I guess I still have it

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Yeah, I’m a little older, a lot heavier, and bit slower than I once was, but I can still take care of bidness. A man wonders that now and then as time goes by.

Took the wife and kids to see a movie last night. Decided on Steak & Shake for a late dinner. I opted for a table in the corner away from folks; it’s more comfortable than a booth for me.

Eventually, the punk teen smokers I had noticed outside came inside and sat behind me to my right. I gave them a passing glance, but no more. Tats, piercings, big ass gauges; 3 boys, 2 girls. The girls seemed normal. The place was filled with families so I thought maybe they’d leave soon. Kids crying and all…

Anyway, through dinner they’re getting louder and louder. Fuck this, cockgobbler that, stupid cunt, etc.

Now I cuss a good bit with my friends, and I don’t hold back much at home either.
Call it bad parenting if you like, but if the worst thing my kids ever do is call someone at school an asshole, I can live with that.

Anyway, I’m no prude, and I don’t go around defending women’s honor if a cad lets slip some unsavory words at some point. Words, after all, are just words.

However, there is the matter of common decency, and with a dozen children under the age of 12 within 18 feet, I decided enough was enough. I turned around, looked at Sk8terboi #1 and said “That’s enough. You’re done.” I got a slight nod from S1, a snicker from S2, and nothing from S3, whose back was to me. I nodded back, and assumed that was it.

My wife said thank you, my daughter was mortified that I corrected someone, and I got several appreciative glances and nods from other parents around. Fine.

Trouble began when S3 couldn’t leave it alone. Started mumbling about “crackers”, “fat asses”, and “kicking ass” and more. :rolleyes: I turned around, said “Excuse me. Do you have something to say to me?” S3 just glared and replied “NO!”, so I said “OK”, and resumed eating.
Within 5 minutes, we’re all done, and waiting on the check, when the kids get up to leave.
As they pass our table I’m watching their reflection in the window. They’re giggling, shoving each other like schoolgirls, and coming up behind me. With a final “shhh” and hand motions to the others, S3 proceeds to “accidentally” spill his drink on me.

I had moved some, but still got a good bit on me. It was hilarious. The boys were laughing, punching each other, while the girls had the good sense to put their heads down and walk away. I stood up, and said “You really shouldn’t have done that. You had a chance to go home tonight, and you blew it.”

As I stepped toward S3, he reached out to shove me. I introduced this pothead to what I’m sure wasn’t his first wrist lock, torqued him to the floor, and dropped a knee into his ribs. He began to cry.

The other idiots decided they could rescue their boy, and threatened me with a serious - a serious - ass kicking. My wife stood up and say “Hey asshole. Look around you.”
There must have been 9 people with Iphones held up and recording!

People started telling them they saw what happened, it was on purpose, and so on. It was beautiful.

A large manager came over and stood in the doorway, and I told the kids to have a seat or a broken arm, their choice.

Cops were there in 2 minutes, everyone told them what happened, and since “I’ll cut your throat” was mentioned, they get Terroristic Threats added to the charges.:smiley:
Maybe you don’t want to judge people by their appearance, and that’s OK. It works for me, and I got exactly what I expected:dubious:
Oh, I’m fine, BTW.:smiley:

2

Great story.

3

Hate to be the one to do this but…were they black? I swear on my dead grandmother, I only ask because it is unusual for black kids to have the stretched ear thing happening. I mean, I DO have my ears stretched, but every black person I know is shocked by that. But they DID call you a cracker, so my curiosity is just piqued.

4

Yeah, a great story…and it’s always a good feeling to see justice handed out on the spot.

But you were lucky---- it could have gone very,very differently.
An underage kid threw his drink at you, making no other contact with you. You then responded with an increased level of force, involving some pain (and a threat of broken bones.) I’m no lawyer, but I’m guessing that your actions could be interpreted as some kind of assault or battery or whatever.
And if you are white and the kids are black, today’s climate of political correctness won’t work in your favor; you could have really screwed up your life—with hints of the recent Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case.

But it looks like in this case, the cops support your reaction. And it sure sounds like the punk got what he deserved.
So , yeah…a good story with a good ending.
But me, I’d be afraid to try it a second time (if the need ever occurs…which we all hope it doesn’t))

5

It’s not a bad story but it’s not as cool as the guy I work with. On Friday he explained all the cuts on his face, “I was assaulted at McDonalds by a 13 year old girl wearing pajamas.”

6

I’d just like to point out that this kid’s life is, most likely, ruined. Because somebody didn’t like the words he was using.

Had you said nothing, done nothing, and accepted that sometimes, in public, your children may hear ‘naughty words’, then the situation would have been quite different, wouldn’t it? At worst, you could have had a nice angry rant in the BBQ Pit. At best, everybody would have forgotten about it by the next morning.

Instead you chose to assert your ‘authority’ over a child, who had obvious authority issues (being a teenager, piercings, tattoos, etc). As a result, the child made the very bad decision to play a harmless prank on you, ‘accidentally’ spilling his drink.

