I was left with a bunch of bananas... no, I mean residual feelings from last night's experience (noisy movie patrons and crappy parents). I didn't enjoy the movie. I didn't enjoy telling people to "shut up." I didn't want to leave the movie to complain. It was a lose-lose situation all around.
What could I have done differently?
R and I discussed the problem at length. He said that there has to be another way besides trying to ignore the loud people, or getting up, complaining, missing more of the movie, and hoping that the management will take care of the problem, or saying something to the offenders. "What was the middle way in this situation?", he pondered.
We sat on the sofa running through different scenarios. All of which still had the same result: Us not enjoying the movie, or getting into conflict with others.
Then it hit me. The most simple and easiest solution: We get up and leave. On the way out of the theatre, we snitch on the offending people, and collect our refund.
Problem solved! Our movie experience won't be completely ruined, and we won't have to suffer fools needlessly.
4 comments:
Janelle--
You are my hero. I love and admire that you told the kids to "shut up" and your opening line to the parents was priceless candor. As lame as it was for the other grownups (Ghandi et al.) to look at you to shut them up again, I can understand why they did that. You were their leader. The ability to lead in a crisis is a rare and admirable quality.
I'm sorry you felt bad. It's funny, but the solution you came upon later is probably what B and I would do, long before telling the kids to shut up. From my experience having done that sort of thing, it doesn't feel that good either... I'd think asserting control over your environment has a certain satisfaction that's lacking from a prudent retreat.
As a master of the prudent retreat, I say: there is no right answer to the situation.
Merry Christmas, Janelle, and keep telling truth to the obnoxious.
P.S. -- Oh, and it looks like you found the funny in time for Xmas.
Oscar-- It pleases and humbles me to no end that someone I admire thinks of me as a hero.
Had I been one of those adults, I would have clapped for you. And probably helped in my own way by throwing things at the children when they weren't looking. I'm good at frightening little kids away too.
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