Surf community promotes parental reform!
If you’ve been following the grom abuse saga, you’ll know my main stance was that London’s parents, not London himself, were most culpable for the teenager’s petulant behavior. That if there absolutely must be a target for your middle-age rage, please direct it toward Mr. and Mrs. Almida.
It comes down to my belief that kids should never be hit or socially condemned by adults, especially if those adults aren’t the kid’s own parents. It’s not just a moral thing, it’s a law — and for good reason. Although kids should learn to take responsibility for their actions, it’s also the responsibility of the parents to teach them right from wrong in the first place.
But that responsibility doesn’t transfer to a stranger’s fist just because he feels the parents have done a poor job.
Today, London’s father Chris Almida released a statement via Ian Cairn’s Facebook (Ian is London’s surf coach). It went as follows:
The incident at Salt Creek last week involving my family has brought many issues to the surface both positive and negative and I have decided that there is nothing to be gained for anyone by further action on my part and as such I have no intention to pursue any legal recourse. While I respectfully disagree with the idea that bullying is ever justified or that violence is merited as a response to “disrespect” or misbehavior, I can appreciate that others have a different view. It has been very hard to hear this negative feedback and I have run through the gamut of responses from defensive to anger to righteous indignation and finally to resolution that this must be made right.
One bit of feedback that has rung true is that I need to take a deep look in the mirror and see what part I am playing in the creation of this dynamic. In looking deeply at what I have role modeled I can see the many ways that I have been selfish, aggressive, entitled and easily offended. While I tend to exhibit these traits in a passive aggressive manner they are none the less what I have unwittingly role modeled to my son. This behavior has set my wife into a mode of protection within our family that has been expressed outwardly when the same dynamic plays out in the wider world. For my part I do apologize – first to my family, to my friends and peers and to the surf community as a whole. My lack of acknowledgement and ownership of this behavior has ultimately created this situation and the blame lies squarely with me. I will continue to dive into the root of these issues and work to unravel this behavior and do better for my sons, wife and all.
In respect to London, he has as you may imagine, had to face some serious introspection and participate in some very difficult conversations. He has had to take ownership of how others have experienced him both positively and negatively. London is a good kid with no negative intentions and he will be working hard to show this by his actions and engagement with others.
In peace and aloha and with hope for a new beginning for all involved I offer my apology.”
Chris Almida
And… wonderful! Dad realizes his shortcomings as a human and how they’ve trickled down to wife, son, and lineups across SoCal.
Owns up to it, vows to improve.
A win, yes? Not if you’re Koby Abberton. He screams:
DUNK THE FUK OUTTA CHEEKY LITTLE CUNTS. ITS SURFING. I KNOW I GOT DUNKED AND SLAPPED AND I DESERVED IT EVERY TIME. YOUR COUNTRY CAN BOMB ANYONE THEY WANT BUT DONT DARE DUNK A KID NEEDING A LESSON. MAN UP AND STAND BY YOUR ACTIONS.
Caps lock: the font of kid-dunkers everywhere.
Update, this kid is still dropping in on fucking everyone in his Christmas themed wetsuit. This kid didn’t learn a god damn thing. His parents should take him to Linda Lane or 204s where nobody surfs and let him go ham by himself until he learns some respect.
This doesnt belong in the press, shouldn`t ever have left the water,, Those that know will get it, those that disrespect will get it too, fact! How embarrassing to have your mom stomping around on the beach… Its not a kids/grownups thing either, we`re all surfers, same rules apply….. breakem get dunked or worse …
Yeah, let’s all take our cues from Koby Abberton. Solid role model. Maybe there’s a group discount on chest tattoos and switchblades…
So we know the kid’s a dick and has little league parents who called the cops because some dude maybe barely even touched him. So while the overly sponsored kid’s parents blow the incident out of the water now dad goes on record to apologize and mentions bullying. Bullying is the fabric of this country and defines our major institutions like school, military, sports, the work place, etc. Lot’s of complaining about it lately but look who our asshole president is. Can’t have it both ways people.
