Could You Kill Someone?

I am a pacifist.

I don't like fighting or yelling or slamming doors.

I really hate when people hurt each other - physically or emotionally.


When I was younger, if you asked me if I was capable of killing another human being, I would have said NO WAY!


But, now I'm a mother.

I knew I was a mother when, without doubt, I was certain I could hurt, or even kill, a person who was physically harming my child.

If I walked into room and saw my child being attacked, I would not try to negotiate or talk things through.  I would stop the attack.

This must be what people mean when they say someone is a Mama Bear.

You DO NOT want to step between a cub and its mama.

When my daughter was in 5th grade, a man was flashing young girls in our neighborhood.  I told Juliana that the best punishment for that man would be to stick him in a room full of moms.  (I don't think she understood what I meant exactly, but did understand that moms really care about kids' safety.)  The post I wrote was called Kick-Butt Mom.

Don't get me wrong.

I hate violence.

I believe in negotiating and talking things through for basically everything.
I don't scream and shout.  I don't throw things.  I have never hit.
Those things freak me out.


But, if my daughter, or any small child, was being seriously hurt, I would intervene. 

I would stop that person.

However possible.




I'm linking up today with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.  The question I chose to answer is "You know you're a mom when . . ."  Usually I write funny posts for Writer's Workshop.  But today, I just had to be serious.