there is feeling that a debate could erupt as a result.

By ensuring that the incident is broadcast as something that will not be tolerated to any extent by the US Government, on the other hand, it is quite possible that the issue of how far a person may go, be it a parent or guardian, a friend, a relative or even a child minder, in their efforts to calm a hysterical minor down. A similar debate hit Great Britain just a couple of years ago considering whether a parent smacking their child was wrong. Ministers later went on to provide their backing for the proposals, but with care to ensure that parents tapping their child playfully were not capable of criminal prosecution, although the dispute remains ongoing.

It will be very interesting to see where this headline goes, and whether it does in fact, have an effect on the American jurisdiction in any way. It could be that the storm just blows over, treated for what it was, an unstable event caused by an unstable minded individual. Conversely, there could be a long road ahead for the matter if certain high standing figures decide to openly offer their opinions on the incident.