Stupid parents.

I drove Tater out to the aquarium today where she screamed with glee at the top of her lungs at all the fish. After about an hour, I knew it was time to head on home because 1. Tater decided that she no longer wanted to wear shoes (that's my girl!) and 2. I got into a confrontation with another parent over her butt-wild four-year old muscling Tater away from one of the displays. Actually, I don't have a problem with four-year olds being four-year olds. What I have a problem with is zombie parents who won't correct their little darlings when they bully other children. Basically, Tater was on this play boat thing that they have set up for toddlers. She was having a ball steering the wheel and moving the throttles back and forth. Another kid who was about three times her size essentially shoved her to the side and started playing with the wheel. (I mean, isn't there some sort of protocol for taking the helm? Even the captain has to request the helm from the bridge officer, right?)

Anyhow, I looked over towards this kid's mother who was with another mother and what I assume were their spouses. I was expecting this lady to say something to her kid, since she saw the same thing that I did. When she decided to ignore it, my blood pressure began to rise and, realizing that I was in one of those situations where I am a private citizen and not a cop (and therefore not subject to an Internal Affairs complaint for rudeness), I decided to yank this woman's chain a little. I asked her if it was okay for me to chastise her darling if she was going to abstain. She replied that her little darling was none of my business. I retorted that her little darling's ability to do what he darn well pleases stops at the border of Tater. I made a couple more comments to her about her hands-off parenting approach and then took Tater off to see the sharks. I could not help but notice the two she-men husbands, likely long ago emasculated by their wives, standing there with their hands in their pockets saying nothing. I'd like to think that they were silently cheering me on for speaking to Mommy in a way that they have long since dared to do.