Man Arrested for Slapping Another Person's Child in Public

Have you ever been in the grocery store and fantasized about "whooping" somebody else's screaming kids? Don't lie, you know you've thought about it. Even though living out your fantasy might have made your day, you probably didn't do it. If you had, you would be in the same predicament as Roger Stevens, a 61 year old man in Georgia who decided to take the discipline of a woman's child into his own hands.

After growing tired of listening to the woman's 2-year old cry, Stevens told Sonya Mathews "if you don't shut that baby up, I will shut her up for you."

After the child continued to cry, Stevens slapped the child several times across the face. Stephens then told Mathews, "See, I told you I would shut her up," according to the police report.

Police are charging Stevens with felony cruelty to children. The child was not injured but sustained redness to the face. The child's mother might even make some money from this incident, as I am sure civil charges will be filed. But this case brings up a great deal of sentiment within the black community.

Did you grow up getting spanked as a child? Do you think that spanking children is ok? What about the old fashioned stories about anyone in the neighborhood having the right to discipline the children in the community? Does it matter that Stevens was white and the child was black? What do you think his intentions were?

Obviously, his actions were illegal and he is going to pay a major price. But what does this incident bring to mind for you?

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Distinguished Scholar with the Barbara Jordan Institute for Policy Research. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.