a mean man and his defender

a kid spilled a glass of water and the glass broke. his father was an angry and impatient man. he punished the kid by thrashing him, then throwing him outside.

the kid ran to a nearby park. there, he sat on a swing and cried. between sobs, he said, "my dad is mean!"

a neighbor was walking by and heard the kid. he stopped and said, "you're right, sonny. i've known your old man for years now, and he's a mean son of a bitch!"

the kid stopped crying, walked up to the man and kicked him in the shins. "shut up!" he said. "no one talks that way about my dad!"
*
this is my version of a joke i read about 30 years ago in a magazine article about family dynamics.

when you think about the way some families are structured, it isn't that much of a joke.