A 21 year old Washington state man went off and hit a 10 year old boy during a screening of Titanic 3-D at the AMC Kent Station 14, in Kent, Washington. The reason this man hit the boy was due to the latter making noise during the film and then throwing popcorn at the man and his date. The 10 year old, of course, was with a group of friends. He suffered a lost tooth and a bloodied nose. The 21 year old was charged formally for the incident, but will most likely end up just paying a fine.
Now first I want to say that I applaud this gentleman for his actions. Yes, I said applaud. I cannot tell you how many times in my life I have been at a film only to have it ruined by some punk kid or kids who either can't shut up or can't stop checking their phone. It is one of the reasons I avoid going to theaters anymore to see movies, except for ones that are better viewed there.
The point being here is that the kid probably deserved it. In fact, the original article I read on the matter stated that the 21 year old man asked the 10 year old repeatedly to stop making noise. I'd say one or two warnings is enough, wouldn't you? If the kid wants to push it, well then he should have expected it to come back to bite him.
This incident is all the more reason theaters should adopt a much stricter and strongly enforced no talking, texting, or calling policy during the film. As I have said before, The Alamo Drafthouse down in Texas already does this. I bet if these two would have been at the Alamo, the 10 year old would have been escorted out long before fists would fly.
Not that I blame the AMC Kent Station 14 for this incident. It ultimately was the 21 year old man's choice whether to hit the kid. Should he have exercised some restraint? I suppose so. But ultimately I admire and applaud this man for taking the action that was necessary. Sometimes kids just need to learn lessons the hard way.
The original article can be found here.
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