Moms And Daughters Team Up For Beatdowns

A mom has been arrested for shouting encouragement as her daughter fought another girl — and two women were caught slugging it out on a bus, one carrying a newborn the whole time. Are we more shocked when women fight?

The bus altercation is pretty disturbing to watch, but the newscaster’s last line is kind of amusing: “for some VIA riders, these types of incidents are making riding the bus too risky.” This innocent soul seems to think people might be watching this video for an update on the state of the bus system in San Antonio (where the fight took place). No, dude. They are watching because a mom is punching another mom while holding a baby. The same people who got a kick out of that may enjoy this gem:

Mom April Newcomb is reportedly facing child abuse charges for yelling “Don’t fucking stop” at her brawling daughter instead of trying to separate the two teens. This is especially awesome because her daughter apparently got a skull fracture a couple years ago, and Newcomb said she wanted to watch the fight to make sure she didn’t get hit in the back of the head. Gawker’s Jeff Neumann suggests, “Maybe breaking up the fight, or preventing it altogether would be a better way to avoid re-injuring her daughter’s skull?” Good point! But a commenter had this to say:

I agree the facts in this case are unseemly. HOWEVER, if I came upon my 16 year-old SON in a clean fight (one-on-one, mutually agreed upon, no weapons, etc.), while I wouldn’t egg him on, I doubt I’d immediately jump in to break it up.

So are April Newcomb’s actions more shocking because she’s the mother of a daughter, and not the father of a son? And, more broadly, are we more interested in watching women fight because it’s perceived as more rare? Obviously in the case of the bus video, part of the shock value (and what makes much of the video pretty unpleasant to watch) is the presence of the baby. But even if she weren’t holding her kid, a mom in a fight with another mom might qualify as “news” in a way that two dudes brawling wouldn’t. Just as the word MILF got coined because moms aren’t supposed to fuck (a cultural stereotype that ignores, obviously, how they got to be moms in the first place), maybe these videos hit the news in part because moms aren’t supposed to fight — or encourage their daughters to do so.

The commenter’s right about one thing — the facts of both cases are “unseemly.” And rather than thinking of fighting as something that’s normal when dudes do it and shocking (or possibly titillating) when women do, we should probably be teaching kids of all genders that it’s never a smart idea. Especially if you have a skull fracture. Or a baby.

Only In San Antonio: Chola Holding Baby Beats Woman On Bus [Guanabee]
Mom Charged For Role In Teens’ Fight [My Fox Tampa Bay]
Mom Jailed After Palmetto High Student Fight [Bradenton.com]
Terrible Mom Arrested For Encouraging Teen Daughter In Brawl [Gawker]