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.
I knew a guy who got stomped at the movies by 4 punks after he asked them to be quiet. This was an animated kids movie. He was not a small man in fact he was quite of a toucgh guy. But, he was there with his daughter. The kids waited for him after the movie & while one distracted him, the other hit him over the head with a chair. He was them stopmped, kicked , punched all in front of his child while other patrons did NOTHING. He was almost killed for trying to quiet down a few "kids".
You know what my answer is from the way I responded. I don’t lower myself to defensively responding to baseless accusations regarding my character. Don’t expect to be treated with respect after doing that.
The ADA is a flawed piece of legislation that’s a magnet for abuse. Don’t take my word for it. Google ADA and Abuse and see problems.
This badly skilled and poorly trained manager will likely cost this theater hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue from the poor publicity alone. This theater clearly should have invested more in employee training.
I didn't and don't need to attack your character. Your statements really speak for themselves. I just wondered if you would come right out and say that you have a problem with disabled people.
Just about everything the gov't has its' hand in is flawed or is susceptbile to abuse. The ADA came about partly because of the lack of common kindness and courtesy to the disabled. That's one reason it should be reinforced.
It's curious that so far I haven't seen one person on the thread that said they would offer to take the child to the lobby so the parents could stay and watch the movie.
Get off your high horse, the parents offered to try to get him to calm down so obviously THEY also agreed that he was disruptive.
It's also obvious that you know nothing about mentally challenged people.
Of course you did you back tracking weasel. “Got a problem with disabled people” is an accusation of bigotry of the worst kind. Nothing I said would lead a reasonable person to conclude that. There is no one alive today of high character that has “got a problem with disabled people”. But you apparently have a chip on your shoulder and exercise it by starting arguments safely behind your anonymous internet account. That is irrational and cowardly.
Life’s too short to read the rest of your post and get sucked into your personal problems. Write me again if makes you feel better. I won’t read it. Get lost.
"Gina Pratti said they would try to have their son laugh more quietly, but the manager wanted him to leave."
Uhh, you must have difficulty reading. From the above sentence you have CONSTRUED that "the parents offered to try to get him to calm down so obviously THEY also agreed he was disruptive." But your wrong. Clearly you don't know what "obvious" means. And using the word incorrectly, REPEATEDLY, doesn't make you right.
As to this: "It's also obvious that you know nothing about mentally challenged people."
A pathetic ad hominem.
I saw the trailer. I've seen penguins. Both have their funny moments. Autistic or not, I can understand why a kid would laugh out loud.
Why are they freezing...I thought there was global warming?
Maybe that's what he was laughing at, and that's why his loud laughing was distracting to the other patrons.
Actually the movie made my 3 grandchildren sad. What I meant is an autistic might laugh at anything.
Name calling? Hiding behind your anonymous account? Calling someone a weasel exhibits high character? Inferring that I'm trying to suck you into personal problems? I'm irrational and cowardly? You are the one doing the name calling and insulting.
And you say I'm the one who started the argument?
now for backtracking....
Should a mentally impaired boy be allowed to post crap on Free Republic without getting zotted?
I think the way it is reported to have been handled is absurd, but I support the theaters decision to do something about him, throwing the family out if necessary.
19 posted on 08/18/2005 1:40:50 PM EDT by elfman2
I think the ADA needs serious scaling back. (But will never happen.)
25 posted on 08/18/2005 1:44:05 PM EDT by elfman2
You said you supported the family being thrown out and that the ADA needs to be scaled back.
I asked a question based on your posts. Do you always get so high strung when people ask you questions? Or only if the question is based on your own statements?
Exhibit number 428 in the case for concealed carry.
It's difficult to explain, you'll just have to see the movie.
>The ADA has turned into a license to extort.<
You got that right. A local dog show had a dinner for exhibitors after hours. One dolt brought his dog, which had a service vest on (it was a chow). Up til this, they're ok.
The dolt then proceded to FEED THE BLASTED THING, WITH HIS FORK! Yep, from his plate.
Now, I like dogs. But nothing in the ADA allows such incredibly boorish behavior.
Not that it's impossible, but how many chows are service dogs? I wonder if they put the vest on the pooch so nobody could ban it from the dinner.
A great picture. Those chicks are cuter than anything Disney has come up with.
I too, suspect he was laughing at the death of the baby penguins. What would people's reactions be to someone loudly laughing at the people jumping from the WTC during a 9/11 documentary?
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