# I pit crying babies in public places **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 25, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368 "2010-01-25T15:52:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/401 "2010-01-28T22:56:16Z")
> [@otternell](#): > > eewww! :eek: Well, were he here (did he get banned yet?), Cesario would probably argue that creaming into a child’s face is not necessarily intentional nor voluntary. I mean, they’re totally asking for it. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/402 "2010-01-28T22:57:26Z")
I am totally skeeved out and yet laughing my ass off at the same time! ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/403 "2010-01-28T23:04:08Z")
> [@villa](#): > > No, I know what the tort of assault entails, sparky. [In common law, assault is the tort of acting intentionally and voluntarily causing the reasonable apprehension of an immediate harmful or offensive contact](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_(tort)). You creaming into the child’s face was both intentional and voluntary, and I don’t think I would have a lot of trouble demonstrating, especially from your other comments, that the intention was to create that apprehension with either the parents or the child. That’s assault. Not necessarily criminal assault, but you were the pussy who initially brought up suing. I also wonder who the cops would believe when they showed up. A family with an unhappy kid or the macho man who screamed at a kid. The parents were wrong for not taking action with the kid, but Ol’ Yog here was far MORE wrong for doing that. Even if he was the hero of his stupid friends. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/404 "2010-01-28T23:18:51Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Here is my problem with you, **Malthus**. > > I say X. You interpret it to mean Y. I say, no, I really did mean X. Multiple other people chime in to say, “Yes, we agree, we read X as saying X, too–not Y.” But no matter how many times I (and others) tell you that X means X, not Y, Z, or Helsinki, you continue to insist that it does, in fact, mean Y. > > The initial X/Y confusion could be due to either poor phrasing on my part (not too likely, as multiple people have all confirmed that they understood exactly what I meant, most recently **otternell** ) or a misreading on your part. Either of those \*should \*have been resolved the first time I corrected your misunderstanding and clarified my intended meaning. > > The fact that you \*persist \*in arguing with _your imaginary version of my position_, instead of my actual position as I’ve stated and then repeatedly clarified it, and as other people have confirmed and explained, means that you’re (a) deeply stupid, (b) a troll, or (c) having a stroke. In the first two cases, you’re not worth my time, and in the lattermost, you should be in a goddamn hospital, so call 911 already. When called on your original statement, you have indeed “clarify” it - that is, back away from what you originally said - and I disagree with that position, too. > [@](#): > > “Strong suit” is what you meant to say. And it was a great analogy–just one that went over your head. Both “stong” and “long” work. > [@](#): > > Let me break it down for you. > > See, you were inexplicably interpreting my very reasonable request of “don’t bring your child to a restaurant if you can reasonably predict that they’ll make a scene” as the completely insane “don’t ever bring your child to a restaurant unless you can 100% guarantee that they won’t make a scene.” Now, consider that I’d said “try not to die in a restaurant.” You would then have to also interpret that as meaning “never go out to a restaurant ever, because everyone’s going to die, so you might die there.” > > Yes, it’s retarded, but it’s your argument, not mine. What I’m saying is that, unusual circumstances aside such as when a child is sick, you _cannot_ “reasonably predict” in advance when a child will make a scene. Young children are not “predictable”. > [@](#): > > I’m not saying I’m right 'cause lots of people say I’m right. We’re arguing over what I meant by what I said. And when you’ve got a bunch of people and the original author all telling you that X means X, and not Y–that’s pretty solid evidence that you’re just making shit up. What you are writing now isn’t what you were writing then. You’ve backed off. And I still disagree with it. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/405 "2010-01-28T23:40:19Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > You can name call all you want, but you can’t argue with results! 😃 That baby deserved to be screamed at, I did it, and it worked. If this story is true, you’re what psychologists refer to as “fucked up.” If you had real friends there, rather than some of your imaginary ones, and they cheered you for screaming at a baby, then they too are fucked up. Not surprisingly, fucked up losers band together out of need: nobody else wants to be around them. I’m disappointed that one of the parents didn’t fracture your skull or take out a few of your teeth with one of those heavy coffee mugs such places typically use. Had it been my child, you’d certainly have received a monumental assbeating from me. My wife? Well, she’s afraid of crazy people and has the typical Eastern European woman’s over-protective love of children. You might very well have gotten your punkass self shot. Fuck it. The whole story is nothing but the fantasy of a friendless, unloved, totally lacking in social skills, Internet loser. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/406 "2010-01-29T00:08:45Z")
> [@thirdwarning](#): > > And can we get past this “scream” thing? Most children cry when they get upset, but rarely do they actually scream. It’s a loaded word and bad form. It may be a loaded word, but it is also very descriptive of what some babies/children do in public places. Even tho I don’t like children at. all. I rarely have a problem with one that is only crying, but if their needs are not met or they are being ignored, screaming generally follows. There are also those babies that are just getting their voices and love to scream just for the fun of it, and the younger children who cannot seem to do much of anything without screaming for fun. It’s not that these children are the only ones out there, it is that they are fairly common and extremely noisy. Even tho I don’t go out all that often, I get stuck with one about once a month. Maybe because I live in a tourist trap but the why is immaterial - there is no reason why anyone should have to put up with screaming children, period. Parents who don’t take a screaming child out of a public place right away need to get over their entitlement attitude; there is nothing special about their kid and the rest of the world is not here to help them raise it or put up with it’s tantrums. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/407 "2010-01-29T00:33:28Z")
