Op-Ed: Some People Shouldn`t be Parents

Every month is child abuse month Salem-News.com

(Salem) - Some people have serious reasons to rethink their behavior. Children are fragile and striking them in the head is abusive. Sadly, I was witness to a case of this Tuesday night as I drove to a meeting in downtown Salem.

It happened in a cooking supply store on Chemeketa between Commercial and Liberty, just after 5:30 PM.

As I drove by, I saw three small boys ranging in age between four and seven years, sitting on a bench in the store by a window facing the street. The traffic stopped in front of me, and I watched a man who I assume was the boy`s father storm up and strike them in the head. I think he hit all three of them in the head in one movement. He hit them hard.

I was shocked and sickened to see this big, barrel chested man hitting those small kids like that. I was already running late, but I called 911 and drove back by. This time I saw two of the boys holding their heads, clearly feeling the blow from the man who was quick to hit so hard, a man who should be locked up and at minimum, put in a very long class.

I assume the kids were being out of line, so what? Parents that spank their children may be within their rights, but that does not include striking a small child in the head. Ask any police officer, it`s plain and simple child abuse.

There were no parking spaces, but I told the dispatcher what I could, passing by a second and third time. On the last pass, they were gone from sight and I couldn`t see them anywhere in the area.

I did receive a call back from a Salem Police officer who had tried to locate the man and the small boys. I know the police tried. I hope anyone who sees a similar circumstance also calls 911. If possible, do what I didn`t do, and keep an eye on the people in question. Get a license plate number and get a really good description of the person or persons you are calling in.

The man who did this was a white male, overweight and very stocky, average or above height, with near crew cut sandy colored short hair. The three boys were well dressed and all had blondish or brown colored short hair. If this sounds like somebody you know, ask him if he went to cooking supply store Tuesday evening in downtown Salem, then tell him some Salem police officers want to talk to him about how he treats little kids.