My Lips are Sealed

I try to shop during school hours, because it minimizes the chance that I'll have to deal with screaming children and their screaming mothers. But as many as there are of both these days, it's impossible to avoid all of them.

Sometimes, when I can't get through the store aisle because of a child having a tantrum on the floor while his mom ignores him, it's tempting to offer her a bit of advice. These days, however, a well-meaning, experienced mom is taking a chance if she does so.

Case in point: a few towns south of here, a middle-aged couple apparently offered a parenting tip to a couple with three children (one of whom inspired the parenting tip), and here's how the younger couple responded:

According to police and a store security videotape, Chairez and Salinas lashed out, punching and kicking the other couple and leaving blood on the jewelry counter.

The wife was thrown to the floor and dragged by her hair. The husband was knocked to the ground by Chairez and then kicked repeatedly by Salinas. He suffered broken fingers, four broken ribs and a damaged spleen.

I notice there's a mention of a possible racial slur made at some point during the confrontation. That was not in the edition of the paper I received this morning, and it's not my point here anyway. My point is, the next time I see a child climbing up grocery shelves, pitching a fit on the floor or kicking my cart, I will continue on, swallowing the words I want to say, because I want neither broken bones nor my blood found on the jewelry counter.