Jayne Dowle: Riot mum strikes a blow for discipline

Here’s a brief recap. In the civil disturbance which erupted following the funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died after suffering a spinal injury in police custody, a woman resplendent in yellow and gold marches into the fray. Her target? A youth running amok throwing rocks. Mothers will especially like the telling detail that 
she recognised her own errant child straight away despite the disguise 
offered by a black face mask and 
a hood.

Although he stands taller than her by several inches, she smacks him round the head, and when he tries to walk away, carries on bashing him until he gives in.

These few seconds of footage have made such an impact it’s gone viral. There has been praise from the Baltimore police chief, and calls for the woman to be crowned “mom of the year”.

She’s a single mother of six, and as she told CNN news, she doesn’t “play” when it comes to disciplining her children. And as she also told the reporter, she doesn’t want her only son to become “another Freddie Gray”, who had been arrested by police for possessing a switchblade knife.

There are several lessons to be learned here. For errant teenage sons, it must be – never turn your back on your mother, especially when she is angry. And for all of us, who live in a world increasingly proscribed by politically correct concerns, it’s this. Sometimes nothing but a slap will do.

If you haven’t got a teenager, you might be shocked. There is a justifiable argument which goes along the lines
of, if you hit out, your children will 
hit back – and possibly hit others too. However, it’s not the physical violence itself, but it is the intent to ram the point home.

There are times in every mother’s life when she is so roused to anger by her offspring she could knock their silly heads off. You’re a mother and you don’t recognise this? You must be that rare 
one with the perfect teenager who 
never, ever does anything to annoy you. Never gets into trouble. Never argues back. Never walks off when you are attempting to chastise them. And never turns their back.

I’ve got a son who is almost 13. He doesn’t quite qualify as a teenager yet, but he is developing all the hallmarks. There have already been times when reasoning with him becomes impossible. He knows his rights. He demands respect. He’s done it all at school in PSHE (personal, social and health education) and he thinks that the ideal time to put the theory into practice is at 8am on a school-day when his bag isn’t ready, his freshly-ironed shirt is shoved in a screwed-up ball in the back of the wardrobe and he can’t find his shoes.

I know. It’s a long way from a frazzled morning scene to a riot in Baltimore, but the same principle parent/child applies. In our crazy society, the balance of power has shifted. No longer are the adults the ones in charge, with the right to lay 
down the law. Oh no, our teenagers think they know best.

I’ll admit, when it comes to matters such as PlayStations and mobile phones, they probably do. However, when it comes to behaving in a decent, civilised manner, according proper respect to their elders and society in general, the vast majority of them have a lot to learn. It doesn’t take a riot to prove this. You
 see it every day. In shops, where they slouch in and out, not bothering to even put those blasted mobile phones away. On public transport, where gangs of schoolchildren put their feet on the seats and deposit used chewing gum on the tables. Just walking down the street when youngsters take up all the pavement and force other pedestrians onto the road into the path of oncoming traffic. And all too often, if you were to remonstrate with these instances of bad behaviour, you would be met with such a torrent of foul-mouthed abuse you would be cowed into silence.

And why do they do this? Because they think they can get away with it.

Now, I’m not advocating that you stalk the streets ready to smack the next misbehaving teenager who crosses your path. However, I must say that if more adults had the guts to stand up to youngsters who breach the bounds of decent behaviour, the world would be a much happier place.