Hearts Gone Cold at the Consumerist

Over in Ohio, some creepy old man is in trouble for hitting kids at Wal Mart.

Not whiny kids. Not kids screaming or acting out in any way. Just random kids he could smack on the back of the head with his keys in his fist, just so he could get away with the “thrill” of it.

I don’t know what’s sicker: Smacking kids for the thrill, or the cheering section this man is evidently earning through his despicable act at The Consumerist.

OK, I do know what’s sicker. It’s the cheering section.

At least this creep is now in the justice system, thanks to a vigilant mother who caught him leaving the store after he smacked her two boys as they were with her at Wal Mart buying plums.

The Consumerist isn’t helping much. Ben Popken, who ordinarily writes good posts, seems to have phoned this one in. The kids were bopped, he writes, “as parents were entranced by Wal Mart bargains.” In other words, they were shopping, Ben. They were looking at something to buy (in this case, plums) when this creep hit their kids. They were not mindlessly consuming letting their kids run rampage. They were shopping. If this had occurred at a Whole Foods or some local New York grocery, would the shoppers also be “entranced,” Ben? For shame.

Anyone tries this with my kid, they get the same treatment this crumb gets from the gal in Ohio whose kids he bopped. He gets chased, hauled back into the store and questioned by the cops.