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Should a man be charged with a felony for slapping a loud kid in a movie theater?

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Contributor: Petite Valentine Petite Valentine
The full story is here: Man charged with slapping loud kid in Kent theater

To make a long story short, a man slapped a 10-year-old because the child was talking and throwing popcorn during a movie, and as a result of the slap the kid lost a tooth.

Nothing annoys me worse than people talking in a movie theater, and I can completely understand this man's annoyance. I doubt he intended to hit him that hard, and I can't help but feel none of it would not have happened had the kid's mother told him to SHUT UP and STOP THROWING POPCORN.

Do you think the man should face felony charges for slapping the noisy kid?
Answers (private voting - your screen name will NOT appear in the results):
Yes
48  (62%)
No
18  (23%)
Maybe
10  (13%)
Other
1  (1%)
Total votes: 77
Poll is closed
05/22/2012
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Contributor: aliceinthehole aliceinthehole
violence is not okay, unless absolutely necessary in self-defense or in defense of others.


violence against children, REALLY not okay. violence over someone being loud in a freaking movie theatre? just dumb.

slap the man with a felony charge. and give him some anger management therapy!
05/22/2012
Contributor: Petite Valentine Petite Valentine
Quote:
Originally posted by aliceinthehole
violence is not okay, unless absolutely necessary in self-defense or in defense of others.


violence against children, REALLY not okay. violence over someone being loud in a freaking movie theatre? just dumb.

slap the man with a ... more
For what it's worth, the man didn't realize it was a 10-year-old kid — not that it would have been ok had he hit an adult instead.

But a felony charge? That seems extreme to me. I think a misdemeanor would be more appropriate.
05/22/2012
Contributor: Rossie Rossie
He can ask the mother to shut the kid up, or complain to the theater employees, but should not exercise violence. But like Petite Valentine said, a misdemeanor charge might be more appropriate.
05/23/2012
Contributor: bayosgirl bayosgirl
Quote:
Originally posted by Petite Valentine
For what it's worth, the man didn't realize it was a 10-year-old kid — not that it would have been ok had he hit an adult instead.

But a felony charge? That seems extreme to me. I think a misdemeanor would be more appropriate.
Agreed
05/23/2012
Contributor: Envoutes Envoutes
Eh, I'm on the fence here on this one. A felony...seems too harsh. What's lower than that, a misdemeanor or something? That would probably be more fitting. Though, it sure does depend on the level of violence involved. If it's enough to seriously hurt someone, definitely.
05/23/2012
Contributor: wetone123 wetone123
I blame the mother. She should have put her child in check. irresponsible parenting and bad behaviour are a bad combination. I'm sure this mother is very irresponsible and this kid will continue being a brat and grow up being some sort of burden on his community. Still, the man went too far in hitting a child. I wouldn't slap a felony charge on him in any case.
05/23/2012
Contributor: Terri69 Terri69
he should have something happen to him but not felony charges, the mother should have something happen to her for not having control of her kid
05/23/2012
Contributor: Zombirella Zombirella
I voted yes, but I'm really not sure. On an adult it would just be a misdemeanor. NO ONE has the right to hit another person's child, like spank, to punish them for bad behavior. He went too far but I would probably say a misdemeanor and have him to some anger management. I've yelled once before at some obnoxious kids with applause from the rest of the room lol. If someone is disturbing that much, I would go get an employee. I made my ex go do it once because these kids thought they were going to sneak into the movie when it was halfway through and be loud and throw popcorn at people and they got kicked out. I never would have touched them.
05/23/2012
Contributor: Geogeo Geogeo
Maybe not a felony....but he should absolutely have to answer to this action...and get anger management.
05/23/2012
Contributor: hillys hillys
no one should hit a child period. Even if they're being annoying.
05/23/2012
Contributor: Ryuson Ryuson
(Review Program Mentor)
I agree that a felony is a bit too harsh, but that it also is the mothers fault. When I first read this I thought that it was the father, but it being a stranger throws a strange twist in there...
05/23/2012
Contributor: gloomybear gloomybear
i think that asault it assault this happened to my parents in a movie theater once and after telling the kid to stop kicking her seat he threw a container of nacho cheese on her head and she went and reported it to security and the esscorted to teen out and banned hime from the theater there are dfinately other ways of dealing with this
05/23/2012
Contributor: GONE! GONE!
Not sure if a felony is appropriate. It seems a bit harsh. He definitely should be punished though.
On the same note though, I think people who let their children misbehave in movie theaters should be banned by management for a while. This kind of crap drives people nuts and some people more than others!
05/23/2012
Contributor: Errant Venture Errant Venture
Quote:
Originally posted by wetone123
I blame the mother. She should have put her child in check. irresponsible parenting and bad behaviour are a bad combination. I'm sure this mother is very irresponsible and this kid will continue being a brat and grow up being some sort of burden ... more
Agreed.
05/23/2012
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
I'd press for a felony charge with the expectation the judge would throw out the case just to scare him to death. You don't hit people who aren't violating your personal space in a way that you feel is threatening. Period.
05/23/2012
Contributor: PropertyOfPotter PropertyOfPotter
Quote:
Originally posted by aliceinthehole
violence is not okay, unless absolutely necessary in self-defense or in defense of others.


violence against children, REALLY not okay. violence over someone being loud in a freaking movie theatre? just dumb.

slap the man with a ... more
agreed!
05/23/2012
Contributor: BlooJay BlooJay
I would consider this child abuse.
05/23/2012
Contributor: chantalgiardina chantalgiardina
Quote:
Originally posted by Petite Valentine
The full story is here: Man charged with slapping loud kid in Kent theater

To make a long story short, a man slapped a 10-year-old because the child was talking and throwing popcorn during a movie, and as a result of the slap the kid lost a ... more
violence is not the option.. and i am sure he didnt mean to hit him that hard, but he did.. there are other ways to deal with it..
05/23/2012
Contributor: romstomp romstomp
While the parent of the child should teach the child to follow rules and courtesy when in a movie theater, I do not think it is the place of a stranger to discipline and certainly not assault someone. I would have brought it to the attention of theater personnel and let them handle it. Getting the stink eye from the mother for reporting the child's behavior is a better alternative to an arrest.
05/23/2012
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by aliceinthehole
violence is not okay, unless absolutely necessary in self-defense or in defense of others.


violence against children, REALLY not okay. violence over someone being loud in a freaking movie theatre? just dumb.

slap the man with a ... more
THIS/\

It's never OK to physically assault a child, just because they are physically smaller and weaker than we are.

