Sad State of Affairs

It's a risky endeavor when you decide to see a movie at the Kerasotes 14 theatre on Western in Chicago. Not only do people talk around you, the patrons are downright rude. So it shouldn't have been a surprise to me tonight when a family of three talked throughout the entire showing of Wolverine. What did shock me, however, was the mother's comment out in the hallway. And I quote, "Faggot with your purse."

It all began when I politely said, "Shh" to the family about one third into the movie. Head turns didn't work. So I thought a pleasant silencing action would do the trick. I should have known better. The mother quickly replied to the effect, "I'll shut up your ass," and so on and so forth. Which, sadly, made my movie experience unbearable.

When the movie was done, I decided to avoid any confrontation by going about my business. Literally, I exited and went to the bathroom. On my way out, I passed the mother as she made rude comments from the sideline. But instead of letting them pass, I decided to walk up to her and be nice about the situation - letting her know there was no intention of being rude. "Listen," I said. "I wasn't trying to be rude..." At that moment, she stepped back (thinking I was going to hit her I suppose), and let her uneducated statements rip.

"Faggot with your purse," she said. "Faggot," she repeated. I turned around and replied, "Listen, this purse is worth a lot more than your piece of crap." Sure, I should have kept walking, but something inside of me just couldn't let it be. "Then why don't you go to a more expensive movie theater!" she declared. Inside I was boiling.

Chris stood there in amazement - unable to believe his ears. Others were in disbelief also as we weren't the only homosexuals at Wolverine. It's a Hugh Jackman movie after all.

So I walked up to Chris, looked her in the face and said, "You're not worth it." Chris and I then turned around and walked away. Of course, her mouth didn't stop running. And sadly, her daughter then began mimicking the situation. And they wonder why some of today's youth are unable to demonstrate respect for others.

On our way home, with my blood bubbling over, I told Chris it's a sad state of affairs when such stupidity still exists in today's society. Of course, I quickly made note that we most likely never would have experienced such intolerance in Europe. That, and we live in such an bubble in Lakeview that we're somewhat secluded from this type of behavior.

All of which means we won't be returning to Kerasotes 14. I refuse to put myself in that type of situation again where my integrity could be compromised.

Update: After talking with my friend Tom, I realized I should learn from this experience. So what would I do differently next time? I'll suffocate them with kindness. I'll use my logic rather than my sarcasm. Because in these types of situations, I'll never win by yelling and spewing derogatory comments. They will. Instead, I'll demonstrate a level head and/or walk away. After all, it's the respectful thing to do.