A movie theater in Lima [en] was once again the scene of a case that public opinion rapidly categorized as another example of the ongoing problem of racism in Peru: a 13-year-old boy uttered racist insults at a couple who had asked him and his friends, who were kicking up a fuss, to be quiet. A popular daily newspaper in Lima reported the facts. According to the victim and other witnesses, once he was reprimanded by the aforementioned couple, the young boy insulted the man, calling him a “serrano de mierda” [note: “serrano de mierda” is an insult used against Peruvians with dark skin or indigenous features] then did the same to his wife. Outraged, the woman slapped the boy, who responded with a punch; when her husband saw this, he also became angry and hit the boy. With racism a wound that refuses to heal in Peru, public outcry has not been as focused on the physical beating that the boy endured as much as it has been on the fact that the boy dared to throw around racist remarks as well as insult and openly defy a pair of adults. Rolando explained, in his blog El áureo clarín del verbo, why the greater percentage of public opinion has not sided with the boy who was hit with punches, but instead with those who were hit with foul words: Si a un peruano se le “cholea” tengamos por seguro que muchos otros peruanos -salvando sus diferencias de credo, ideología política o preferencia futbolística- se unirán para respaldarlo y dar la defensiva (u ofensiva para tal caso)… Se toca una herida que hasta el día de hoy parece no cicatrizar, comprobándose con ello que en las manifestaciones de racismo o de discriminación por el mismo tenemos nuestro más expuesto talón de Aquiles. Effectively, the majority of the commentary among social networks has deemed the reaction of the insulted adults to be justified, just as Twitter users Gilda Leya (@diaz_gilda) and Lorena Flores Agüero (@lorenaflag) said. Aguirre was quickly singled out on social networks not only for not questioning her son's behavior nor the racist insults he flung around, but also for defending him with arguments such as that her son was “misbehaving like any other boy of his age,” and because rather than apologizing for the bad behavior of her son, she instead affirmed that she would not respond to the assault because “I am not going to stoop to his level.” To this, @The_Gunman commented on Twitter: “Mi hijo hace palomilladas [“travesuras”] y se porta mal como cualquier chico de su edad” A quien deberían dar una tunda x mala madre es a Celine Aguirre From this point others questioned Aguirre as a mother, just as Twitter users Paul Senepo (@paulsenepo) and Madferit Limeño (@MrKubrick29) have done. The boy's family has fed the anger and resentment on social networks without realizing it by refusing to offer an apology for his conduct as well as by reaffirming their willingness to pursue legal action against those that hit him. On this particular topic Twitter users such as Diego Saavedra (@Dieg0_s26) opined: One of the few posts among the social networks that centered on the fact that it was a child who was hit was by Verónica Cervantes, on Facebook: AQUI NO SE TRATA DE QUIEN ES HIJO, POR DIOS QUE LES PASA! PUDO SER HIJO DE CUALQUIER PERUANO, INCLUSO DE ALGUNOS DE UDS. QUE EL NIñO ES UN MALCRIADO, LO ES. PERO NADIE TIENE DERECHO A GOLPEAR, YO NO PUEDO CREER COMO MUCHOS PERIODISTAS APOYAN A ESTE PAR DE ABUSIVOS , CLARO AMBOS PERIODISTAS NO TIENEN NI IDEA DE LO QUE ES TENER UN HIJO, SINO SU PUNTO DE VISTA SERIA OTRO. LA UNICA DIFERENCIA DE SER HIJO DE ARTISTAS ES QUE TIENEN EL DINERO PARA PAGAR A UN BUEN ABOGADO Y SOLICITAR QUE EL JUEZ CASTIGUE ESTE ACTO DE VIOLENCIA Y LA DISCULPA DEL RACISMO, PARA MI NO CUENTA, NO SABIA QUE AHORA POR DECIR SERRANO TE MERECES UNOS BUENOS GOLPES, ESOS SON COMPLEJOS TONTOS. NADIE ABSOLUTAMENTE NADIE PUEDE GOLPEAR A UN NIñO AJENO Y ESO TIENEN QUE APRENDER ESE PAR DE BESTIAS HUMANAS. Peruvian actor Christian Meier (@oliverdog), the boy's uncle, took the opportunity to comment about how his ex-family is dealing with the incident: The blog La promesa de una vida peruana touched on the thorny topic of the relationship between racism and social inequality on every level in Peru: Para las hermanas Celine y Marisol Aguirre… la justicia no existe para los “serranos hijos de puta” a quienes sus hijos suelen insultar y golpear en los cines. Tal vez tengan razón. ¿Cuántos delincuentes de medio pelo hay en las cárceles y cuántos delincuentes de cuello y corbata están gozando de detención domiciliaria? Laura Arroyo Gárate reflected on the news blog Spacio Libre about the polarization that this has created: …me sorprende la incapacidad de ambos involucrados para admitir que hicieron algo mal.