Got millstone?

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Photo credit: TSG

Over the years as a uniformed volunteer in law enforcement, I have witnessed various levels of crime and the chilling effects of criminal behavior on innocent victims.

Among the crimes I have witnessed, nothing can compare with the depravity of abuse against and neglect of little children.

When I heard the story of Roger Stephens allegedly assaulting a two-year old girl in a Wal-Mart store in Stone Mountain, Georgia, I could not help but wish I could have been there to restrain him prior to his arrest.

If that had been my daughter he attacked, I can honestly say I would feel no compunction for the manner in which I would stop the abuse and accompanying methods to restrain Mr. Stephens.

My mind soon turned to a discussion recorded in Luke 17:1-2, where Jesus spoke to his disciples about offences against children:

1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!

2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Got millstone?

25 thoughts on “Got millstone?”

  1. My wife said today that if the guy had slapped our 2-year-old, this guy would have been bloodied by her and then she would have asked him, “why are you crying?” My wife is TOUGH. I don’t doubt it.

    Personally, if it happened to me I would have controlled myself and called the cops. I’d probably be sued for assaulting the guy.

    More seriously, the guy probably has some serious mental problems.

  2. The law allows for ‘appropriate’ use of force to stop a crime in progress. In the case of assault on a child, I would deem a few blows to be appropriate force to stop the assault. I doubt police would file charges against someone who used force to stop the assault of a child. I’m with your wife on this one.

  3. Yeah, that sounds right. If somebody is assaulting your kid, you should be able to defend the kid. I’d let my wife handle it — there are very few 61-year-olds she couldn’t take out.

  5. @bbell

    Ouch! Good thing he wasn’t in Texas. As far as I know about Arizona law where I live, deadly force may only be used to prevent sexual assault and to protect/defend life. I’m not sure a jury would deem shooting someone ‘merely’ (I hate to use that word in this situation) slapping a child as lawful use of force. If I had a taser, I would definitely consider deploying that as a means to stop the assault. A well-placed shot to the groin would give him cause to pause. 🙂

  6. Ummm….grandpa, don’t mess with Mama…he would have not liked my reaction.

    But here is the bigger issue for me…kids cry, get over it. Sometimes there is nothing a parent can do to calm their child. Once in Target my neice was throwing a fit over not getting a treat. Someone in line behind us remarked, “Just give her the treat so she will shut up.” My sister very calmly said, “Excuse me, besides being none of your business, but I am trying to teach my child that she can’t have everything she wants. I don’t want her to be a spoiled brat.” Shut that guy up.

  7. East of Eden, your sister is my hero! Look, kids cry. Parents do their best to control it, but very often there’s not much you can do about it. The best thing you can do if you can’t stand the kid crying is go someplace else. Or, even better, you can very nicely offer to help the parent through a rough time. No parent likes to deal with a crying kid either.

  8. I was in court the other day and a mother was in the court room with a fussy child. A lawyer, probably in his 60s, was ahead of schedule and simply waiting in the courtroom for his next hearing (yes, courts sometimes do run ahead of schedule) and kindly offered to hold the woman’s child while she spoke to the judge. It was a heartwarming moment.

    My wife had a situation in a large store where my son accidentally hit a woman in the store. My son was four at the time and was walking with his arm out and bumped the woman with his hand. The woman was indignant and demanded my wife correct my son. My wife handled the situation by correcting my son and telling him to apologize for hitting the woman. She was upset that my wife didn’t do anything more to punish my son. That woman is lucky I wasn’t there. I would have given her an earful. I am not shy when people are rude.

  10. “Uhh, babies cry.” That’d be my reply to anyone flipping out about my crying child.

    And yeah, I get that it’s annoying to hear a baby cry where babies prolly shouldn’t be—movie theater, nice restaurant, sacrament meeting (oh wait!)—but in a Walmart, Target, or other family store?!

  12. Yeah, I don’t even want to know what some little children have to go through. The world is great in so many ways and yet so awful in so many more.

  13. So how do you guys feel about spanking? Or is physical assault only wrong when it’s other people leaving behind “slight redness” on some body part?

  19. “I think Peter LLC lost the battle on the spanking post at T&S and is trying to carry on the fight here.”

    Somebody slap him! 😉

  20. Hitting a child in the face and a swat are two very different things.

    According to the article, “Paige sustained ‘slight redness to the face,’ but was otherwise unharmed.” That sounds like a swat. So what’s the difference between a swat and, um, a swat that justifies bloodying, a few blows, the use of a taser and even firearms in this case? Is it the usurpation of authority?

  23. You guys weren’t there. Maybe the child deserved a slap/swat/spank.

    I might have slapped the parent. The shock of seeing that might have shut the kid up.

    But seriously, I’m one of those guys that cries louder than the little kid. That works more than 1/2 the time.

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