_kidneyfailure has indeed, in more than one post, said exactly that: he’ll try to keep the kid quiet, but if that doesn’t work, then yes - HE IS GOING TO JUST SIT THERE AND IGNORE A SCREAMING BABY IN A RESTAURANT._ Again, I never said that. I said that those who feel I am not doing enough to quiet my baby can “butt the hell out.” I also said that I would take my baby outside if need be. Nowhere did I say that I would ignore a screaming baby in a restaurant. I think I’ve made that quite clear. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/408 "2010-01-29T00:40:52Z")
_“I’m not taking my child out of earshot just so you filthy proles can gorge on your swill in peace. Suck it!”_ Now, what did I really say? 1)“If she needed a trip outside for some quiet time while my dinner freezes, she’d get that” 2)“I specifically mentioned taking her outside if she needed it” 3)“I stated several times over several posts that I would quiet my kid down and that that would include taking it out of the restaurant if need be” That’s at least three time where I’ve said I’d take her out of earshot if need be. Learn to read, **Fuji**. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/409 "2010-01-29T00:59:15Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > And I’m sure it proved to any who witnessed the event what a total fucking psycho you are. I suppose that’s a positive. I don’t mind. What do I care what strangers think? > [@tacoloco](#): > > You did it and it _worked_! > > It worked because the parents didn’t stand up to you. It would have been sweet justice when you shit your pants if the parents stood up to you. > > Be proud of yourself if you want, but also be grateful that you still have all of your teeth. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad it didn’t turn into a confrontation. But being upset at me because it worked when you probably wouldn’t have thought it would have is silly. Get over it, life doesn’t always work out the way you think it ought to. In this instance, yelling at the kid produced the BEST result possible, and I have no remorse for that. Hopefully the parents learned their lesson > [@villa](#): > > I assumed “them” referred to the child. Even if it referred to the parents, you still made it up after you were called on your psychotic behavior. Ha, didn’t think you’d actually admit you were wrong. 😉 Just another rationalization huh? Not like that’s completely unexpected. Whatever, think what you want, I’m happy it worked! 😃 > [@villa](#): > > No, crazy for your general behavior, which is why I alluded to your previous insanity of assuming everyone who has a drink is an alcoholic. This is just another sign of it. Just people who thinks drinking is more important than the house rules of an estabilshment that specifically forbids it. You know alcoholics, they’ll rationalize anything. Sounds like someone I know… :dubious: > [@villa](#): > > And if a parent is screaming into the face of their child, they have issues. Good thing I’m not that kid’s parent! 😃 > [@villa](#): > > You aren’t very smart, are you? It’s up to management whether they allow screaming kids in there or not. It’s not up to you. What is up to you is whether you eat there or not. If they take the family’s side not yours, you leave. You don’t determine their policies. Were I running the place, I’d ask the family to keep the kid quiet, or leave if they could not. If I saw you act in that fashion, I would throw your ass out onto the street. Which would be a win for everyone, in fact. I’d like to see a restaurant that specifically welcomes screaming kids. Find one! I’ll make sure to avoid it so you and your little banshees can scream to your heart’s content. According to others on this thread, and I have no reason to disbelieve them, management is usually too pussy to crack down on shit like this. They don’t know, or don’t think about, the fact that he’s not simply trying to keep one family, but the rest of the patrons who have to put up with that kid’s shit. As far as I’m concerned, and feel oh so free to believe otherwise, I saved that restaurant money by getting rid of the problem. If I were a superhero, I would be the Restaurant Avenger! I’d hurl plates and swing from a grappling hook shaped like an egg beater! 😃 > [@villa](#): > > No, I know what the tort of assault entails, sparky. [In common law, assault is the tort of acting intentionally and voluntarily causing the reasonable apprehension of an immediate harmful or offensive contact](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_(tort)). You creaming into the child’s face was both intentional and voluntary, and I don’t think I would have a lot of trouble demonstrating, especially from your other comments, that the intention was to create that apprehension with either the parents or the child. That’s assault. Not necessarily criminal assault, but you were the pussy who initially brought up suing. > > Where’s the “contact” in what I did? I remember I was more than a few inches away from the brat’s face. I never touched him or made a threatening move. I turned my body around from my booth and yelled at him. Only a pussy would think that’s threatening. Because, this is California, not one of those shit states that have “Castle Doctrine” rules of self-defense. I didn’t make a threatening move towards this kid at all, they have nothing on me. On the other hand, if the father punched me, I would have assault. > [@Scumpup](#): > > If this story is true, you’re what psychologists refer to as “fucked up.” If you had real friends there, rather than some of your imaginary ones, and they cheered you for screaming at a baby, then they too are fucked up. Not surprisingly, fucked up losers band together out of need: nobody else wants to be around them. > I’m disappointed that one of the parents didn’t fracture your skull or take out a few of your teeth with one of those heavy coffee mugs such places typically use. Had it been my child, you’d certainly have received a monumental assbeating from me. My wife? Well, she’s afraid of crazy people and has the typical Eastern European woman’s over-protective love of children. You might very well have gotten your punkass self shot. > Fuck it. The whole story is nothing but the fantasy of a friendless, unloved, totally lacking in social skills, Internet loser. I love how you’ve just admitted that you’d bend over and take it from a 3 year old for the entire duration of your meal. Some of us have limits, and a kid screaming not 3 feet away tests those limits. The truly pathetic decry such heroism as dangerous to the moral code of society and react with inappropriate indignation. So congratulations, you may not be a pedophile, but children fuck you and you do nothing about it. