Innocent

By ouch! - 22/08/2020 08:02

Today, I was playfully chasing my daughter along the waterline at the beach when the biggest, buffest, lifeguard I’d ever seen full-on NFL-style tackled me. Apparently I "looked like a creep" chasing a young girl. My ribs hurt like the devil and my daughter won’t stop crying. FML
I agree, your life sucks 2 299
You deserved it 166

Same thing different taste

Top comments

Call the police, and have him arrested for assault and battery. You could sue him too, but if he's a life guard he probably has no assets worth suing, so I wouldn't bother. (I'd bet a lawyer would tell you the same). While it was well-meaning, when a citizen takes something like this into their own hands, they are legally liable for making mistakes. And certainly they're not allowed to use violence in a situation like this. If he thought it was an issue, he should have called the police, and if he felt safe doing so, talked to you before assaulting you.

leximichelle 13

OP literally did nothing wrong. He was playing with his daughter and was assaulted by an employee for “looking creepy”. Definitely not his fault.

Comments

Call the police, and have him arrested for assault and battery. You could sue him too, but if he's a life guard he probably has no assets worth suing, so I wouldn't bother. (I'd bet a lawyer would tell you the same). While it was well-meaning, when a citizen takes something like this into their own hands, they are legally liable for making mistakes. And certainly they're not allowed to use violence in a situation like this. If he thought it was an issue, he should have called the police, and if he felt safe doing so, talked to you before assaulting you.

Mathalamus 24

Yeah that happens sometimes. id rather the lifeguard be proactive, rather than him ignoring it. Basic lesson, probably shouldn’t do that in public.

leximichelle 13

OP literally did nothing wrong. He was playing with his daughter and was assaulted by an employee for “looking creepy”. Definitely not his fault.

Mathalamus 24

The op could not have missed the fact that cultural norms indicate that what he did was wrong, regardless of anything. If it looks extremely creepy to a stranger, probably best not to do it.

if somebody is not intelligent enough to look at the child's face to see if they're in distress or if they're happy then thay shouldn't be working with the public, it is expected at parks, beaches and other places where parents are with their children that playing will be happening. anybody who believes that is some sort of cultural norm is part of the problem

He did do something wrong -- he looked like a creep in public. We know it was just innocent play with his daughter, but in this day and age, you can't do that in some contexts.

Being proactive involves calling the police, or even talking to the people directly When sage to do so (asking “is everything okay”). I would definitely recommend contacting the police even if something seems very slightly shady, because there are a lot of stories of missed chances with child abuse and/or human trafficking. Being proactive does not mean pretending you’re Batman, going vigilante and tackling someone.

tounces7 27

Basically you're saying that he's not allowed to do stuff in Public if he's ugly. Only Attractive people can do normal activities, ugly people are forbidden.

So parents aren’t allowed to play with their children in public, and if they do, then it’s ok for a complete stranger to assume the worst and physically assault them?

Mathalamus 24

Yeah, playing with your kids in public is a big no no. Dude come off it, a lifeguard should know to be responsible, call police, ask what’s going on, it’s a ****** beach and people run around and giggle scream all the time. What was he going to do if he was a creep? Sit on him? Just wait until the end of time? No, the proper authorities should have been notified and he kept an eye on them. What he did was purely egotistical and selfish.

Mathalamus 24

Authorities would take too long to respond. Therefore it was up to the lifeguard. Keeping everyone safe is infact part of the job.

Sorry you had to learn about the realities of today's society the hard way. You can't look like a creep in public with your little girl regardless of the fact that you're not. Another unwritten rule: middle-aged white guys can't walk around in public by themselves with a nice DSLR camera.

wysegirl 24

So you're saying the lifeguard shouldn't have done his job? Accidents happen.

The lifeguard's job is NOT to tackle, injure, and assault a parent playing with their child. The legal term for that is "assault." You cannot put hands on someone because You think they look creepy. Id fhe was concerned he should have called police and observed the situation.

tounces7 27

Last I checked, a Lifeguards "Job" is to save people from drowning, not assault parents on the beach for playing with their kids.

wysegirl 24

I mean in the event a creep was after your daughter you know the lifeguard would be protecting her. Things happen. As long as he apologizes and nothing is broken then let it go.

any person with a brain would be able to look at the child and tell if they're happy and laughing or if they're in distress only a moron would tackle somebody like that and assumed the child was in danger on a public beach full of people playing with their children 🤦‍♂️

dahthunderbird 8
tounces7 27

He's not police officer, he has no right to do such a thing based on a weak assumption.