People Talking During Movies Should Be Tasered
Every so often I am asked for advice on how to handle rudeness in public. For example, the following is a story from a few years ago that a reader recently sent me to comment on:
Philadelphia Inquirer, 26 Dec 2008, Phila. man shot because family talked during movie
A South Philadelphia man enraged because a father and son were talking during a Christmas showing of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button took care of the situation when he pulled a .380-caliber gun and shot the father, police said.
James Joseph Cialella Jr., 29, of the 1900 block of Hollywood Street is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and weapons violations.
...
Police were called to the Riverview Theatre in the 1400 block of Columbus Boulevard about 9:30 p.m. where the gunshot victim, a Philadelphia man who was not identified, told police a man sitting near him told his family to be quiet and threw popcorn at his son.
After exchanging words, Vanore said Cialella allegedly got out of his seat to confront the family when the father got up to protect them. That's when the victim was shot once in the left arm, sending others in the theatre running to safety.
Cialella then sat down to watch the movie. Police arrived a short time later and arrested Cialella and confiscated his weapon, Vanore said.
This is completely wrong. No one should be shot for talking during a movie - the proper thing is that police should have been called to taser both the father and son who were talking.
Too harsh, you ask? Not harsh enough for me, although some may consider shooting the yapping boors to be a bit over-the-top.
I am taking a guess here, but if I were a gambling man, my money would be on the talkers being of the black persuasion. Now that's based on my limited experience I will admit, so your mileage may vary. Of course, people of other races have been known to rudely blabber during a movie, but here I am talking about betting money and the odds are with me.
If I were in a theater where someone incessantly talked during a movie I would go to the theater manager and ask for my money back if they couldn't quiet down the offender.
The only exception to the no-talking rule would be watching a kung-fu film of nearly naked ninjas with English subtitles. In that case, I would expect, and accept, a boisterous audience, as illustrated in my article Yo Momma`s So Fat.
