Little Haiti shop owner says he's justified in spanking teenage girl

Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel ^ | 12.29.03 | Diana Marrero

[mhking]

MIAMI -- The 13-year-old girl has a pretty face and a slight frame. But to Lonnie Grigsby, 52, her sweet appearance masks an unruly attitude.

Grigsby, who runs a mini-mart just blocks from the girl's middle school in Little Haiti, says the teenager sassed him one too many times this month.

So Grigsby took off his belt and gave the girl what he thought she needed: a "good whupping."

"She's beyond sassy; she's out of control," said Grigsby, who said he hit the girl after she called him a number of expletives and threw two coins at his head. "I bet her parents never gave her a whupping. She needed it."

Grigsby's actions landed him in jail and set off a firestorm of debate in a community divided by both generational and cultural differences when it comes to disciplining children.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Wrong. He was black, she was black.

No reason, PC or otherwise, for him not to bar her from the store.

[KantianBurke]

"Well then the law's crazy"

[FITZ]

If nobody will hold the child or the parents responsible, how long until vigilantism takes the matter into it's unforgiving hands?

For sassiness by a 13 year old?

[CyberCowboy777]

I am not condoning it, I am asking how long until it happens.

I do not however consider throwing coins at a person sassiness. That is assault, and the child nor parents would be held accountable for it.

I think it is the responsibility of the parents and law enforcement. But then, what happens when they cannot be counted on for action?

[Modernman]

in jail? amazing ... what a sick politically-correct world we are creating.

He DID commit assault and battery on somebody else's child.

[Huck]

Haiti, little Haiti. Same difference.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

"But I do have to laugh at the stupid yuppies at the grocery store saying "no-no" again and again as their little darling has a tantrum about not getting the candy that they want."

And they get mad at me when I offer them the use of my
belt.

[Capitalist Eric]

Whatever happened to the shoe or the hairbrush?

Actually, this brings to mind something I saw last year... This guy I know, together with his brother, runs two tire-shops in Sacramento. The father, in his late 60's, owns them both, keeps the books, and basically keeps his boys from spending themselves into financial ruin.

Anyway, the younger brother (with a monster chip on his shoulder) starts harassing dad, in front of me and several employees, "you're too old," and "you don't know anything about cars," etc... Dad warns young son to shut up, or get the shoe...
Young son turns his back, and keeps flapping his lips. Dad sits down, starts unlacing a very expensive leather shoe... 30 seconds later, the heel of that shoe is being cracked across the back of young-sons' head, and he runs for the door...

BTW, the younger son was 26 years of age.

I laughed my @$$ off.... And the old guy just looked at me, and winked. ;) Of course, they're all originally from Syria.

[CyberCowboy777]

He did - and she DID commit assault on him by throwing the coins.

If he is held for account (as it should be) - so should she.

[paulsy]

"If I had a teen girl and some 52 year old man whooped her, that man would be introduced to a world of hurt, sass or no sass."

: ) If my daughters were sassin' off and throwing things, they might be lucky he got to 'em first.

[looscnnn]

Please, if he was white and she was black and he barred her, Jesse would be there in a hartbeat to denounce it, demand hush money, controlling intrest in the business be turned over to blacks, more blacks be hired, etc. That is how political correctness works. You should know that by now, we have had PC being forced on us for how long?

I did not catch that they were both black.

[looscnnn]

Haiti, little Haiti. Same difference.

This could be true, never been there.

[MedicalMess]

Sounds like they all need to take a "said-a-give".

[HamiltonJay]

Sounds to me like this Guy did something this brats parents should have done a long time ago!

[Qwinn]

"If I had a teen girl and some 52 year old man whooped her, that man would be introduced to a world of hurt, sass or no sass."

From my perspective? It would depend on what my daughter did. If it was minor, yeah, me too. If it was serious, like in rbessenger's story, I might've done what rbessenger did, go back and thank the guy and maybe even add a bit to it. I know my kid would never point a gun at anyone else ever again unless they meant to shoot.

These circumstances? It's toeing the line. We don't KNOW if he told her to get out of the store and -then- she screamed expletives and threw coins at him. If she had done that -after- he told her to get out? Yeah, I probably would've dragged her back and given her a couple spanks myself, to prove the point to my kid.

On the other hand, if he brought out the belt -before- telling her to get out? Then I'd kick the crap out of him.

In my opinion? If the store owner told her to get out and she didn't, and it was reported to the cops, they should have looked the other way. And if the father of the girl then went to -him- and kicked the crap out of -him- for touching their daughter, the cops should look the other way. And no one should be able to sue in either case absent serious injury.

People took responsibility for their own actions a whole lot more before lawyers became the new nobility.

Qwinn

[sgtbono2002]

So you arent against violence , just not against your daughter. Since the kid used expletives we have to surmise her folks use them too , she probably had no one to correct her. Parents probably as bad as the kid.

[paul51]

What the guy did was wrong. What the snot did was wronger. Is she in jail?

[Huck]

Then again, if all we're talking about is Haitians....well, I better not. I'm in a foul mood today.

[Nat Turner]

and this is why you get things like columbine and Lee Malvo...

[bc2]

if my child ever acted up like this, they would get a thrashing they'd never forget!

but if a stranger laid hands on my child like this I'd probably shoot them.