Posted on 08/18/2005 10:30:02 AM PDT by Puppage
WALLKILL, N.Y. -- The family of a disabled 7-year-old boy want an apology from a Middletown movie theater, because the manager of the theater threw out their boy for laughing too loudly while watching "March of the Penguins."
The parents of Anthony Pratti said the incident happened at the Loew's cineplex at the Galleria Mall at Crystal Run on Sunday afternoon. Their son has cerebral palsy and autism and was enjoying the movie from his wheelchair when a theater worker said he was laughing too loudly and would have to leave.
Gina Pratti said they would try to have their son laugh more quietly, but the manager wanted him to leave.
The manager said the entire family didn't have to go; just the boy in the wheelchair.
Gina Pratti said they were dumbfounded to think the manager suggested leaving their son outside while they all went back into the movie.
The manager refunded everyone's money.
Gina Pratti and her husband have spent the past three days making phone calls and sending e-mails, trying to get someone from Loews to give them an explanation. She said no one has called back.
A representative of the company told the Times Herald-Record in Middletown on Wednesday that they were looking into the situation.
Maybe they should consider locking the child in his room so that normal people won't have to look at him. /s
Yes, those loud annoying handicapped people should shut up.
Sigh.
Autistic people do laugh inappropriately and it doesn't not necessarily indicate having a good time. I know one who laughs manically before a tantrum. Obviously this boy was very disruptive to get asked to leave.
If the boy was disrupting others (who also paid) and would not quiet down, then the parents should have had the manners to take their kid out on their own. Being disabled doesn't give you the right to whoop it up in a theater and annoy everyone else.
Those other people paid to see (and hear) the movie, not the kid. The parents should not be demanding an exemption from common decency and manners. If the child can't behave reasonable well at a movie theater, he is not fit to go, he can wait and see it at home.
Got a problem with disabled people?
In past years I have had explained his behavior since he can be somewhat obssessive on issues. Until this summer I have had good experiences with the lifeguards from the same pool when he misbehaved. This year instead of waiting for him to misbehave a punishment was given.
They should rename the town to Buzzkill, NY.
Sorry, if this had been a huge, muscular, stoned biker dude laughing loudly and inappriately he would have been left alone.
"Obviously this boy was very disruptive to get asked to leave."
No it isn't obvious. The story indicates nothing about the other moviegoers. I could just as easily conclude it was the manager alone who found the boy annoying. There is not enough information to believe anything is obvious. On the other hand, we have a manager who suggested the family leave the boy outside! Now that is one of the more telling things in the article.
As to whether the boy was really having a good time....Good Grief! you actually want to analyze a mentally handicapped boy's laughter???? Why? To what end? So we don't feel as bad about denying him a laugh?
I'll say a prayer for you that God never blesses (yes I said blesses) you with a severely disabled child.
Have you read your tagline Christian?
Did you start drinking early today or did you smoke your lunch?
They probably would have had to throw me out for yelling at the kids parents to shut him up. My wife hates it but I will tell anybody anywhere to sit down and shut up if I am wrongfully being disturbed. I am at a loss to explain it but it just leaps out of my mouth into the air and hangs there. I am normally very calm but I have yelled at packs of gangsta's, little kids, several drunks at Krystal Burger at 2:00 in the morning. So far nobody has beat me up for it but I have this really bad feeling that my time is limited on that.
They did a good job early on. I am hearing about more and more abuses of power supposedly to protect the disabled.
I don't do either fyi, why not answer the question.
"My wife hates it but I will tell anybody anywhere to sit down and shut up if I am wrongfully being disturbed."
What the hell are you talking about? A mentally handicapped boy laughing too loud constitutes "wrongfully disturbing" you? You don't sound like a man at all. You sound like bully.
"You sound like a bully."
I had the same impression.
AUTISTIC KIDS ROCK!!!!
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