Actually the woman punched in the head could have died.
No offense taken. The shop owner is at fault and unnecessarily escalated the situation. Based off the facts we know, the woman did nothing wrong.
Even a punch to the head could be lethal, especially a man punching a woman.
Let’s say this woman had a weapon and it was a stand your ground state. I could see her drawing her gun due to the unnecessary escalation in violence by the shop owner.
I get what you're saying in that it was only the shop owner that used enough force to
actually hurt someone, and you're right, that could have killed her (head blows are very serious). But in the real world, where real people exist, and who know how to handle themselves in a stable and functioning society, the woman absolutely blew it in handling herself. Kids do steal, and as parents, we have to handle those situations correctly. Kids also don't see the events like us adults do, and there is a good chance that the child learned:
- That the consequences for stealing are relatively light to non-existent.
- Mirroring his mom's behavior in that situation is the way to handle yourself (don't take ownership, respond with physical contact, mouth off).
- That the shop owner is the one in the wrong, not him.
Blew. It. Way to go, mom. You just taught you kid to be completely untrustworthy in a functioning society.
I am also not condoning the shop owner's behavior. It's never okay to respond with physical force unless your own safety is being threatened, which it really wasn't. He was probably very upset with the situation, and was probably upset with how she was handling it. There may have also been some pent-up frustration here, because it may not have been the first time this happened. But that doesn't make it okay.
Mom will have a sore jaw. The shop owner will lose some business (or all of it). But the child? The child is the one who got screwed the most out of this.