You then physically restrained him, causing pain and injury, and called the police. The justice system may now, apparently, press charges ranging from assault to ‘terroristic threats’ upon him.

If we assume the child and his family aren’t rich enough to have a private lawyer on retainer, and a good one, it’s likely this kid will now have a criminal record. Public attorneys aren’t worth the ‘nothing’ you can afford to pay one, if you need one. He will forever have to admit to any potential employer that he was ‘arrested for making terrorstic threats’ and it’s unlikely that said employer will hire him.

Now he’s got no way to make money honestly, so he’ll do what he has to do to get by… as someone officially and legally labeled a ‘terrorist’.

And that doesn’t work out well, if you’re in the kind of situation many kids these days are in.

Granted, he *did *assault you by the legal definition, and *legally *you’re completely in the clear. But morally, I doubt you thought about the long-term results of your actions any more than he thought about his.

You’re sleeping at home tonight, and he’s in jail. Because you didn’t like the language used by the new generation, and because a teenager went a little bit over the line in retaliation.

Because of the rules of this board, I can only post part of the following quote:

–Another guy pretty much your own age who doesn’t have children, wasn’t there, and doesn’t know your position, but has his own opinion on the situation.

7

Glad to hear it. I’ve never understood young people willing to mess with older adults like it’s nothing. You literally don’t know who you’re messing with. As a teen I saw a friend schooled by an old guy (now I realize the guy was likely in his 40s) who’d asked him to quiet down.

8

Sorry, but you sound like you were being a snot to begin with. Why would you start with such a condescending pseudo tough-guy opener when “Excuse me, I have my kids with me, and I’d really appreciate it if you could keep the vulgarity I check, thanks.” would have probably worked perfectly fine?

When I was a young punk kid, my friends and I would occasionally get carried away and be pretty obnoxious. But once I realized I was bothering others, I’d tone it down.

If I got the feeling I was being treated differently based on my looks, however, it’d get my hackles up and I’d probably go out of my way to be more obnoxious. My attitude then was that of you were itching for a stereotype, I’d hand you a stereotype. Kids can be pretty defensive.

Glad nobody got hurt.

9

Including the words “cut your throat”?
That’s not the language of a prankster. That’s a kid who’s been too close to gangs.

It seems to me that , yes, one kid is in jail, his life possibly ruined.*
But it’s also possible that 3 or 4 other kids have learned a lesson in life that might save them from ruining their own lives.
Society has rules to obey…even for teenagers.
And will the OP please fill in one vital detail for us?: how old were these kids?

*( how long does an arrest as a juvenile stay on your record?)

10

Perhaps. But my understanding is that, not only was this said after the child was ‘restrained’, but it wasn’t even said by that child. It was said by someone who just saw their friend attacked and injured, and was (foolishly, perhaps) attempting to intimidate the assailant into letting his victim go free.

So I was wrong… at least two people’s lives have probably been ruined here. I think. I remain unclear as to who mentioned cutting, and when. Perhaps the OP would like to clarify this.

11

I was basically with you until this line.

Yeah you probably could have started off a little less aggressively for my taste, but that’s one person’s opinion. However, that you’ll use this incident to continue justifying judging people by their looks is a shame. Their actions were reason enough to judge them. It does make me wonder, though, if they had been dressed differently if you’d have started less aggressively with them, perhaps diffused the situation and not gotten physical and you would have used that to justify that nicer looking kids are nicer.

12

This is wrong. He is in jail because instead of minding the rules of decent behavior when reminded, he chose to assault the OP in public instead.

.

13

I guess I have lived too long if we are now in a world where throwing a drink at someone is “assault”.

14

Why? Any unwanted act that touches someone else, with a body part, a liquid, or any other object controlled by the person doing it is battery even if it doesn’t cause damage or injury. Can you piss on people or spit on them? What things can you throw at or on them without their consent?

15

Maybe you have. You missed the point entirely however, they are in jail because they escalated the situation.

16

He said the guy reached out to put his hands on him (to push him). Words are just words; somebody tries to put his hands on me, I have a right to defend myself, and the law agrees.

17

It sounds like it was only that one kid who was really obnoxious, though. The other kids sounded like fairly normal teenagers.

Their looks shouldn’t even be relevant, since presumably it was their obscenities that drew your ire.

I’m glad the kid didn’t pull a gun or a knife out on you. Even though spilling his drink on you wasn’t called for, you did have a choice to walk away and remove you and your family from the situation at that point. It’s not always about right and wrong.

18

Perhaps not, but he was wrong to do what he did. His reaction was not proportionate to the situation, and, as you point out, it put him and his family at risk. Those are things that make his action wrong. Somewhat understandable, but still wrong.

What I don’t get is the need to brag about such things. Maybe it’s because, deep down, people know they messed up, and are seeking vindication?

19

I’m pretty sure juvie records get sealed when you turn 18.

20

Wow, you’re so damn cool! Picking fights with kids?! High five!