Baby Assaulted By 60-Year-Old Man On Airplane

[AGBF]

Baby Assaulted By 60-Year-Old Man On Airplane

I added a bit about this incident at the end of the thread about child-free zones on commercial airline flights. At first I was a bit skeptical at the news dribbling out. I still believe that the accused assailant deserves a fair trial (and he has an attorney). He was witnessed hitting the child, however. His having been drunk at the time of the incident is consistent with his past record (a DUI) and his violence is consistent with a past conviction for assault. While I think his rights must be preserved, I am not feeling a lot of sympathy towards him. I kind of wish the child's father (who says it's a good thing he wasn't there) had been there when he called his son the "n" word and slapped him in the face hard enough to make him bleed!

As the moher of an adopted child myself, I can't tell you how protective one feels of a baby one takes in with a promise...implicit or explicit...to a birthmother that you will akways protect and cherish that baby!!!

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/executive-charged-slapping-toddler-plane-loses-job/story?id=18529437

Deb/AGBF

 

[fabulousfindk]

This is just.. disgusting.

 

[yennyfire]

Wow.

 

[AGBF]

This is just.. disgusting.

It is. I am sitting here crying. It didn't hit me this hard yesterday. Today I saw the actual people involved. I thought how I'd feel if I hadn't been able to protect my baby from being slapped. What would I have done? Would I have gone after the guy?

Deb

 

[minousbijoux]

I was stunned. Just stunned when I read that. I admittedly live in one of the progressive enclaves in this country so I may be out of touch, but I was shocked that in this day and age, someone could be that racist. What the heck?!! Racist. Abusive. Alcoholic. Out of Control. Violent. Deb, you are absolutely right, but its very hard for me to keep an open mind on this one

What broke my heart in one article I read is the baby's mom describing the change of demeanor in the baby since the incident. She said he has gone from being outgoing to being really apprehensive of strangers. Of course he did, poor baby.

 

[minousbijoux]

This is just.. disgusting.

It is. I am sitting here crying. It didn't hit me this hard yesterday. Today I saw the actual people involved. I thought how I'd feel if I hadn't been able to protect my baby from being slapped. What would I have done? Would I have gone after the guy?

Deb

And then to have had to sit next to the abuser until the plane landed. No matter how few minutes (or seconds) were remaining, it must have been an eternity. I *think* I would've been arrested for assault if I was the mother, but maybe I would've been intimidated by him and likely completely consumed with making sure my baby was okay. Ughhh. See, I know its wrong, but I feel hatred for him. I'm not proud of it, just confessing the kind of thing that brings out my hate.

 

[04diamond<3]

Wow... I really think I would have kicked that guy in the b*lls! No joke. I am very very very protective of children (even though I don't have any yet), and really, thank God I wasn't there. That poor child.

 

[monarch64]

I'm thoroughly disgusted after watching that video. I don't have anything positive to say about that sad excuse for a human being, obviously. I will say that while I'm shocked at this particular incident, that he lost control of his impulses and spoke those words and hit a child, I am NOT shocked that he felt he was entitled to do so.

I recently flew for business. I waited to board two separate flights each way. During not only one, but TWO out of those four wait times, I witnessed an older man casually asking someone (appearing to be a total stranger) if they'd watch his luggage for a minute while he went to the restroom/grabbed a paper/whatever. I was appalled. The attitude of being above the law/policy, that one can just leave his luggage unattended probably because he doesn't happen to fit a certain profile, was so apparent and so sickening. Must be nice to have all that privilege.

Obviously my example is nowhere near the level of hate crime/abuse/assault this man committed, but there seem to be a lot of people in this world who feel they can behave any which way (his record of DUI--he feels he can drive drunk if he wants to; he won't get caught or he can pay his way out of it!) and are above reproach or think that the rules don't apply to them.

Yes, there should be a child-free zone on flights. Put all the adults who simply cannot deal with listening to a child cry down in the cargo area with the animals. If one is going to behave like an animal, we should treat him as such.

 

[minousbijoux]

I'm thoroughly disgusted after watching that video. I don't have anything positive to say about that sad excuse for a human being, obviously. I will say that while I'm shocked at this particular incident, that he lost control of his impulses and spoke those words and hit a child, I am NOT shocked that he felt he was entitled to do so.