NEVER OK.

I think a felony was the right charge. We need to continue to do this (charge child abusers with felonies) until people who can't deal with the way kids act simply STOP having them.

It's LAZY to hit children. A GOOD parent would have removed the child from the situation the first time it happened. He would have taken the child gently and gone into the lobby. If it happened a second time, he would have taken the child and left the thatre and gone home. Then maybe grounded the kid from the internet or video games for a day or three for not listening and then DROPPED IT.

It's never OK to hit a child. NEVER.
05/23/2012
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by wetone123
I blame the mother. She should have put her child in check. irresponsible parenting and bad behaviour are a bad combination. I'm sure this mother is very irresponsible and this kid will continue being a brat and grow up being some sort of burden ... more
You are sure the mother is "very irresponsible" from reading a news article?

Please....
05/23/2012
Contributor: Beck Beck
I agree he deserves felony charges. I'm sorry, but there is NO way the man didn't know it wasn't a child. A 10 year old is a 10 year old. They most likely don't even have a deep voice yet. Come on? I don't buy that he thought that child was an adult. Unless the 10 year old is 6ft tall and already through puberty, it makes NO sense.

The mother should have had her child in check. However, that doesn't mean what this guy did was at all right. He assaulted someone because he was in rage. He deserves the felony because NO matter who he assaulted he assaulted someone and that isn't right.
05/23/2012
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
THIS/\

It's never OK to physically assault a child, just because they are physically smaller and weaker than we are.

NEVER OK.

I think a felony was the right charge. We need to continue to do this (charge child abusers with ... more
Jeez. I misread it and thought it was the kid's father. It was a freakin' stranger!

Felony is even more appropriate now.

If someone hit MY kids, they'd be dealing with more than a felony charge. I hope the mother files a HUGE civil suit. What an asshole. Who hits little children? "annoying" or not, we share our lives with other people of all ages. As adults, we need to learn to silently deal with other people's annoying tendencies or never leave the fucking house.

Hitting is NOT OK.

Would it have made a difference if this guy hit an other grown man? I bet NO ONE would have a problem with a felony charge for the assault of an adult. WHY is it OK to harm children, when we give other adults the right to be protected by the law ? Adults can be "annoying" too. We can't just go around hitting them.
05/23/2012
Contributor: Petite Valentine Petite Valentine
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
Jeez. I misread it and thought it was the kid's father. It was a freakin' stranger!

Felony is even more appropriate now.

If someone hit MY kids, they'd be dealing with more than a felony charge. I hope the mother files a ... more
I'm really torn on this one. I know it's not ok to hit other people, but having been in crowded movie theaters with people that were BEYOND obnoxious, I can understand how the man felt.

His actions shouldn't be taken lightly, but a felony? Murder is a felony. Rape is a felony. I don't consider a slap — or even a punch — to be the same level of crime.

Also, I know that as a mother you would tear the limbs off of someone who assaulted your child, however, from what I've read on the forums, you're also the type of mother who would not have sat passively in a movie theater letting your child run amok, ruining the movie for the rest of the audience.

I think this whole situation could have been avoided had someone done some actual parenting prior to the incident.
05/23/2012
Contributor: Jenn (aka kissmykitty) Jenn (aka kissmykitty)
(EdenFantasys)
Yes. Maybe it's just because I'm a parent, but you do NOT put your hands on another person's child, especially in an act of violence. Take the issue up with the parents.
05/23/2012
Contributor: TheSinDoll TheSinDoll
Bad parenting on the Mother's part.

Bottom line, you touch MY kid like that - I shoot you in the face.

I give no fucks.
05/23/2012
Contributor: Inwitari Inwitari
I'm not sure I believe he thought the kid was an adult. A child looks and sounds much different than a full grown adult.

I understand his anger, I have been to movie theaters where parents did not control their children. It is not a pleasant experience. If we pay a lot of money (theaters are what..about $14 per entrance? to me that's a lot for a 90 minute show, plus food it can get pricey) to see a film we should be able to enjoy it in peace. But he should have gone to the manager and asked her/him to take care of the problem, or asked for his money back.

I don't agree with hitting anyone- child or adult- because they won't shut up. He should have handled it in a more responsible and mature manner.
05/23/2012
Contributor: BG529 BG529
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
I'd press for a felony charge with the expectation the judge would throw out the case just to scare him to death. You don't hit people who aren't violating your personal space in a way that you feel is threatening. Period.
I agree. I don't believe that he didn't know it was a child you can totally tell a child from an adult. But his mother should have had more control over him.. But that still gives this total stranger no right to put his hands on him for being loud in a movie theater. her could have went and got someone who worked there and they could have A. told his mother to keep him quite or B. kicked them out for being to loud
05/23/2012
Contributor: Alx Alx
I'd probably have become aggressive myself with a brat like that, but I'd have told the mother to shut her devil spawn up, or gone to get some personel who would handle it or throw them out.
The man deserves a charge cos you don't just slap other people's children like that. Never.
05/23/2012