Man vs. Boy

Even though I am a High School Guidance Counsellor and crusader against bullying, I realize that there is a reserved place for "schoolyard justice". Sometimes it is the only thing that works. I have taught my 10-year-old son that if he sees somebody hitting a girl, he can intervene in any way that makes it stop. Obviously, I tell him to use words first - but use of physical tactics is not out of the question, if needed. Similarly, both children know that they can defend themselves if they are getting physically hurt by someone. Now that we have that little confession in the open, let's use common sense.

The story speaks for itself, if you read the article below. A cop says he is trying to teach his son to fight back. OK, fair. That is a needed skill or you can get walked on your whole life. That is where the 'OK' ends. Taking your son to where the other boy is, encouraging him to fight the other boy, pushing him on the other boy, and then getting a shot in of your own? Buddy, please. There is no manliness in this officer of the law - yes, the offender was a cop (which isn't a shot against cops, just saying he knows better). 

It is a frightening thing when we see men behaving like children. Not just because they know better, but because they now have man's 'toys', like this police officer who has a gun or a road-rager in a heavy box made of metal and glass with a lot of horsepower. Ruben, grow up and be a man. You are not a man. You are a coward. We may often think of what we would like to do to someone who is bullying our children, but in the real world, we don't actually do it! Real men exhibit self-control and reason. That is part of what makes us men, otherwise, how are we different from young boys?

Sit down Ruben, (hopefully in the defendant's box), only the real men can stand - and you have a lot to learn, boy!

Dad teamed up with 13-year-old son to fight 'bully'

An off-duty cop, allegedly trying to teach bullied son to fight back, was arrested for brawling alongside the boy in a scuffle with a 13-year-old student in the Bronx.

Ruben Caraballo, a Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority cop, surrendered Friday afternoon to detectives at the 43d Precinct where he was charged with misdemeanor assault.

Caraballo, 36, allegedly punched the victim, Justin Harris, in the ribs as Justin and Caraballo’s 13-year-old son, also named Ruben, became embroiled across the street from the Bronx Mathematics Preparatory School in the Soundview section.

"Make him bleed!" Caraballo urged his son during the confrontation on White Plains Road, according to Sean Harris, the victim's father.

"He's been trying to teach his son to become a man, but I think he (Caraballo) needs to be taught a lesson as well," Sean Harris told The Daily News.

Harris, a building manager, said there had been a dustup between his son and Caraballo's son at the school about two weeks ago.

The hostilities apparently resumed Thursday afternoon when Caraballo and his wife appeared outside the school at dismissal time. "He was egging his son on to fight with Justin," Harris said.

According to Harris, after the two boys briefly scuffled, they broke apart, and Justin began walking away. Caraballo pushed his son on top of Justin, re-instigating the fighting, and then Caraballo allegedly threw a hard punch of his own at the youngster, striking him in the ribs, Harris said.

What Caraballo did was "cowardly," Harris said.

"I try to bring up my kids in an upstanding way. We must act like we have a sense of humanity, and not resolve things like he did," Harris said.

Harris’s lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, said the incident should be "an example to all adults.”

“No matter what position you hold, if you assault a 13-year-old child, you will be held accountable," Rubenstein said.

Caraballo did not identify himself as a cop at any time, and Justin only learned later that man fighting alongside the other boy was a law enforcement officer, said Harris.

An MTA spokeswoman said Caraballo has been with the agency since 2005. He remains on active duty but is restricted from carrying a firearm while the investigation continues.