Justified anger? Father confronts school bus bullies

As a father I know what its like to want to defend your children. Just yesterday my own son came home complaining about chest pains. Apparently a school mate hit him in the chest after my son lost his balance and bumped into him. The school mate stated “now you know how I feel!” The statement was obviously inaccurate because my son left the scene in tears where as the bully was admonished by school staff.

It took everything within me to calmly listen to my son’s description of the incident. Was I angry? No doubt. Despite my anger I realized my involvement was not warrented. Yea, we had the discussion about bullies, self-defense and making good decisions with my 9 year old but I did not feel the need to confront my son’s school mate or confront the school. The problem was taken care of.

Most anger is justified but aggression is rarely an appropriate response. Now don’t get me wrong we need to defend ourselves and those we love but we must be sure we respond with the correct level of force. We must also understand that force is not always physical.

The video below depicts James Jones, an angry father in defense of his disabled daughter. Was his anger justified? What about his actions? Could he benefit from an anger mangement class?

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