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/410 "2010-01-29T01:06:20Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad it didn’t turn into a confrontation. But being upset at me because it worked when you probably wouldn’t have thought it would have is silly. Get over it, life doesn’t always work out the way you think it ought to. In this instance, yelling at the kid produced the BEST result possible, and I have no remorse for that. Hopefully the parents learned their lesson There’s nothing to get over. You’re an asshole who will one day wind up getting the beating you so richly deserve. Or you’ll realize that you narrowly avoided a beating and will think twice about it next time. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/411 "2010-01-29T01:07:55Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > If this story is true, you’re what psychologists refer to as “fucked up.” > > … > > I’m disappointed that one of the parents didn’t fracture your skull or take out a few of your teeth with one of those heavy coffee mugs such places typically use. Had it been my child, you’d certainly have received a monumental assbeating from me. My wife? Well, she’s afraid of crazy people and has the typical Eastern European woman’s over-protective love of children. You might very well have gotten your punkass self shot. Well, if that ain’t the Ritz callin’ the Town House crackers I don’t know what is. ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/412 "2010-01-29T01:30:48Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > … I love how you’ve just admitted that you’d bend over and take it from a 3 year old for the entire duration of your meal. Some of us have limits, and a kid screaming not 3 feet away tests those limits. The truly pathetic decry such heroism as dangerous to the moral code of society and react with inappropriate indignation. So congratulations, you may not be a pedophile, but children fuck you and you do nothing about it. I forgot how fucked in the head you are. Thanks for the reminder. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/413 "2010-01-29T01:31:18Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Well, if that ain’t the Ritz callin’ the Town House crackers I don’t know what is. The difference is being an intentional douchebag or having an instinctive reaction to someone threatening your kid. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/414 "2010-01-29T02:36:34Z")
See, I’ve worked in residential treatment with the sanity challenged. I also spent some time working as a deputy sheriff. Most of my career as a teacher has been working with troubled yoots. This has had a couple results: 1. I’m not intimidated by or afraid of people who act crazy. 2. I recognize that when the mentally ill begin acting out, they are unpredictable. You act like a crazy (especially towards my kid) and I’ll treat you like a crazy. You’re going to the floor and getting your happy ass restrained til LE arrives. How much injury that results in for you will be a direct result of how much you decide to resist. This ain’t the ward and I’m not here to provide you with a therapeutic environment. But as I said above, this whole story was the fabrication of a socially retarded misfit. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/415 "2010-01-29T02:40:09Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > See, I’ve worked in residential treatment with the sanity challenged. I also spent some time working as a deputy sheriff. Most of my career as a teacher has been working with troubled yoots. This has had a couple results: > > 1. I’m not intimidated by or afraid of people who act crazy. > 2. I recognize that when the mentally ill begin acting out, they are unpredictable. > You act like a crazy (especially towards my kid) and I’ll treat you like a crazy. You’re going to the floor and getting your happy ass restrained til LE arrives. How much injury that results in for you will be a direct result of how much you decide to resist. This ain’t the ward and I’m not here to provide you with a therapeutic environment. > But as I said above, this whole story was the fabrication of a socially retarded misfit. Like I said, Town House, meet Ritz. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/416 "2010-01-29T02:48:45Z")
Gosh, that one was so wickedly clever, I can see why you want to keep repeating it. Did you manage to use it in conversation at work today, too? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/417 "2010-01-29T03:05:28Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > It arose out of the great vowel shift, the result of which has been confusion over child as diner and child as dinner. ROTFLAMO!! Excellent! ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/418 "2010-01-29T07:55:36Z")
I think I am more often inconvenienced by adults than kids. I’ve been to several movies where old ladies just couldn’t stop asking dumbass questions. Really loud and obnoxious. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/419 "2010-01-29T08:30:23Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > I think I am more often inconvenienced by adults than kids. > > I’ve been to several movies where old ladies just couldn’t stop asking dumbass questions. Really loud and obnoxious. Take them out and spank them. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368/420 "2010-01-29T12:29:04Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > Take them out and spank them. Rather be spanked by them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-crying-babies-in-public-places/526368.md?page=22)