# 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:** 4\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/101 "2013-06-22T04:01:48Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > 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. How is OCD comparable to what the person the OP described had? We’re talking about (presumably) a person that has little control over emotional and physical boundaries in a public setting. Anyone who is depressed, has OCD, is a hypochondriac, has social anxiety issues, and countless other maladies are not part of this discussion at all. I find that **BigT** ’s statement reflects my own opinion. So, I quote him: > [@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. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/102 "2013-06-22T04:53:24Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > We’re talking about (presumably) a person that has little control over emotional and physical boundaries in a public setting. That doesn’t give him a pass on committing assault. ( And he DID commit assault!). If he is unable to control his behavior, his caretakers must be able to do so for him, for everyone’s safety (including his). That is why many people in this thread have argued for calling the police: it ensures that there is official documentation the incident occurred, which may be a necessary first step in arranging for more appropriate supervision on his future outings. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2013, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/103 "2013-06-22T06:01:46Z")
> [@artemis](#): > > That doesn’t give him a pass on committing assault. ( And he DID commit assault!). If he is unable to control his behavior, his caretakers must be able to do so for him, for everyone’s safety (including his). That is why many people in this thread have argued for calling the police: it ensures that there is official documentation the incident occurred, which may be a necessary first step in arranging for more appropriate supervision on his future outings. As has been stated before, calling the cops may or may not actually create a record of any meaning, and it will not involve the guilty party (the negligent care giver) at all. The legal system doesn’t always work the way it should, or how we would like it to. If “calling the cops” amounted to a ticket against his caregiver for negligence of some sort, I’d be all for it. That isn’t the case though. An arrest record, if it comes to that, can’t help this guy at all. I have also been mislead by thinking that a call to the police creates some sort of searchable, documented, concrete evidence of an occurrence, but that just isn’t true. If dispatch sends a car out on an assault, and no charges are pressed, who says the incident will be associated with the assailant? If charges are pressed, then we get to the other side of the coin. I’m almost always for “calling the cops” when something wrong, or as physical as this has happened, but I think that getting the guy “on paper” isn’t going to help much at all. If it was his first offense, now he has a record. If it was his tenth, clearly the previous nine had no real impact. The real issue is with his attendant, and the situation he was put in (I gather he didn’t drive there) calling the authorities will only have a negative impact on him, not the responsible party. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098/104 "2013-06-22T15:36:24Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > 'm very non-confrontational and that on top of me being shook up and my mom shaking and crying made me just want to get away. But given all the feedback I’ve gotten here, perhaps if it ever happens again (hopefully not), I might act differently… > > I just wanted to sit down, eat my snuck in candy… Aha! _There’s_ the real reason that the cops weren’t called! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-attacked-at-the-movies-today/661098.md?page=5)