Annissa (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
annissamazing) wrote2010-07-09 10:33 pm
annissamazing) wrote2010-07-09 10:33 pm
"That is the most ignorant thing I have ever seen."
I went to the movies with some friends tonight. The movie was terrible, but pales in comparison to the awfulness of the show the woman in front of us put on.
I was chatting with Kevin when a woman walked into the theater carrying an infant seat. As she got closer I noticed that the baby in the seat couldn't have been older than a week and was likely just 3 or 4 days old.
Firstly, I don't think taking infants to movies is appropriate. That's why I never did it when Dominic was a baby. Secondly, this wasn't even a kid's movie. This was Eclipse. I know the baby won't understand what's going on, but it's a loud, violent movie. I'd be afraid of a baby being upset by the noise.
On the other hand, I've been a new mom and I remember when Dominic was a week old. I sat on my couch crying because I felt like my life was over. That I'd never go to another party or restaurant or movie again. Transitioning to motherhood is difficult even under the best of circumstances and I wasn't about to judge another woman trying to cope with that change as best she could. I figured as long as the baby was quiet I would mind my own business and if the baby wasn't quiet I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.
The woman set the infant seat down across one seat and got all of her belongings settled.
Then she left.
I mean, she put the baby down and just walked out of the theater. As I watched her leave, I kept thinking, "No, she must just be going to say hi to someone she knows. No, maybe she dropped something. She'll be right back. She'd never leave her newborn in a theater with a bunch of complete strangers." But she did. She just left the baby there. I just sat there with my mouth hanging open, staring at the exit.
Kevin said, "That is the most ignorant thing I have ever seen."
The man sitting closest to the infant seat said, "Uh... did she just leave her baby here?"
She did. She just left it there. I was completely flabbergasted. My mind was well and truly boggled. I sat there gaping at the baby, at the man next to her, at Kevin and my other friends, at the people behind us also expressing shock at the situation.
"No," I said. "There have to be cameras. This is Candid Camera. I know it." I started looking around for cameras. I didn't see any.
Denise checked to see if the baby was real (yep).
The man sitting next to the baby said, "You saw me. I didn't touch that baby."
I pulled out my phone and checked the time. "She has five minutes. If she's not back, I'm getting help."
I could hear many people behind us whispering "baby".
A woman a couple rows behind us leaned over and tapped Kevin on the shoulder. "Did she really just leave her baby?"
I kept checking the time. Exactly five minutes later, the mother walked back in. She sat herself down in front of me, pulled out a bottle of pop she brought from home, woke up the baby, and settled down for the show.
For a newborn, it had really good theater manners. It didn't talk or text during the show. It made a few little newborn noises, but no crying. So, I mean, there's that at least.
But nobody asked me to sign a waiver to be on a hidden camera show, so I'm fairly certain it was real. And that's depressing.
I was chatting with Kevin when a woman walked into the theater carrying an infant seat. As she got closer I noticed that the baby in the seat couldn't have been older than a week and was likely just 3 or 4 days old.
Firstly, I don't think taking infants to movies is appropriate. That's why I never did it when Dominic was a baby. Secondly, this wasn't even a kid's movie. This was Eclipse. I know the baby won't understand what's going on, but it's a loud, violent movie. I'd be afraid of a baby being upset by the noise.
On the other hand, I've been a new mom and I remember when Dominic was a week old. I sat on my couch crying because I felt like my life was over. That I'd never go to another party or restaurant or movie again. Transitioning to motherhood is difficult even under the best of circumstances and I wasn't about to judge another woman trying to cope with that change as best she could. I figured as long as the baby was quiet I would mind my own business and if the baby wasn't quiet I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.
The woman set the infant seat down across one seat and got all of her belongings settled.
Then she left.
I mean, she put the baby down and just walked out of the theater. As I watched her leave, I kept thinking, "No, she must just be going to say hi to someone she knows. No, maybe she dropped something. She'll be right back. She'd never leave her newborn in a theater with a bunch of complete strangers." But she did. She just left the baby there. I just sat there with my mouth hanging open, staring at the exit.
Kevin said, "That is the most ignorant thing I have ever seen."
The man sitting closest to the infant seat said, "Uh... did she just leave her baby here?"
She did. She just left it there. I was completely flabbergasted. My mind was well and truly boggled. I sat there gaping at the baby, at the man next to her, at Kevin and my other friends, at the people behind us also expressing shock at the situation.
"No," I said. "There have to be cameras. This is Candid Camera. I know it." I started looking around for cameras. I didn't see any.
Denise checked to see if the baby was real (yep).
The man sitting next to the baby said, "You saw me. I didn't touch that baby."
I pulled out my phone and checked the time. "She has five minutes. If she's not back, I'm getting help."
I could hear many people behind us whispering "baby".
A woman a couple rows behind us leaned over and tapped Kevin on the shoulder. "Did she really just leave her baby?"
I kept checking the time. Exactly five minutes later, the mother walked back in. She sat herself down in front of me, pulled out a bottle of pop she brought from home, woke up the baby, and settled down for the show.
For a newborn, it had really good theater manners. It didn't talk or text during the show. It made a few little newborn noises, but no crying. So, I mean, there's that at least.
But nobody asked me to sign a waiver to be on a hidden camera show, so I'm fairly certain it was real. And that's depressing.
Wow
(Anonymous) 2010-07-10 02:39 am (UTC)(link)Yvette
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no subject
We see it happen out here all the time, and they publish warnings all the time.
The sad part is the poor guy next to the baby, saying, "you saw me, I didn't touch it."
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