A Sense of Justice

[Okami]

So I volunteer for after school child care in my town, I play with/teach 3-8 year olds for an hour and I have to say, it's an amazing experience. Those kids sometimes say things I'd only expect an adult to say. Anyway, it was raining this week and on Friday we were able to play outside and after a bit of hide and seek the kids wanted to play Batman and Robin which is freeze tag except the freezers are the "villains" and the unfreezers are Batman and Robin. I was chosen to be a villain along with another girl, we were both supposed to be Jokers before I suggested being Mr. Freeze and Captain Cold ("how have I never thought of using ice related villains before!?" complained one five year old), we were set. When I yelled "go" everyone took off running, I tried to but then realized something, wood chips were normally slippery and pair them with getting rained on earlier? A health hazard. My legs went out to either side of me in a perfect split, seriously, I had no idea legs worked like that, and holy mother of Arceus, it hurt. I really thought I dislocated something and was in so much pain, luckily I didn't swear like I wanted to because children. Instead I started speaking third person (I'm pretty sure I was delirious with pain or something) 'Children!" I cried, "Captain Cold has had a semi serious hip (it was more of my groin and pelvis but I didn't want to explain what those were) injury!" By then the only way I could relieve the pain was to get the pressure of my legs by falling onto my face, the children had surrounded me now, asking if I were alright "he'll be alright, children!" I said "He's just going to some physical therapy", that's when the children left me (I like to think for dead) and I started dragging myself to a bench. All of this took place in about a minute, by the time I pulled myself onto a bench a teacher was asking if I were alright, "just my ego" I said. So that's my story, quite weird and painful, but there's one part that really stuck out to me, when I was on my stomach and face I felt someone kick me in the leg and heard a little boy say "that's what you deserve, evil doer!" What a cruel sense of justice, kicking a villain while they're down.

I love playing with these kids.

I think this is the right forum to post this on.

[Ironbound]

I suppose that such small children are too innocent to realise the depth of the matter, and in a way it might be considered good that they are so strongly aware of good and evil at that age, but I must say that for a child to punish an 'enemy' when they're down is not behaviour I would encourage. Victory is when one should be merciful, or at the very least magnanimous. Especially in what is basically a tag game.

Also, I do think that a child who is, say, five years old or so should be taught to be sufficiently aware of what to do in a serious situation, such as when someone is hurt. It is not very much to expect them to register concern and call for help, be it from their parents or another teacher or even from a passer-by. It is certainly disturbing, at least to me, if a child should be so ruthless and/or unable to distinguish between something that's a game and something that's seriously gone wrong. Of course, in no way would this diminish one's love for children (since kids do indeed do the damnedest things sometimes) but perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to talk to them about behaviour in general.

This is of course just my two cents' worth. I understand perfectly that my assessment of the situation may be tinted, and that my opinion might be utter nonsense.

[Halloween]

duudus. tiny wolf. Annie r u ok?

children can be the worst sometimes. You gotta love 'em but their sense of empathy is like, somewhere between hillary clinton and a fat housecat. Hope you're alright bb, it sounds like you coulda strained something.

[Cool Girl]

I'm sorry to hear this happened to you. As a national level martial artist, I was always taught by my sensei "When your enemy admits defeat, don't beat him/her up any further." I mean, it's just like at a competition. When my opponent is defeated, I don't come up and beat them up further. And I agree with @Viridescent, victory should be merciful.

[Shamitako]

Everybody bein' all sad and apologetic and stuff. Clearly y'all dun work with kids very often

Sure, the kid shouldn't have done that whole kicking thing, but focusing on that takes away the fairly positive note of the story as a whole

NEways, this is a cute, albeit painful, story and I thank you for sharing it, Okami. Makes me wish it hadn't been so long since the last time I assisted with a children's program (hopefully that'll change this summer)