I recently flew for business. I waited to board two separate flights each way. During not only one, but TWO out of those four wait times, I witnessed an older man casually asking someone (appearing to be a total stranger) if they'd watch his luggage for a minute while he went to the restroom/grabbed a paper/whatever. I was appalled. The attitude of being above the law/policy, that one can just leave his luggage unattended probably because he doesn't happen to fit a certain profile, was so apparent and so sickening. Must be nice to have all that privilege.

Obviously my example is nowhere near the level of hate crime/abuse/assault this man committed, but there seem to be a lot of people in this world who feel they can behave any which way (his record of DUI--he feels he can drive drunk if he wants to; he won't get caught or he can pay his way out of it!) and are above reproach or think that the rules don't apply to them.

Yes, there should be a child-free zone on flights. Put all the adults who simply cannot deal with listening to a child cry down in the cargo area with the animals. If one is going to behave like an animal, we should treat him as such.

I just saw an excerpt from an expose on treatment of animals in cargo areas on flights. Not good at all. Lets get animals out of the cargo areas and just put all callous, intolerant and abusive adults down there.

 

[minousbijoux]

Sorry - I've made my point and I'm being redundant. I'll go cool off before I post any more.

 

[rubyshoes]

GRRRRRRR!!!!! Shitty little horrible troll of a man. I would have punched HIM in the face. Nasty creature.

 

[monarch64]

Sorry - I've made my point and I'm being redundant. I'll go cool off before I post any more.

Don't worry, it's not hard to get heated up over this kind of thing. I was going to reply back to you but thought I was being repetitive as well!

 

[minousbijoux]

GRRRRRRR!!!!! Shitty little horrible troll of a man. I would have punched HIM in the face. Nasty creature.

Yessssss!

 

[Circe]

I can completely understand the mother being too shocked/concerned about her baby to do anything to the man who hit him. The other passengers, however ... How do you watch that and not start beating him about the head and shoulders with whatever comes to hand?

I'm also wondering if it would be possible to up the ante on prosecution and charge him with a hate crime. PS lawyers ... y/n?

 

[iheartscience]

I can completely understand the mother being too shocked/concerned about her baby to do anything to the man who hit him. The other passengers, however ... How do you watch that and not start beating him about the head and shoulders with whatever comes to hand?

I'm also wondering if it would be possible to up the ante on prosecution and charge him with a hate crime. PS lawyers ... y/n?

Apparently another passenger went and helped the mother. I can guarantee that I would intervene on behalf of the mother if I had witnessed the incident. I WISH I was there!!!

I was on a flight with an incredibly intoxicated man who was carrying on a "conversation" with the passenger next to him at the top of his lungs. (He was in the row in front of me.) I shushed him repeatedly, told him he was being too loud and ruining the flight of everyone around him, and spoke to the flight attendants about his behavior. He was actually guzzling vodka from the bottle he bought at Duty Free and bullied the Duty Free woman into allowing him to get on the plane with it himself. The flight attendants and eventually the captain spoke to him repeatedly, and took his bottle away, but he didn't stop the obnoxious behavior, just loudly proclaimed that he was AMERICAN and HIS DAD WAS A LAWYER.

It ended with him being hogtied with demonstration seatbelts and screaming at the top of his lungs for people to help him. QUITE the eventful flight.

 

[rubyshoes]

I can completely understand the mother being too shocked/concerned about her baby to do anything to the man who hit him. The other passengers, however ... How do you watch that and not start beating him about the head and shoulders with whatever comes to hand?

I'm also wondering if it would be possible to up the ante on prosecution and charge him with a hate crime. PS lawyers ... y/n?

Apparently another passenger went and helped the mother. I can guarantee that I would intervene on behalf of the mother if I had witnessed the incident. I WISH I was there!!!

I was on a flight with an incredibly intoxicated man who was carrying on a "conversation" with the passenger next to him at the top of his lungs. (He was in the row in front of me.) I shushed him repeatedly, told him he was being too loud and ruining the flight of everyone around him, and spoke to the flight attendants about his behavior. He was actually guzzling vodka from the bottle he bought at Duty Free and bullied the Duty Free woman into allowing him to get on the plane with it himself. The flight attendants and eventually the captain spoke to him repeatedly, and took his bottle away, but he didn't stop the obnoxious behavior, just loudly proclaimed that he was AMERICAN and HIS DAD WAS A LAWYER.