True dat!
The cops.
Unfortunately I doubt his dad will get any credit for it.
I hate it when grown men act like kids. his parents where protecting their kid! There’s nothing wrong with that. Adults condoning bashing kids just because it’s surfing… Now that’s disgusting.
No blame shared by a narcissistic new-age mother who probably spends more time with the kid than anyone else? Hundred dollars says she believes her natural lifestyle is rooted in introspection so she couldn’t possibly play a roll in her poor kid’s delusions. Poor dad falling on the grenade. They all need help.
LOL out loud “falling on grenade..” Funny!
All London wanted was a Pepsi.
I smell a reality show in the works. Poor London. He doesn’t stand a chance.
Is this the “mediocracy” Christian was referencing?
sounds like a win for Southern Californian therapy culture.
What would an Australian apology sound like?
Fucken sorry my grom’s made such a cunt of himself, S’pose it’s because I’ve been a bit of a cunt myself. Fucken cheese and kisses is darker than Kamahl. Fuck.
That is so much more intelligible than the therapy one.
Rat farts
Lanty’s team rider? Osis?
I feel sorry for London’s parents. Their kid gets abused they get blamed for it and now have to apologize so their son can surf at his local break… the whole family has been abused by the wider surf community and all because it’s seen as acceptable for adults to dish out punishment to strangers. If you are of that mindset you probably shouldn’t be mixing socially and it’s pretty disgusting that so many people seem to condone this kind of thing.
I don’t give a fuck if you got dunked or slapped about as kid in the surf it’s not acceptable to lay a finger on another person’s child.
The people that dish out this kind of thing are pretty much always the biggest cunts in the lineup as well.
If Paris was dunked for a mistaken drop in, I’d totally agree with you here. But he must take some responsibility for this shitstorm. It sounds like he is a snake artist needing correction that his parent’s didn’t provide. And no, it’s not just his parent’s fault either. It’s his fault. If you’re good enough to be on the QS, you know what you are doing when you snake. How many times should you be snaked before you put a stop to it? What should you do when Ciarmella’s sanctioned form of correction, words, don’t work? Take up supping or quit altogether?
How many people get snaked or dropped in on every day? How many of them dunk a kid etc? It says way more about the dunker than the person who dropped in. Yes snaking is a shit thing to do but there are better ways of dealing with it.
Like what? If this kid is a good surfer and a repeat offender what else is there ?
Yes you are right… The only logical grown up way to deal with the situation was to dunk the kid then abuse him and his family and friends on social media, there was absolutely no other way to deal with it.
hm instead of answering the question you went with your shitty sarcastic false dilemma. makes me think you have no idea how to properly handle this situation but would rather spew sanctimonious bullshit.
“The kids a pain in the arse in the surf… Burn the shit out of him until he gets the message, tell him he’s not going to get another wave until he learns his lesson. Grown men being abuse towards kids isn’t acceptable at all let alone over surfing”
from 6 hours ago…
It also wasn’t false dilemma its what actually happened.
This comment board is all about sanctimonious bullshit. Its just the way it is and if you don’t tow the line grom one of the elders will dunk you.
Totally agree that there are better ways. However, not everyone responds to these. Should everyone just exit the water when London gets wet?
Funky Gibbon- even though I don’t agree with your point of view I applaud you for being the defender of your kind. If it were not for you there would be no voice for douchebags and their offspring. Keep being cocky without the physical ability to back it up, snowflakes everywhere are depending on you.
In Christian Fletcher style
ITS JUST FUCKING SURFING, GROW THE FUCK UP YOU BUNCH OF FUCKING RETARDS.
Yours
Snowflake.
I’d have more sympathy for the guy if he could write coherently.
Please promote me (in upvotes)
ok
Each vote I get I’ll snake Mike C.
