Mom refuses to correct 12-year-old son after he defended a young woman at Walmart. AITA?
"AITA for not correcting my son because he defended a girl in the store?"
My son (12) is one of those kids who will tell you about yourself and call you out in a second. But he will also call himself out if he knows or even thinks he is in the wrong. With that being said, I don't see where my son did anything wrong here. That's why I'm asking for an outside opinion because his dad and I are at a disagreement over it.
I took my son to Walmart to buy a game for his switch that he saved up for. I also needed some things as well. We go to the front of the store to pay for my items as he paid for his in electronics. Anyway there was a young woman there she looked to be early 20s.
She was wearing a shorter skirt about mid thigh length on her. Well apparently these two older ladies behind me decided to loudly proclaim how this woman was probably promiscuous and only a promiscuous person would wear a skirt that short.
Of course the young woman looked uncomfortable, so of course they asked me what I thought. Before I could get a word in, my son looks at them and says "they sell 'mind your own damn business and not be judgy jerkface' on the same aisle Bible are sold on."
Of course these ladies decided to inform me that my son was disrespecting them. My son then told them they shouldn't expect respect when they disrespect others. I told them I agree with my son. We then left.
When I told my ex he said that I should have made our son apologize for disrespecting his elders and I said no. I truly believe my son was in the right here, I told my son he was in the right because he stood up for someone else who was being bullied by strangers in a Walmart. So, aita and my ex is right or are me and my son right?
Here's what top commenters had to say about this one:
WebInformal9558 said:
I mean, I don't think arguing with strangers is usually a good idea, but in this story it sounds like they had it coming. NTA.
Vandreeson said:
NTA. Just because people are older doesn't mean they should automatically be respected. They were being judgemental assholes, and your son set them straight. If you would have made him apologize it would been the same as encouraging their bad behavior. You're correct, those that want respect give respect.
heatseekingdinosaurs said:
NTA old people don't deserve respect just because they haven't gotten themselves killed yet.
Business_Ad_540 said:
NTA. Your son is awesome! I’m sure that young woman who was being harassed by the nasty old ladies was very grateful someone stood up for her. As long as he’s not being mean to people who don’t deserve it, there’s no reason to stop his quips.
Hotbabelola said:
NTA. Your son stood up for someone being unfairly judged, and while your ex believes he should respect elders, respect goes both ways. The older women were being rude, and your son responded appropriately by calling out their behavior without being offensive.
It's important to teach kids to stand up for what's right, even when dealing with adults. You could talk to him about handling such situations calmly in the future, but he was defending someone, and that's a good thing.
FasterThanNewts said:
I wish there were more people like your son. The rest of us are too cowardly to confront aholes. NTA.