ID - Man Smacks Teen For Refusing To Turn Off His Cell Phone.

[Tuffy]

oh my gosh, of course the boy in the OP shouldnt have been smacked! apologies, my intent was only to say what most likely would have happened if the boy remained unsmacked and continued to refuse while landing as another poster mentioned something about how things were handled on takeoff and landing if there was a problem and that was my only experience of a problem, technically I was OT...

Oops, sorry 2goldfish! I quoted you only because you had the old lady story. Didn't mean to confuse things. It was me, not you that wasn't clear.

 

[Trident]

My sixteen-year-old grandson almost got a smack (by me) over the holidays for texting during an expensive dinner out that I was paying for. He informed me his friends were texting him and it would be rude for him not to answer. I informed him...about a lot of things...while his father, my son, sat stupid like a jelly bean. My son thinks because he only sees the kids a few weeks out of the year every second should be beautiful, therefore, no discipline or the kid might not be so eager to visit. When I read the title of this thread I wondered if it was my grandson who got smacked. I would have cheered.

 

[tlcya]

sorry if my posts suggest that I think the teen is some irredeemable horrid or his parents are litigeous nere do wells, angelmom. Not my intent. Simply saying that even if this kid was rude disrepsectful etc (worst case scenerio) the adult passenger had no right to lay hands on him. I was trying to illustrate that even if the kid was competely ill mannered and awful, the passenger punching him was not the appropriate action and certainly physical violence would not teach such a kid anything of value about his behavior, no lesson for the teen is present in the passengers behavior towards the teen excepting maybe "when someone irritates me, its okay to hit them"

 

[angelmom]

Sorry tlcox, I have agreed with virtually all of your posts. Don't know why you got so personally offended by mine, but I apologize.

I just don't think the kid or his parents have given us any reason to assume any of the quotes below:

This kid is extremely disrespectful and obviously his parents didn't teach him respect so the law should. JMO

I have a sneaky suspicion that the parents are going to howl about this and sue the airline or some such silliness.

Don't really know but I'll bet that the parents had their panties in a wad and contacted an attorney immediately!

at 15, I think the appearance of a village in this young man's life is a day or two later and a dollar or two short. The time for proper parenting and the village to assist in that was well before this kid turned 15. This man's actions only served to make the badly behaved teen a victim and a martyr in his parents eyes, rather than a rude, disrespectful little snot which he may have been. I can guarantee this teen learned nothing by this man punching him. So if this guy was the village. epic village FAIL IMO

But in that scenario, no one ever corrects the child and he grows up to be a rude, disrespectful adult. If everyone on that plane had stood up and told that young man that he should turn off his phone because he was asked to by the flight crew, then he would probably sue because he would say he was bullied.

I know what the guy did was wrong but I would've been tempted to do the same thing. Where the hell were this kids parents?

 

[tlcya]

No angel, I am not (was not offended) but rather just wanted to make it clear that I in no way meant to suggest that this kid was the devil incarnate. I always love a good debate. I was offended by (not offended by necessarily but have a disagreeing viewpoint from) those posts suggesting the adult was somehow justified or that he was acting in the stead of the parents or doing what should have been done by someone.

I took no offense but was concerned that by pointing out even IF the kid was being a total brat, the action the man took in no way rectified that or made the sitaution one iota better. My posts do not assume the kid was being a total jerk but suggest that even if he was, it was not the man's place to physically strike him and that striking him would not have resolved that problem even if it existed.

 

[Tuffy]

My sixteen-year-old grandson almost got a smack (by me) over the holidays for texting during an expensive dinner out that I was paying for. He informed me his friends were texting him and it would be rude for him not to answer. I informed him...about a lot of things...while his father, my son, sat stupid like a jelly bean. My son thinks because he only sees the kids a few weeks out of the year every second should be beautiful, therefore, no discipline or the kid might not be so eager to visit. When I read the title of this thread I wondered if it was my grandson who got smacked. I would have cheered.

I understand disciplining your own, but a random stranger on a plane? We don't even know if the kid on the plane heard the instructions or not. If it were my grandchild, that man would have five feet of furious Tuffy to contend with.

He could have told the kid 10 different ways to please pay attention, without ever laying a hand on him. He could have also minded his own business. I think because the man saw that he was a teen, he felt he could strike him.

 

[Steely Dan]

Sorry tlcox, I have agreed with virtually all of your posts. Don't know why you got so personally offended by mine, but I apologize.