It ended with him being hogtied with demonstration seatbelts and screaming at the top of his lungs for people to help him. QUITE the eventful flight.

My aunt's worked as a flight attendant for 30 yrs. The stories she could tell you about drunk, obnoxious passengers and the havoc they cause!

 

[House Cat]

This is so very sad.

We always think of scenarios of what we would do if someone hurts our children until we are actually put into these situations. I can tell you that when the day came for my husband and I, we were most concerned about protecting our son. His stepfather assaulted him in horrible ways. A man always thinks, "If another man EVER lays a hand on my kid...I'll kill him." Well, you don't. You bite your pride and act like an adult.

And you know what? Sometimes, justice is never fully served, not as fully as you would like anyway. But you do what you feel is right and you LOVE your child and wrap them in your arms, because really, that is all you CAN do. The authorities will take care of the rest and their system is flawed, at best.

I do hope that justice will be served for this family. This man, who slapped this boy? He's beyond learning. He feels justified, believe me.

 

[lulu]

What a heartless emotionally ill imbecile.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

It is absolutely awful. That poor mother!

I think they need alcohol free zones on planes. I can't think of much worse than being stuck sitting next to a drunk on a 5 hour flight to Las Vegas. I'd rather sit in the child zone!

 

[SB621]

Wow... I really think I would have kicked that guy in the b*lls! No joke. I am very very very protective of children (even though I don't have any yet), and really, thank God I wasn't there. That poor child.

+1 I'm extremly protective over my kids so if anyone had laid a hand on them you can believe I would raise holy he!! back at them.

 

[AGBF]

Here is an excerpt from a story filed today. It doesn't really answer any questions posed here, but does show that others have considered some of the questions Pricescopers have considered, such as whether this could be considered a hate crime.

"Jessica Bennett, the 19-month boy’s mom says that she was 'scared to death' after the stranger mouthed a racial epithet and slapped her crying baby.

Bennett said the man 'reeked of alcohol' and was seen consuming two double vodkas aboard the Atlanta-bound flight.

According to reports, the man said, 'Shut that [N-word] baby up!' just before striking the child, causing him to bleed and cry even harder.

At least one witness, who came to the Bennett’s aid, confirmed the woman’s version of the story.

Federal authorities charged Hundley with simple assault, but at this point, there is no mention of whether he will be charged with a hate crime for his alleged statements before hitting the hapless child.

The man’s attorney, who admitted to receiving hate mail for defending Hundley, said the complete version of what happened will come out that will exonerate her client."

Some people on Pricescope who have commented in the thread on the idea of having a child-free zone have suggested that folks being alcohol-free might do more good. That had not occurred to me. However, I now think that it is a brilliant idea! It might be might be good to put all the heavy drinkers on one set of flights together and all the children and people who are willing to nurture children on others. That way everyone gets to pick his own poison!

Deb/AGBF

 

[ponder]

I can completely understand the mother being too shocked/concerned about her baby to do anything to the man who hit him. The other passengers, however ... How do you watch that and not start beating him about the head and shoulders with whatever comes to hand?

I'm also wondering if it would be possible to up the ante on prosecution and charge him with a hate crime. PS lawyers ... y/n?

Apparently another passenger went and helped the mother. I can guarantee that I would intervene on behalf of the mother if I had witnessed the incident. I WISH I was there!!!

I was on a flight with an incredibly intoxicated man who was carrying on a "conversation" with the passenger next to him at the top of his lungs. (He was in the row in front of me.) I shushed him repeatedly, told him he was being too loud and ruining the flight of everyone around him, and spoke to the flight attendants about his behavior. He was actually guzzling vodka from the bottle he bought at Duty Free and bullied the Duty Free woman into allowing him to get on the plane with it himself. The flight attendants and eventually the captain spoke to him repeatedly, and took his bottle away, but he didn't stop the obnoxious behavior, just loudly proclaimed that he was AMERICAN and HIS DAD WAS A LAWYER.

It ended with him being hogtied with demonstration seatbelts and screaming at the top of his lungs for people to help him. QUITE the eventful flight.

My aunt's worked as a flight attendant for 30 yrs. The stories she could tell you about drunk, obnoxious passengers and the havoc they cause!