FFS Mick take a good hard look in the mirror at yourself and the lust for fame and recognition. Now its Koby , abused as a kid makes bullies , yeah go to maroubra , and call them out , not sure if you have ever had the shit beaten out of you , but its coming , where’s your report on a local at laguna being punched by one of Alimidas MMA friends 7 stiches , or even sean tomson’s brother being accused of Grom violence , ah but that’s journalism , FFS , I had to tell you about the apology and I am just a low life surfer , fuck maybe if I lowered myself even further I could become a so called journalist at BG!
PS at least Almida took responsibility for his actions , but you?????
you could totally write for BeachGrit! We don’t really call ourselves journalists as that often comes with liability…
Imagine trying to edit Brutus’ copy! Holy fuck, what a work load.
nah can’ right the Inglis langwage , and I am your liability , makin shore you at least get some part of the story rite!
So what do you put down on your resume. I’m a content aggregator? When you boys write and/or post here. Sure would be nice to know we are getting facts not fiction especially when it involves a minor.
Oh silly llama, there are no facts in this topsy turvy world …just widely accepted opinions!
Surely you won’t condemn us for obscuring the grand conspiracy…
meaning “…just widely accepted assholes”.. or in my case an unaccepted asshole. Look their is only so much crap we can wade thru. In some respect most of the peanut gallery here are captive audience. We love surf. Knowledge is power. What’s wrong with being the “Geraldo Rivera of surf” Micheal? Embrace it!
How did he get the name 7 stitches? Fin chop or shark attack?
You deserve a prize
7 stitches in da head by Chris’s body guard punching a long term local who has nothing to do with his son , in the surf , constant abuse from London’s Mom to all , and fabricating slanderous and libellious lies about the guy, and yes the lawyers did step in, and an apology was made. So the real violence came from the Almida family .
right.
Its like Christian (I think) said in the interview, “If you can get a girl pregnant, you can get beat up.”
If you can be a parent, you can get beat up. Seems CF was agreeing that being a parent comes with responsibility. For now, I’m gonna believe CF drops in on kids getting pushed into waves on the inside because CF sees two parents. Perhaps Chris Almeda should apologize for creating kid/parent color blindness in people. Its best he saved his legal fund money for his defense against CF’s possible liability suit for sight damage.
Being pulled into line as a grom not only taught me surf etiquette, but life etiquette.
It also probably saved me from some real adult life ass woopings.
But doesn’t it also cause disdain and aggression toward those who don’t follow your perceived rules of life, now that you’re the adult?
Don’t you just want to …strangle a kid every now and again? Do you?
They are not my rules, but I am grateful for the experience. The kids around my area are incredibly respectful as their fathers have taught them to be so, I never feel the need to strangle, I myself was a lost and lonely child with plenty of mistakes to make.
That’s called Stockholm syndrome.
Interesting observation but no.
It also helped me identify the true fuckwits, as I don’t respect everyone who was above me.
And that’s called being a smug, simple-minded, arm-chair psychoanalyst.
It’s called a joke. Chill out man
Hey I was joking too!
I don’t hurt the local Groms but if they are paddling round me thinking theyll get two in a row cause they are young and full of the energy I lack in the surf I just burn them. They soon learn. No need for violence.
Perfect! Even giving them shit verbally is fine by me. Just don’t touch em, anddon’t start crusades against them on social media.
Yes, exactly.
Advice from a surf journalist: don’t physically abuse them folks, just verbally abuse them.
So what about , ” if you hassle one more time , I will beat the shit out of you and shove your little head up your moms arse?” now there’s a bit of verbal abuse , ” or I will come around to your house in the middle of the night and kill your whole family and eat them?”
Why is everyone so quick to aggression?! Just say, “Hey kid, stop being a little shithead and chill out. Or don’t and get burned every wave.” So fucking simple.
