Florida Mom Arrested After Beating Up 12-Year Old To Stop Bullying

I first read about fighting fire with fire in an old Tin-Tin comic I had borrowed from the library in the hopes that I would one day be interested in adventure (no. It’s the napping life for me). In the comic, Tin Tin sets some grass on fire to put out another fire that is coming towards him and his merry band of misfits. After the fire is put out, it is revealed that the whole thing was a metaphor for fighting might with might and never backing down. Whatever, that dog was hella cute.

A Florida mom must have read the same comic and taken it seriously when she decided to stop some bullying that was going on against her daughter by hauling off and punching a 12-year-old that was allegedly doing the bullying. Because if there’s one surefire way to show children that they shouldn’t pick on those smaller and weaker than them it’s by hitting them. You know just to show what some real damage can do.

The mom in question, Irisdaly Rios, is defending her actions by pointing out that the 12-year-old she fought, Ashley Perez, has been a harsh bully who was a danger to Rios’ daughter. But even if that’s true (and let’s be real, middle-schoolers are the MEANEST bunch and NO ONE should be messing with your kid), there is absolutely no excuse for a) hitting a child, and b) leaving that child with a chipped tooth, a bruised head, and scratches on her neck. What the actual fuck, lady? Control yourself and use your words, not your fists. (And make sure those words aren’t just “AAAAAAAAH, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!”)

You know you’re not adulting that good when the child in the situation sounds like more of a responsible adult. Here’s what Perez had to say about how a fight between two sixth-graders turned into a fight between a woman and a child.

“That’s why I walked to the car, because usually, if it was another mother, she’ll be like, ‘Oh, what’s happening to my daughter. Let’s fix this up,'” Perez told NBC Miami. “She got aggressive, and I think she felt her daughter was in danger.”

The fight, which was caught on video, has led to Rios’ arrest. She now faces a battery charge. Her daughter faces a lifetime of embarrassment because you know this video will never go away.