I'm a lousy human being

[veronica_rich]

And I am most certainly going to the Bad Part of the afterlife, because all I can think reading this is Thanks a lot, lady, for being drunk and throwing things at the adults and compromising your case. That really helps those of us who are peaceful and polite and would stop at only dangling the three-year-old upside down by an ankle over the aisle until he turned red. (I'll take my whacks on the head now.)

By Jolie McCullough, The Arizona Republic

Phoenix police are investigating an incident on a Southwest Airlines flight where a woman allegedly grabbed a child who was kicking the back of her seat in March.
James Holmes of the Phoenix Police Department said a mother is pressing charges against a 42-year-old woman who allegedly assaulted her 3-year-old boy while they were on Southwest flight 582 heading to Las Vegas at the gate of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Mar. 21 at about 7 p.m.
No arrests have been made because police are still gathering names of witnesses from Southwest Airlines, but the mother described the incident to police:
Her three-year-old son either kicked or put his feet up on the back of the woman's seat when she turned around and grabbed him. The woman told the child, "You're not going to be kicking my seat all the way to Las Vegas," while she shook him and then slammed him back on the seat, the mother told police.
She and other passengers began to argue with the woman after the incident, and both parties were taken off the plane to discuss the situation.
Staff had assured her that the woman would not be allowed back on the flight, and she returned to her seats with her children, Holmes said. The woman, however, did board the same plane again, and chose to sit in the same seat over other empty seats.
During the flight, the woman harassed the family and threw garbage at them. The mother told police that the woman appeared to be intoxicated.

I dislike a bratty child, and I dislike even more the bad parents who sit aside slack-jawed and let it happen (we would've had our asses spanked for that behavior). But I really, really hate people who go too far in trying to rectify the situation, who make it worse on those of us who have legitimate complaints about the little jer- I mean, darlings. ;-)

Comments

[starrdust411.livejournal.com]

My mom was watching the news a few weeks ago when a similar story came up. I believe it was a local case where a woman was in an elevator with her two young children and a man (a stranger). Her young daughter started crying obnxiously and the man decided to grab the girl by her mouth and scream at her, or something like that.

I agree that kids who act up should be dealt with, but only by their parents! Otherwise, it just gets way out of control. Although I have to wonder what's with the sudden fighting back against bratty kids? Is there some sort of revolution going on? Lol

[yoiebear.livejournal.com]

I can understand the woman's frustration, but she shouldn't have taken it out on the child. Take it out on the lazy-ass mother.
I'd have looked at the mother and kindly asked her to talk to her child about not kicking my seat. If that didn't work, I'd go to the flight attendant. If that doesn't work, then go to the airline when you get home. It doesn't help, but spouting off a few rude lines to the airline has always made me feel at little better.

And, I had my ass beat more than a few times for being a brat and (when/if?) my kids will get the same treatment. I'm sick and fucking tired of the sense of entitlement that people think they and their children have in this world. It's the demise of a structured civilization, I believe.

[malakhai.livejournal.com]

For fuck's sake, it's a 45 minute flight. I despise kids but even I think that was a bit much.

[captsparrow4evr.livejournal.com]

I hate bratty kids but this woman was totally out of line in the way she handled it. Me? I would have asked the flight attendant if there was another seat I could have. I used to work in a library and now work in a pet supply store. The number of parents who stood idly by or were too busy with their own issues to control their children is horrifying. I do have a quick little story showing that it's possible to work with a brat. Tonight a human puppy was in the store (4-5 years old and unsupervised, of course) and he found a bird net that he proceeded to start whacking the parakeet habitat with. I walked up and took hold of the net as I said to him "Please don't do that. You'll scare them." He didn't have a choice about stopping because I took the net away. He went into the aviary for the bigger birds and I followed him. He wasn't sure he liked that but asked me a few questions about the bigger birds, which I answered. When he left the aviary, I followed him over to where the adoption kittens are. He decided by that time that he needed to find his mom because this polite but crazy lady wasn't going to leave him alone. I never once stopped smiling at him.:)

[benkenobigal.livejournal.com]

I have seen the extremes of both sides -- where parents ignore the little hellion who's running and screaming and grabbing and being...well, a monster. I've also seen people over-react and snap at parents to "control their kids!!"...when the kids aren't being bad.

There were other empty seats. She should have taken one. But considering that she was drunk, she might not have had the greatest judgment going there...

[a-silver-rose.livejournal.com]

Heaven help the woman if the child had some sort of condition where "controlling" him would pose a challenge (like, say, autism or ADHD).

[roguedemon.livejournal.com]

I'll be going there with you. Heck, if it was up to me, children wouldn't be allowed to be in the same place (plane, restaurants, theaters) as grownups until they were older than five and had proven that they could sit quietly.