I just don't think the kid or his parents have given us any reason to assume any of the quotes below:

My comments are based on what usually happens in society at large with these things. It seems that very few parents hold their kid responsible for anything if there is the smell of money in the air.

I'd bet dollars to donuts that the man at least asked the kid once to turn it off pointing out the stewardess had asked them to turn everything off. If he did then the parents haven't taught that kid respect.

If he smacked him without saying anything first then the guy has very serious problems, not just a problem.

 

[Beyond Belief]

this old dude needs some lessons on how to deal with an uncooperative kid. I use a loud "DUHHHHHH!!" then would have added "Everyone has to turn off their phones except you". Loud enough to be heard by a lot of folks. Kids don't like to deal with any one that is loud, lol. MOO

 

[Tuffy]

My comments are based on what usually happens in society at large with these things. It seems that very few parents hold their kid responsible for anything if there is the smell of money in the air.

I'd bet dollars to donuts that the man at least asked the kid once to turn it off pointing out the stewardess had asked them to turn everything off. If he did then the parents haven't taught that kid respect.

If he smacked him without saying anything first then the guy has very serious problems, not just a problem.

Okay, this is what the article says:

Miller told police that the 15-year-old boy refused to turn off his phone after directions from the flight crew. The suspect "felt he was protecting the entire plane and its occupants," Lipple said.

According to the police report, Miller said he smacked the boy with the back of his hand to get his attention. Officer, however, said the incident left a mark on the boy's shoulder.

So, it's being told from the man's (Miller's) point of view. If Mr. Miller told the teen to turn off his phone, I think he might have included it. The press is telling the story from the police report, where Mr. Miller had the opportunity to tell his side of the story.

Maybe we are missing part of the story, but I don't think we are missing any more of the action. I think CNN would have kept any and all details of a fight/argument, if there had been one. IMO

 

[Truthwillsetufree]

What bothers me is the difference between the two situations. No one smacked the elderly woman, they assumed she hadn't heard the announcement. No one is calling her disrespectful, and asking that charges be filed.

But some people feel that all of that was appropriate for the teen.

Well, the elderly woman in the bathroom may have been having some health issues and I can assure you, the Flight Crew did Not let the Pilot circle the Airport for 45 minutes without being in some kind of communication with the elderly woman in the bathroom. The Pilot was aware of the situation in other words and the elderly woman was not physically able to comply with the Flight Crews request to be in her designated seat.

 

[Tuffy]

Well, the elderly woman in the bathroom may have been having some health issues and I can assure you, the Flight Crew did Not let the Pilot circle the Airport for 45 minutes without being in some kind of communication with the elderly woman in the bathroom. The Pilot was aware of the situation in other words and the elderly woman was not physically able to comply with the Flight Crews request to be in her designated seat.

That's kind of what I mean. We assign innocent intentions to the elderly woman, and assume that the teen is disrespectful. Without knowing why either of them ignored the announcement, we made assumptions based on age and sex.

 

[Truthwillsetufree]

My sixteen-year-old grandson almost got a smack (by me) over the holidays for texting during an expensive dinner out that I was paying for. He informed me his friends were texting him and it would be rude for him not to answer. I informed him...about a lot of things...while his father, my son, sat stupid like a jelly bean. My son thinks because he only sees the kids a few weeks out of the year every second should be beautiful, therefore, no discipline or the kid might not be so eager to visit. When I read the title of this thread I wondered if it was my grandson who got smacked. I would have cheered.

Thank You.... Parents that refuse to discipline their children for fear of making their kids mad, completely astonishing!!!! Then cry, squal and bawl when these same kids get into much bigger problems later on.

 

[angelmom]

My sixteen-year-old grandson almost got a smack (by me) over the holidays for texting during an expensive dinner out that I was paying for. He informed me his friends were texting him and it would be rude for him not to answer. I informed him...about a lot of things...while his father, my son, sat stupid like a jelly bean. My son thinks because he only sees the kids a few weeks out of the year every second should be beautiful, therefore, no discipline or the kid might not be so eager to visit. When I read the title of this thread I wondered if it was my grandson who got smacked. I would have cheered.

I think this post is hilarious b/c my teen sons do tend to check their phones at dinner, for which they are immediately reprimanded. But my FATHER is the worst offender, sometimes checking sports scores, email, etc. while we are all sitting at the table. Reprimands by my mother, un-subtle comments from me, and sarcastic remarks from the kids have not encouraged him to stop this behavior.

It isn't just teens, and we know who they are learning it from!