IMHO alcohol does not need to be served on a plane and I don't believe you should be allowed on a plane if intoxicated. These two things could probably prevent a whole lot of issues.

 

[Gypsy]

He should have been charged with a hate crime/race crime. He called that baby a racial slur, and acted in violence. And frankly I think it was racially motivated. If it had been a blond blue eyed cherub he probably wouldn't have hauled off and hit it.

I'm glad he was fired but I still think he should be charged with a hate crime.

A one year potential sentence is not enough IMO.

 

[Dreamer_D]

This is just.. disgusting.

It is. I am sitting here crying. It didn't hit me this hard yesterday. Today I saw the actual people involved. I thought how I'd feel if I hadn't been able to protect my baby from being slapped. What would I have done? Would I have gone after the guy?

Deb

And then to have had to sit next to the abuser until the plane landed. No matter how few minutes (or seconds) were remaining, it must have been an eternity. I *think* I would've been arrested for assault if I was the mother, but maybe I would've been intimidated by him and likely completely consumed with making sure my baby was okay. Ughhh. See, I know its wrong, but I feel hatred for him. I'm not proud of it, just confessing the kind of thing that brings out my hate.

As a mother, I too think I might have lost my marbles and attacked the man if he touched my kids! On the other hand, maybe self preservation would kick it... it is no good to provoike further an aggressive person when he ceases to be an immediate danger.

 

[minousbijoux]

I can completely understand the mother being too shocked/concerned about her baby to do anything to the man who hit him. The other passengers, however ... How do you watch that and not start beating him about the head and shoulders with whatever comes to hand?

I'm also wondering if it would be possible to up the ante on prosecution and charge him with a hate crime. PS lawyers ... y/n?

Apparently another passenger went and helped the mother. I can guarantee that I would intervene on behalf of the mother if I had witnessed the incident. I WISH I was there!!!

I was on a flight with an incredibly intoxicated man who was carrying on a "conversation" with the passenger next to him at the top of his lungs. (He was in the row in front of me.) I shushed him repeatedly, told him he was being too loud and ruining the flight of everyone around him, and spoke to the flight attendants about his behavior. He was actually guzzling vodka from the bottle he bought at Duty Free and bullied the Duty Free woman into allowing him to get on the plane with it himself. The flight attendants and eventually the captain spoke to him repeatedly, and took his bottle away, but he didn't stop the obnoxious behavior, just loudly proclaimed that he was AMERICAN and HIS DAD WAS A LAWYER.

It ended with him being hogtied with demonstration seatbelts and screaming at the top of his lungs for people to help him. QUITE the eventful flight.

Oh lord, this made me laugh, Thing! I know its not funny and was certainly Not Funny at the time, but everything, that his Dad is a lawyer to being hogtied with demo seat belts just make laugh and laugh! If only they had a demo sock to put in his mouth...

 

[minousbijoux]

How can it not be a hate crime? Oh I know, he'll say he didn't use that word, what he said was he needed another "jigger" of vodka, or that he said "shut that "ninny" up" or something. He won't stand up to what he did because entitled people like him believe in their righteousness at all cost, even if it means treating others in disgusting ways.

 

[ForteKitty]

If she stabbed him in the face with a fork in an attempt to stop him from further striking her baby, is that considered self defense?

 

[packrat]

Thing, your post made me laugh and think of the South Park episode of Randy Marsh getting drunk at his son's baseball games and fighting, and screaming "Ohhh I thought this was America!" and the SNL parodies of the View, Star Jones saying "Well, I *AM* a lawyer.."

And yeah, that guy needed his teeth shoved down his throat for him.

 

[AGBF]

If she stabbed him in the face with a fork in an attempt to stop him from further striking her baby, is that considered self defense?

It probably depends on how quickly after he acted she acted and how much damage she did. Hitting someone back is iffy territory...for right or for wrong. One can claim one hit back in "self defense", but if the attack was clearly over and you did more damage than the original aggressor, you may still find yourself charged with assault. I am not a lawyer, but I have witnessed this here in Connecticut. Unless another state (unlike mine) has a specific law on the books, hitting back is a grey area.

Deb/AGBF

 

[Tuckins1]

Honestly, I would have punched him right in his mouth....