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The story
A 73-year-old man petted the head of a child he didn’t know — and was shoved to the ground by the child’s father, who was standing nearby, breaking a bone in the process. Security camera footage capturing the whole incident has gone viral online, sparking debate over whether the man’s actions were appropriate.
On a 5ch thread, opinions split right down the middle: some defended the father, saying “it’s the guy’s own fault for touching someone else’s kid without asking” and “instantly neutralizing a potential threat is just common sense,” while others countered that “breaking someone’s bone is way too far” and “in Japan you’d get reported to the police just for saying hello.”
A stranger suddenly pats your child’s head. Do you take it as an act of affection — or as a red flag that says “don’t touch my kid without asking”?
As awareness of sex crimes and abductions targeting children grows, that sense of acceptable distance is shifting. In Japan, there was even a case where a local government flagged “patting a child’s head” itself as suspicious-person behavior in a public safety alert, which sparked its own controversy.
And now, far away in Singapore, a single incident has ignited a similarly heated debate.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
(∪^ω^) Woof woof!
Better not to touch it — no curse will befall you (a play on the proverb "leave the gods alone and no curse befalls you," swapping 'god' for 'hair,' both read "kami")
Re: #46
ミ⌒彡 (a recurring 5ch bald-head silhouette meme)
(´･ω･)「Yeah, guess so…」
ミ⌒彡 (a recurring 5ch bald-head silhouette meme)
(´･ω･)「Yeah, guess so…」
Still better than Japan, where you get reported to the cops just for looking at a kid
Re: #3
You've seen Japanese men, right?
They're way creepier, no comparison.
Reporting them ought to be mandatory.
You've seen Japanese men, right?
They're way creepier, no comparison.
Reporting them ought to be mandatory.
Re: #3
It's like a fighter jet getting painted by enemy radar.
You judge on sight whether the guy's a creep hunting for prey, lol
It's like a fighter jet getting painted by enemy radar.
You judge on sight whether the guy's a creep hunting for prey, lol
Re: #3
Say hi = an "incident" (5ch slang for getting flagged/reported as a suspicious person).
Don't say hi back = an incident.
Just look at a kid = an incident.
Say hi = an "incident" (5ch slang for getting flagged/reported as a suspicious person).
Don't say hi back = an incident.
Just look at a kid = an incident.
I mean, if you suddenly pet a kid's head without even talking to them first, that's straight-up creep behavior.
Re: #10
Right?
Sure, the parent hitting him hard enough to break a bone is a problem too, but honestly the guy who petted someone else's small kid's head without even checking with the parent first — just because "they're little" — is the one at fault.
Right?
Sure, the parent hitting him hard enough to break a bone is a problem too, but honestly the guy who petted someone else's small kid's head without even checking with the parent first — just because "they're little" — is the one at fault.
This is so absurd I laughed
I can't make heads or tails of Yoh-san getting mad at his own family over this
"I just love kids. It's my fault for petting him. My bone's broken, but it's still on me."
I can't make heads or tails of Yoh-san getting mad at his own family over this
"I just love kids. It's my fault for petting him. My bone's broken, but it's still on me."
Re: #16 Why? He's saying "I petted the kid and made the dad angry, my bad, I don't want to make a big deal of this" — but the dad's probably mad because his son is the one making it a big deal.
In Japan it's gotten to the point where people just stand by and watch while a young girl drowns.
Re: #19
Because if you help her and later she claims you touched her body "under the guise of helping," you're finished.
Because if you help her and later she claims you touched her body "under the guise of helping," you're finished.
A foreign tourist who came to Japan with their baby said Japanese people always coo "so cute!" and touch the baby, and wished people would stop.
You guys should watch yourselves too.
You guys should watch yourselves too.
Re: #24
Are there really people like that? lol
I'm a woman, born in the Shōwa era (before 1989), and apparently because I was a chubby kid, random old ladies I didn't even know would come up and touch me going "aw, how cute~" (´･ω･`)
That'd be completely off-limits nowadays.
Are there really people like that? lol
I'm a woman, born in the Shōwa era (before 1989), and apparently because I was a chubby kid, random old ladies I didn't even know would come up and touch me going "aw, how cute~" (´･ω･`)
That'd be completely off-limits nowadays.
Old folks really do love kids. When I had a little one with me, plenty of old men and women would strike up conversations.
Same with walking a dog — I end up thinking, "I'm not interested in you, so please don't talk to me."
Same with walking a dog — I end up thinking, "I'm not interested in you, so please don't talk to me."
Re: #41
The old folks aren't interested in you either, you know…
The old folks aren't interested in you either, you know…
Re: #1
To begin with, kids have human rights too — being touched without consent is just plain scary for them.
To begin with, kids have human rights too — being touched without consent is just plain scary for them.
It's rare enough to pet even your own kid's head these days, so petting someone else's kid says a lot about your mental state.
Re: #50
Don't limit this to kids.
Why does everyone assume it's fine to touch kids or babies?
Even dogs and cats bark or scratch if a stranger suddenly touches them.
Touching a stranger out of nowhere isn't okay, whether it's a kid, an adult, or an elderly person.
Don't limit this to kids.
Why does everyone assume it's fine to touch kids or babies?
Even dogs and cats bark or scratch if a stranger suddenly touches them.
Touching a stranger out of nowhere isn't okay, whether it's a kid, an adult, or an elderly person.
