# I was attacked at the movies today **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 15, 2013, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098 "2013-06-15T23:31:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/81 "2013-06-18T22:24:39Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > My brother thinks we should have called the cops as well. I don’t know. I mean, it didn’t seem to be the right thing to do at the time. The lady with him was just beside herself, she was so upset. And I kept thinking about how much she must have to deal with on a daily basis having to be the caretaker of someone like that. It just seemed like getting the cops involved would cause more harm than good. But on the other hand…if she doesn’t take this as a serious lesson, he might do it again and actually hurt someone next time. > > Honestly, what I’m most confused about is why he did what he did. I hadn’t made eye contact with him, hell I hadn’t even looked out him. There were no crowds in the hallway either. It was completely empty except for us. I’m very glad you were not badly hurt. I used to work with severely mentally handicapped adults. This is in no way a global hate remark- but it is unquestionably a truth that many severely mentally ill people are completely unpredictable in their behaviors, especially in public or when facing new stimulii. It is just the way it is. I would have immediately called the police, and NOT because I believe anything should have happened to the fellow. But because the family members who know that he is especially unstable/ sensitive/ unpredictable in large groups need to learn more about choices. Should he be shuttered away in the dark? Um… no and I am in no way advocating that he and his family should never go out, or be in areas where there are large groups. But a lot of prep needs to occur if you KNOW someone is likely to react a certain way. Trained professionals- who I pray that family already is working with- could best guide them in preparing their family member for a big day out with lots of other people. Now, to **you**. You will be upset for longer than you think you will right this moment. Talk about your upset. You may be angry. Irrational. Deeply unnerved around strangers, especially those who move fast or yell. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/82 "2013-06-19T01:05:06Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > No, arrest him for assault, so that when this happens again, and possibly AGAIN, they’ll see a pattern and not brush it off. If no one ever reports this behavior he’ll continue to get away with it until something really bad happens. How do you expect the system to effectively deal with this if no one ever reports it and every time seems like the first time. > No one got hurt THIS time, and if this really is an isolated incident then there’s nothing to worry about, but how would you like to be the person he really hurts only to find out he’s been acting out like this for years and no one ever reported it? Or, almost as bad, he runs across someone bigger, stronger, meaner and without any compunction about beating the absolute snot out of him. That isn’t going to do anyone any good either. I’m for the tell the cops plan of action; for all we know, the caregiver is full of shit, and this guy does this kind of thing all the time, and he needs a different caregiver and different care. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/83 "2013-06-19T01:41:57Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I love how everyone in MPSIMS is an expert on psychiatry, dating and everything else. “It will happen again unless you call the cops!” Really? Do you know anything about this guy? No. Shut up. It could very well have been the first time. > > OP, I’m glad you didn’t suffer any permanent ill effects. How was the movie? 🙂 It might happen again. And we know one thing, he attacked someone. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/84 "2013-06-19T03:12:40Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > You mean other than this line? "Girl has her arm around the guy (who clearly looked mentally disabled), " IMO, mentally disabled /= mentally retarded. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/85 "2013-06-19T03:27:36Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > IMO, mentally disabled /= mentally retarded. YMMV. Girl wasn’t jumped by Einstein. Can we agree on that? Then what’s your point? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/86 "2013-06-19T19:14:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Girl wasn’t jumped by Einstein. Can we agree on that? Then what’s your point? The posts in this thread actually are doing a good job of convincing me to rethink my position re: the APA’s redesignation of mental retardation. The OP said the individual appeared mentally disabled. I encounter people all of the time who appear mentally and emotionally impared. Relatively few of them are mentally retarded. In fact, of the mentally retarded people I deal with on a regular basis, very few of them “appear” any different than the vast majority of non-retarded folk. Hell, many if not most mental/emotional impairments have little to do with intelligence - so I don’t know why you would bring Einstein into the discussion. I guess we can agree the OP was not jumped by Albert Einstein, since he’s been dead for some time. Is it silly for me to expect folk here on the Dope to have any interest in defining and using words with any care and precision? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/87 "2013-06-19T19:16:59Z")
We’re in MPSIMS. Count yourself lucky the thread hasn’t devolved into a slew of kitteh pics. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/88 "2013-06-19T19:20:36Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > In fact, of the mentally retarded people I deal with on a regular basis, very few of them “appear” any different than the vast majority of non-retarded folk. I didn’t know that. Sorry for my tone and the Einstein crack. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/89 "2013-06-19T19:37:33Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > If I was the caretaker of an easily upset guy, I wouldn’t have taken him to anything more exciting then the Care Bears Movie, > > Let alone the explosionfest/epilepsy-inducing visual speed of Iron Man 3. Minor nitpick. The OP states that she was going to see Ironman 3. Her assailant could very well have been there to see Veggie Tales. Unless I missed a data point somewhere. