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what's an effective way to handle this so the kid knows it's fucked up? say something to the parent?? or to the kid??? https://t.co/kTqi7GqNz4
@goblinodds read an anecdote I think on reddit once, where someone was in an elevator with her mom, and a stranger. and her mom was yelling at her. doors open, mom steps out. stranger taps kid on the shoulder and calmly says something like, "hey kid. it's not you. you're not crazy. she is."
@goblinodds OP went on to say that that one utterance from that stranger kept her sane throughout the rest of her absolutely fucked up childhood in this playground context I think a hearty "hey kid! your life is your life, play however you want!" as you walk past, that would hit and stick
@goblinodds scrolling through the rest of the replies... https://t.co/n3Ns9c0IjO
@goblinodds to elaborate on the suggested response, I think "as you walk past" is an important part of the solution. some people mistakenly think you have to do some sort of head-on confrontation and that can end up escalating into something weird. oblique interventions typically best
@goblinodds couple of other egs of being a good samaritan bystander in public for other adults without like, being some kind of martyr. hmmmm I should really get around to assembling more of this stuff https://t.co/CeDrwkAluC
@ontologytaoist not necessarily! bystanders can diffuse tension without escalating it. lots of people don't seem to appreciate/understand this. also, it doesn't need to be done alone – if I were there I would've gotten a couple of sympathetic strangers to go and chat with the counter lady https://t.co/xkbSujZlc2
