Well that was a first. 😬
In the park, there was a group of 9 boys, and the eldest by far was beating on one of the younger 8, who then collapsed sobbing while his little brother fell weeping over him to protect him from more.
I stopped, and a Colombian woman did, so at first I deferred to her. But while she helped the boy up, his brother still clinging to him, the eldest kept defending his actions: it was the child's fault if he got hit for messing with someone bigger. The woman left. But...
It was important to say something to this teen picking on littles.
My Spanish still glitches when I'm nervous, but I told him that he had responsibility to use restraint because he was stronger, & to remember that he's setting an example to these other boys for how to be.
The younger ones cheered & agreed with me, & I brought the older into the fold by saying that he was still learning, too. & he listened. All ended well. But whew! My first time getting involved in a row in a second language!