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/90 "2013-06-20T09:44:01Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > So call the cops when the attacker is a thug. Don’t call the cops when the attacker is a thug but nuts. Well, yes, because calling the cops on the thug would be because you have no idea if the situation is under control. You have a pretty good indicate that the mentally ill guy is under control and that the problem has been dealt with. Calling the cops is something you do as a last resort, something you do when nothing else works. Also, the guy has given us no reason to think he is a thug. A thug is a morally degenerate person. This guy almost certainly is not. This is the type of dehumanization I hate seeing being used about the mentally ill. I note that no one in this thread is treating him like a person, but like he’s some sort of violent animal who needs animal control called on him. No one was seriously hurt. You do not proactively try to punish someone, especially when they are likely not in full control of their actions. This whole thread makes me want to go take a shower to rinse off the filth. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/91 "2013-06-20T09:46:22Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > I could not care less whether the attacker was a vulnerable person due to mental issues or not; And this part of this post is part of why I feel so dirty. I guess I had forgotten that people actually still think this way. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/92 "2013-06-20T10:17:40Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > This whole thread makes me want to go take a shower to rinse off the filth. Forget the thread for a moment and just concentrate on personal hygiene issues. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/93 "2013-06-20T10:36:24Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > You do not **proactively** try to punish someone, especially when they are likely not in full control of their actions. I do not think that word means what you think it means. The OP was attacked. Punishing her attacker for that is not proactive. I think the OP should have called the cops. Certainly, it’s possible that this was the one and only time this person has ever attacked anyone. It’s more likely that it’s not. If he does have a history, the cops would know about it, and if he doesn’t, it’s a good time to have social services intervene. You can’t let someone–mentally competent or not–be a danger to random strangers. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/94 "2013-06-20T13:53:29Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Minor nitpick. The OP states that she was going to see Ironman 3. Her assailant could very well have been there to see Veggie Tales. Unless I missed a data point somewhere. Carry on. No, you are correct. On re-read, it all happened in the movie theaters lobby, not in the theatre itself. The guy could have very well been there for something more appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/95 "2013-06-20T16:13:10Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I note that no one in this thread is treating him like a person, but like he’s some sort of violent animal who needs animal control called on him. Not true. He’s being referred to in the same way we refer to infants and toddlers (who are also people unable to fully communicate or control their actions). And that’s because he has shown, though his behavior, that he IS in fact unpredictably violent, which is something that needs to be taken into account when future outings are planned. > [@](#): > > No one was seriously hurt. That was purely a matter of luck. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/96 "2013-06-20T17:13:28Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Well, yes, because calling the cops on the thug would be because you have no idea if the situation is under control. You have a pretty good indicate that the mentally ill guy is under control and that the problem has been dealt with. Calling the cops is something you do as a last resort, something you do when nothing else works. > > Also, the guy has given us no reason to think he is a thug. A thug is a morally degenerate person. This guy almost certainly is not. This is the type of dehumanization I hate seeing being used about the mentally ill. I note that no one in this thread is treating him like a person, but like he’s some sort of violent animal who needs animal control called on him. > > No one was seriously hurt. You do not proactively try to punish someone, especially when they are likely not in full control of their actions. > > This whole thread makes me want to go take a shower to rinse off the filth. Nobody was seriously hurt THIS TIME. However, this guy has shown that he isn’t capable of controlling himself, and his caretakers also apparently can’t control him, and THAT’S why the cops should have been called. The situation is unacceptable. Maybe he can’t be taken out into crowds at all, maybe he needs more supervision in crowds. But this incident does need to be documented and the caretakers put on notice that they need to be more careful about taking him out, and supervising him when he’s out. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/97 "2013-06-20T20:44:54Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And this part of this post is part of why I feel so dirty. I guess I had forgotten that people actually still think this way. Hey, if it’ll get you off the computer and into the bath regularly I’m happy to have that line sky-written across your parking lot every day. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/98 "2013-06-20T20:45:51Z")
Mental illness isn’t and shouldn’t be a Get Out of Jail Free card. Just because someone might be mentally ill doesn’t mean they can’t control their actions, nor does it mean you can’t be a thug. I mean, by that logic, they shouldn’t have called the police when Andrea Yates drowned her kids, since she was suffering from post-partem psychosis. If anything “demanizes” the mentally ill, it’s this patronizing, pittying, “oh, the poor dear, he didn’t know any better” attitude. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/99 "2013-06-21T04:42:32Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Mental illness isn’t and shouldn’t be a Get Out of Jail Free card. Just because someone might be mentally ill doesn’t mean they can’t control their actions, nor does it mean you can’t be a thug. > > I mean, by that logic, they shouldn’t have called the police when Andrea Yates drowned her kids, since she was suffering from post-partem psychosis. > > If anything “demanizes” the mentally ill, it’s this patronizing, pittying, “oh, the poor dear, he didn’t know any better” attitude. You’re equating a slap or punch with child murder? Maybe you fall on the side of “let’s execute the mentally disabled, because, why not?” If you are, you can rest assured that you will never, ever be “demanized” for thinking so, mostly because that isn’t a word. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/100 "2013-06-21T06:55:56Z")
It was hyperbole to make a point. Read it again. :dubious: I said by **BigT** ’s logic, it seems that being mentally ill means you’re absolved of all responsibility. Which is bullshit. I suffer from OCD, and if I attacked someone, I don’t think I should be excused on that basis. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098.md?page=6)