Do certain types of parents give you a rage stroke?

Full disclosure: I’m not a parent. I’m also not talking about the typical quibbles like breastfeeding vs. bottle (None of my business. Do what you think is best.)

Last night I was riding the subway home. (I’m currently living in a not-so-great area of Brooklyn until I find a good lease.) A heavyset, African American couple gets on the train with four rambunctious young kids. I’m in an especially positive mood so I start thinking to myself how cute they are.

Well just within a minute of boarding the train all four of them start misbehaving horribly. I mean really bad. Worse yet, the parents encourage the behavior, egging them on even as people leered angrily at them.

The point where I just about lost my sh*t when both the mother and father start telling them how they can’t wait until they’re old enough to join the Crips gang so they can “F*ck the Bloods up”. The father starts encouraging the kids, ranging in age from about three to ten, to throw up gang signs and repeat the profanity he was using.

I had to move trains because I was so angry at that point, somewhat about their disturbance of peace but mostly for the horrible disservice they’re doing their kids by teaching them that criminality is a viable lifestyle and that life is a race to the bottom.

Obviously there’s not much bystanders can do in such a situation but I can’t help but be really angry about these type of people. Is what they’re doing illegal?