To the Mother in Baltimore,
I saw the video. Everyone has seen the video. Everyone is posting it and tweeting it and talking about it.
I want to say thank you for doing your job as a mother and doing it well.
When you saw your son taking part in the destruction of a community you did what you had to do. I don’t condone violence against children, but your son appears to be approaching the age of full-grown manhood. In that case, I think you did the right thing.
You reminded your son you can still beat his butt when he’s acting childish.
You berated him for his unacceptable actions.
You attempted to remove his mask in order to make him show his face and take responsibility for what he had done.
You did everything you could in those few moments to remind him that you are his mother and he was most definitely not making you proud.
I admire the fact you took action.
I admire the fact you showed him who’s boss.
I admire the fact you wouldn’t let him hide.
I admire the fact that you were probably petrified he may wind up arrested, injured, or dead, and you did what you felt was necessary to keep him safe.
I admire the fact that, from what I’ve seen, you love your son and desperately desire for him to be an upstanding citizen in society.
You don’t know me. We’ll never meet. But I wanted you to know that, as a fellow parent, I’m inspired by you. I’m proud of you. And I think you’re a damn good mom.
If you’re not sure what video this addresses, you can see it here.
(This post originally ran on Is It Bedtime Yet?)
About the author: Toni Hammer never planned on having kids, but she’s now a stay-at-home mom to Lillian and Levi who were born 355 days apart because the universe has an awesome sense of humor She chronicles her mommy misadventures at Is It Bedtime Yet? and a book of the same name is being pitched to publishers right this very second. She writes for Scary Mommy, Babble, and Huffington Post, and watches a lot of Friends. If you’re a fellow social media addict, you can find her trying to be funny on Facebook and Twitter. She drowns her mommy guilt in copious amounts of coffee and Diet Coke.
