An Abusive Father in a Car Park

Less than an hour ago, I witnessed a very upsetting scenario in the car park of the shopping centre I go to on weekends.

A man was abusing the shit out of his wife, in front of their two little kids (or maybe one little kid).

My initial thought was like a typical passive person living in what some call a city. I got into my car, and I thought I'd let it be. But then I figured if this man doesn't realise that the world is watching him and that his kids will never forget this moment, who knows what he will be up to later (maybe next week, or even tomorrow).

I just cared about the kids. You know, it's not nice when you grow up knowing that your dad was an asshole when you were a child.

Then I thought, here is one opportunity where I can do something to make a difference, and if I let it go I'll regret it (maybe not forever, but for a little while at least).

So I drove around where the dad was abusing his wife (she was standing, head hunched between shoulders as he was hovering over her and yelling). She didn't say a word back, and was looking inside the car (the car's door was open and she was standing in the space between the door and the seat).

I pulled my window down. I thought I said what I did calmly (but I may have been a little nervous and most likely scared of how the dad will react if I interrupted him).

'Hey man, this is not the place to do whatever you're doing. Your children will never forget what you're doing just now, and they'll grow up thinking their father was a fuckin' idiot. Is that what you what?'

The man looked at me awkwardly (like he just realised where he was and what he was doing) and said, 'don't swear at me.'

'I will swear at you, because you have no self-respect. Maybe you should get some self-respect and think about what you're doing. Your children will never forget this.'

At this point he moved away from his wife, who was still looking down. And then he immediately turned back to her to say 'see what you've done!' (I didn't hear exactly what he was saying, but I have no doubt in my mind that it was just that.)

As he was about to complete whatever it is he was saying, I yelled out, 'stop! it's not her fault that i'm here. It's your stupid fault for making a scene in front of everyone. Just stop!'

He pulled back again and walked around to the driver's seat.

At this point the wife looked at me and said, 'that's enough. thank you.'

At the same time, the little two-year old who was just standing there the whole time looked at me and gave me a huge wave and a smile!

It will be a very long time before I forget that smile.