Violence at the Movies
Usually violence at the movies is limited to what’s happening on-screen. Not so in Philadelphia, PA, on Christmas Day.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that a group of moviegoers who were laughing and talking during the film was asked to be quiet. Their response led to more words exchanged, popcorn being thrown, and a brawl breaking out. That’s bad enough, but what happened next will make you think twice about going to a public theater.
A man whose attorney later said was trying to break up the brawl, pulled out a .380-caliber gun and fired it at the arm of another customer. Several people fled the theater, and the man who fired the gun sat back down to watch the rest of the film, in what I’d assume was a quiet room. Police came soon and arrested him.
During his preliminary hearing, the defense attorney said he fired in self-defense because when he tried to break up the brawl, he was punched and choked. “He’s a marksman,” the attorney said. “If he wanted to shoot to kill, he would have.”
I’ve gone to films and asked the people around me to be quiet, but I’ve never resorted to pelting them with popcorn, let alone assaulting them. Come to think of it, I’ve not carried a gun into a theater either.
What does it say about us that we can’t sit for 3 hours and get along with a roomful of people? Is it that hard to be quiet when someone asks? Is watching a film that important that you’d want to get into a fight about it? And how bad did it get in that theater before the gun was pulled?
I can see it now – metal detectors in front of every movie theater in the country. Checking your bags & belongings at the door. Armed security guards – just so you can watch the next Disney film in peace.
