So…these kids were disturbing the peace, being highly disrespectful, and otherwise intruding on those around them with the tacit consent of their mother, right? And Diosa owns an SUV, right? And these two situations are equivalent such that Diosa is being hypocritical when she chews out the mother and then gets upset when people chew her out for merely owning an SUV? Yeah…you lost me with that one.
The OP probably could have been strengthened by not putting that first anecdote in there, but I see no double standard here.
First, a museum is a very different environment from a statuary memorial that is placed in the middle of the Washington Mall. It’s outdoors, it’s surrounded by green spaces, and it is nowhere near the same as being inside the Holocaust Museum.
That having been said, to answer your question, no, I would not let my kids run around screaming, etc. Neither would I walk up to someone else whose children were doing such a thing and bitch them out for being a “shitty parent.” I might quietly say, “Excuse me, but I think some of the veterans are being disturbed by your children.” Or maybe I’d just go look at the Lincoln Memorial or the Vietnam Wall until Demon Spawn moved on. What I would not do is start swearing at and berating another parent and calling their children names, whether we were outside on the Mall, inside at the Holocaust Museum, or at a demolition derby. Why not? Well, partially because as an adult, I am capable of realizing that chastising and humiliating someone else, particularly in public, is likely to not get the results you are looking for; and partially because I like to set a good example not just for my own children but for other children; but mostly because I was raised to behave myself in public. It’s something you might want to look into.
I say good for you Diosa. More parents need to be told off in public, maybe they’ll learn to start actually raising decent human beings instead of the demon spawn so many seem to have.
Na, you are right about that. I figured a nice little comparison would be necessary to show that I don’t hate people for speaking up when it is necessary, it’s just not necessary when a person is minding their own business.
This point was, apparently, much too convoluted for the elder minds of the Dope. Then again, I’m 20 so I can’t possibly understand the complicated ways of the world. :rolleyes: (Eye roll not for you, obviously).
MsWhatsit, you have been there, right? I mean, yes it is an outside monument in the national mall, but people tend to be very quiet and respectful. Perhaps this was just a random occurance the two times I went, but this is just what I observed. People treated the site respectfully and with reverence the monument deserved. Everyone except this woman and her two screaming kids.
And thanks for the life lesson, I’ll take note of that.
Well I say hooray for the OP! Our right to enforce a quiet, muted reverence and demonstrations of proper subdued respect and admiration at official state monuments is exactly what those veterans were fighting for! And kudos on the high-mileage SUV, though from the picture it looks as though much of it’s admirable fuel economy is already spent on materials before it leaves the factory.
But mostly, it’s just good that someone is willing to stand up and confront public menaces like young mothers and aging hippies, those bullies.
Slick, you don’t seem to understand that you’re an asshole. That’s got nothing to do with the ways of the world.
Telling someone they should educate their children to be more respectful is one thing. Saying “…you can have the freedom to be such a shitty parent. Teach your brats to respect that fact, k?” based on 12 seconds of interaction is being an asshole. It’s nothing to be proud of.
guizot, in this day and age of “OMG everyone is in my house, stealin my kids!” I’m not brave enough to walk up to a kid,kneel down, and say, “Sweetie, please be more respectful.” I had my moment of assholery (totally a word), but even I know it might really not be a good idea to confront someone’s kid. I say good for you, you are braver than I.
Hippies are almost extinct, but they still form packs. You can find them roaming downtown areas late at night, looking for some vegan tofurkey. (Does that even exist? I honestly don’t know).
Diosa, I understand your sentiment and agree the memorial is no place for such annoying behavior, but you did really tee off on a woman you knew nothing of. A more measured and civilized response from you probably would have gone much further to prevent a future occurence, if that’s what was in fact your motivation for saying something.
Yeah, I had a bit of trouble trying to parse that one too:
I guess what the OP was trying to say was that if it weren’t for our military, we’d be living under some kind of Borg-like jackbooted thugocracy that would force everybody to conform to rigid standards of decorum in public behavior and would forbid children to act like disrespectful little hellions…hmmm, actually, that makes jackbooted thugocracy sound somewhat appealing, doesn’t it?
From what you describe of her response (the fact that she shaped up, instead of returning fire), I think you were out of line to assume that she’s a shitty parent and her kids are brats. If your assumptions were true, she wouldn’t have known what you were talking about. Truly ignorant people are immune to embarrassment.
It’s entirely possible that her children are typically very well-behaved, but simply lost their senses at that particular moment. There are a lot of reasons why that can happen (i.e., it might have been a very long drive for them to get to Washington, and having been sprung from the car, the kids might’ve just had a berserko moment).
But I’m glad you expressed the fact that you were offended by those kids’ behavior. That seems appropriate. Especially with the presence of the veterans.
If you leave out your assumptions and judgements, and limit your comments to your reaction, you remove yourself from the equation and put the focus entirely on the children’s behavior. For example, you could’ve said to the kids, in a very stern, low voice “This is a QUIET place.”
They’re still thick as fleas here in California, especially up North in Humboldt County. If you go to Haight Street in San Francisco, you’ll have to beat them off with a stick.
Well, you don’t have to beat 'em with a stick, but it’s a fun way to kill an afternoon.
Re Part 1 of the OP: Without having been there, I don’t feel qualified to judge where you fall on the righteous vs. bitchy scale, but I enjoyed the story.
Re Part 2: Sounds like a case of Too Much Weed, where the hippies in question don’t have room for any thoughts in their heads more complex than
“SUV = bad.”
The only place I saw in DC that was specifically designated as quiet was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Adults were grab-assing and acting like assholes. We all bit our tongues. When they kicked beer cans down the steps and into the guard area, he turned around and reamed them out publicly. It was beautiful.
Everywhere else was filled with all kinds of people expressing all kinds of emotion. There’s room for all of it.
I agree with your sentiment, if not the execution, at the war memorial.
But why in God’s name does a 20-year-old need a brand-new 7-seater SUV? One that gets, according to a brief amount of research, the same gas mileage as my non-hybrid 6-year-old Focus? Do you think you might be a little bit spoilt? (That said, the whole “SUV = bad” without considering what that actually means must be rather irritating.)
The irony isn’t lost on me, but it may be lost on you. I’m treating you exactly the way you treated the woman in the OP. What have you learned from it?
More parents need to be told off in public, maybe they’ll learn to start actually raising decent human beings instead of the demon spawn so many seem to have.