What if it was a Mom with 3 noisy 5 year olds?
Would Joe be justified in demanding their silence?
Demanding? No.
Ask? Maybe.
Kids, in my opinion, are a special case. I don't ever ask mothers to quiet their kids on planes or in resaurants.
If the kids are running around and out of control, touching, grabing, headbutting me in the crotch, etc then I'll say something.
Otherwise, I remind myself that there is a God and this is what I get for being a bad kid.
We'll really know what God thinks of this if I have ever have daughters.
I'm "what if-ing" this to pieces in my head based on my two experiences. I'm a little hung up on playing duck duck goose around the table.
In one instance I politely asked some very loud kids to just hold it down so my Wife and I could talk. The were still loud, just not as loud.
In another case, when it was apparent that I was about to get my ass kicked I left.