Do your homework , all this has been tried , run out of Hawaii , every break he has surfed , always with his mom , very very bad behavior , abusing other kids and elders , to the point ,”is there a mental illness involved , try interviewing Sean Thomson about the incident with his brother and the ensuing meeting with family , or any Laguna local and the Frog incident , the list goes on . Interview the Mom and the Kid to set the record straight.
Poor parenting (Dad already admitted) no discipline parameters , no consequences for bad behavior , and the end result is a possible dunking , harmless , ask the Laguna local about the 7 stitches , now there’s you story!
Hey, you heard it from Doc Ciaramella, that’s A-OK! It’s in a new chapter in his forthcoming book on parenting entitled, “Trust me, I’m a childless surf journalist”
I recall the great Nat once smacked a grom in the beak. The kids dad wasn’t happy, he was very Angourie!!
Fucken Sigmund Freud over here. It is an unfortunate condition of human nature that reason and argument don’t always convince someone interested in doing wrong to abandon their course of action. For many kids (often boys) if their parents don’t physically chastise them, someone else will do it for them, often a peer, another adult, or eventually the state.
Following Ciaramella’s logic, all physical punishment being abuse, a symptom of previous abuse suffered by the one meeting out the punishment, we can remove violence entirely from the lineup with this generation of participation trophy surfers, who, it seems, were never spanked.
Now that that’s solved, lets get to work on holding hands with MS-13, Kim Jong (fuck if I know the last name), and once we have that solved, bring about a lasting and loving relationship between Weisberg and Smith.
Fuck did you need a lie down after that?
You should probably also listen to some of your own words but maybe take the bit out about bashing other people kids.
I also imagine you are a real gent to surf with…
dude, everybody is somebody’s kid. i gotta find dad or mom every time the little shit steps on my toes? nah, it doesn’t work like that. you just expect everyone to wait for the kid’s 18th birthday when the debts associated with 10 years of being an entitled little shit all come due?
So you would get the shits with an 8yr old!?
people keep throwing about the world “entitled” what do you mean by that? The fact that his parents have money?
The kids a pain in the arse in the surf… Burn the shit out of him until he gets the message, tell him he’s not going to get another wave until he learns his lesson. Grown men being abuse towards kids isn’t acceptable at all let alone over surfing.
If your kid came home and told you the guy who lived round the corner just slapped him in the street what would you do?
All this bullshit that it’s OK to be physically aggressive towards people because it’s how it is in the surf is just laughable.
Are you aware of the phrase “standover man”? This is what these wanna be surf generals are…
burning him doesn’t get me my set wave back. i’m sure people tried everything short of slapping him first. is he really even 11? cause he has a coach already, that’s what i mean by entitled.
I think you need a damn good thrashing , but I guess you don’t surf!
Et tu, Brute.
You seem to have swung your take on things…..
“he actually punched the guys young son , went to the beach and got a damn good thrashing , he lay down like a girl and screamed , which often the way bullies get their just deserts!”
Brutus capn birdseye • 6 days ago
no-one got bashed , FFS , how thick is a Gibbon!
I am a gent. Never come to blows, offer sparkling conversation, only snake when snuck, apologize for any unintentional drop ins, and try to give up my next wave as penance (tinder profile, btw). I’ve never dunked anyone, and prefer burns as the means of regulation. Sometimes, burning doesn’t work, however.
The sooner everyone gets gets on the following program, everything will work itself out.
The local lineup hierarchy in order of who gets set waves.
1) Local, 20’s, elevated skill level
2) Local, 30-40, surfs OK, large, loud and likes to fight
3) Local, a little older but still rips
4) Local, late teens, up and coming ripper
5) Non local, has some skills, shows respect
6) Groms (14 and under) regardless of perceived ability by parents or coaches
7) Full blown beginners
8) Rider of any craft designed by Tom Morey
9) Rider of any craft which requires a paddle
10) Everyone else
11) oh yeah, Robbie Maddison
What number are you Preston?