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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]On my commute home, I bike by a bus stop in a quiet DC neighborhood. Earlier this week, I saw a mom and a young son (maybe age 5 or 6) waiting for a bus. I noticed that the kid had picked up a stick from the ground and was pretending to shoot cars as they drove by. As I biked by he did the same to me while also making shooting noises. He was even "shooting" at my back. I heard and saw everything quite clearly because I was on my bike. The mom was on her phone.
Yesterday, I saw the same kid again and he repeated his behavior. Mom was once again on her phone.

Of course when I was a kid, it was common for kids to play with toy guys or pretend that sticks are guns, but in today's context, this is quite jarring. In my daughter's school, kids are not allowed to do this and teachers are very strict about it. Makes sense given the world we live in.

I was talking to my family over dinner about the incident, and I said that next time this happens, I'd like to say something to the mom. I don't want to be rude or get angry, I just want to make her aware that this is happening and that other people (including myself) find the behavior unnerving given the context. My preteen daughter and my husband said if I should not say anything and that would be classic "Karen" behavior.

WWYD?

[/quote]

In case anyone missed OP's coded messaging here, I will spell it out for you:

OP commutes to work on a bike, which means that she is a white liberal. This mom and son were waiting for a [i]bus[/i], which means that they are poor and/or people of color. It was also important to note that the mother was on her phone, twice, which means that she is negligent in her parenting duties.

Thank God we have people like OP to educate parents from lower SES on how to raise their kids.[/quote]

Wrong assumptions, sorry. I am a POC and the son and mom are white. [/quote]

I assumed the mom (and likely the kid) was white (no SES assumptions) because I would guess a parent of color (or a parent of a child of color) would be more concerned about someone mistaking the toy or stick for a gun and forcefully over-reacting with either violence or a call to the police. [/quote]

OP here. I am a POC but I didn't think my reaction was a product of race.[/quote]

I agree with that.  I think it's a product of you being a self-important busybody who is operating under the delusion that you have the right not to be "uncomfortable," ever.  [/quote]

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