Isn't the act of touching itself sexual harassment?
I get where everyone's coming from.
Being touched by a stranger is scary, sure, but if I were out watching my own kid, I wouldn't go as far as shoving the guy — that seems like overkill.
Unless it's a case where you looked away for a second and were startled to find a stranger touching your kid when you looked back.
>"Was it really necessary to knock an elderly man who can barely walk to the ground?" — plenty of people also criticized the father's actions.
Being touched by a stranger is scary, sure, but if I were out watching my own kid, I wouldn't go as far as shoving the guy — that seems like overkill.
Unless it's a case where you looked away for a second and were startled to find a stranger touching your kid when you looked back.
>"Was it really necessary to knock an elderly man who can barely walk to the ground?" — plenty of people also criticized the father's actions.
Re: #62
You can't tell in the moment whether he just came to pet the kid's head.
He might have a knife and be about to stab someone, he might be trying to kidnap the kid,
he could even be carrying sulfuric acid to throw.
In a moment like that you have to neutralize him instantly or it's too late.
Bottom line: "the cause lies with the other guy," and "the trigger for the shove was him touching the kid's head without permission" — the father didn't shove him out of nowhere for no reason.
You can't tell in the moment whether he just came to pet the kid's head.
He might have a knife and be about to stab someone, he might be trying to kidnap the kid,
he could even be carrying sulfuric acid to throw.
In a moment like that you have to neutralize him instantly or it's too late.
Bottom line: "the cause lies with the other guy," and "the trigger for the shove was him touching the kid's head without permission" — the father didn't shove him out of nowhere for no reason.
Re: #62
Even if your daughter were being raped, you're apparently not supposed to injure the guy.
First you're supposed to pull them apart without hurting him.
Even if your daughter were being raped, you're apparently not supposed to injure the guy.
First you're supposed to pull them apart without hurting him.
Shoving him was excessive self-defense, so that's not okay —
but the old man who goes around casually touching other people's kids isn't okay either.
but the old man who goes around casually touching other people's kids isn't okay either.
Re: #69
Is it okay to pet someone's head just because they're a kid?
What's the reasoning there?
A hostess, a sex worker, a female clerk at a Docomo store, a McDonald's employee — any of them would get angry if you suddenly petted their head.
Is it okay to pet someone's head just because they're a kid?
What's the reasoning there?
A hostess, a sex worker, a female clerk at a Docomo store, a McDonald's employee — any of them would get angry if you suddenly petted their head.
In Japan you get reported to the police just for saying hello.
Re: #70
A bald guy just making eye contact gets circulated as a "suspicious person" alert.
A bald guy just making eye contact gets circulated as a "suspicious person" alert.
Re: #70
Of course you get reported for saying hello.
A middle-aged guy gets treated as suspicious and reported even when he's the one being greeted.
Of course you get reported for saying hello.
A middle-aged guy gets treated as suspicious and reported even when he's the one being greeted.
Re: #1
What's wrong with it?
You'd all lose it too if someone suddenly touched your head —
especially if you're working hard to make your thinning hair look like more, and someone suddenly pets it.
What's wrong with it?
You'd all lose it too if someone suddenly touched your head —
especially if you're working hard to make your thinning hair look like more, and someone suddenly pets it.
Re: #76
LOL, true.
If you suddenly petted a guy's 1:9-part comb-over or "barcode head" (slang for a thin comb-over whose strands look like barcode lines), that's definitely a middle-aged-man-loses-it case.
Female employees would get mad too if petting messed up their hairstyle.
LOL, true.
If you suddenly petted a guy's 1:9-part comb-over or "barcode head" (slang for a thin comb-over whose strands look like barcode lines), that's definitely a middle-aged-man-loses-it case.
Female employees would get mad too if petting messed up their hairstyle.
Used to be totally normal back in the day.
This is a side effect of Western individualism.
This is a side effect of Western individualism.
Re: #129
Yet Western people fuss over other people's kids way more than that.
Yet Western people fuss over other people's kids way more than that.
Re: #129
True.
Though in exchange, there's probably a lot of sex crime that never comes to light either.
True.
Though in exchange, there's probably a lot of sex crime that never comes to light either.
Half of men don't even wash their hands after using the toilet.
Go to a restroom in a shopping mall and you'll see so many guys just walk right past the sink.
No wonder people get angry when a guy like that touches them without asking.
Don't touch people with your filthy hands.
Go to a restroom in a shopping mall and you'll see so many guys just walk right past the sink.
No wonder people get angry when a guy like that touches them without asking.
Don't touch people with your filthy hands.
Re: #151
Says the filthy one himself, lol
Says the filthy one himself, lol
Re: #151
I run a food stall, so I'd say I'm in the half that does wash their hands.
If I were sloppy about it, I'd have been shut down by food poisoning complaints by now.
I run a food stall, so I'd say I'm in the half that does wash their hands.
If I were sloppy about it, I'd have been shut down by food poisoning complaints by now.
Re: #151
Guys who don't wash their hands cook and end up causing mass norovirus outbreaks…
Infectious disease in kids —
that's what mothers worry about most.
Guys who don't wash their hands cook and end up causing mass norovirus outbreaks…
Infectious disease in kids —
that's what mothers worry about most.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[Overseas] “Is patting someone else’s kid’s head ‘suspicious’ now?” 73-year-old man petted a girl’s head, got knocked down and broke a bone… security cam footage sparks huge debate“
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