Tonight, our family went to the movies. Those of you with families probably think this was an innocent night of fun and not much more. We did as well. We got the popcorn, the drinks, and sat down in front, away from other people. It was not crowded, so the entire front section of four rows was empty. It’s a big theater, so those four rows made up approximately 100 seats. We were off to one side and the only ones in that section at all. This was done consciously because munchkin #3 has tics. We didn’t want to bother anyone.
The movie came on. It was Nim’s Island and munchkin #3 loves animals, so he was enthralled by it. The sound was quite loud and for the majority of it, you couldn’t hear his tics at all. I know, I was sitting right next to him. Then, disaster struck. The movie hit a quiet part. The tics were there, but the sound was loud enough that they didn’t interrupt the dialogue at all. I breathed a sigh of relief. Then, from a few rows back, a woman yelled out, “Stop making that noise!” I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and educate them. Tourette’s isn’t something a lot of people know about, so they may think these sounds are voluntary. However, in the middle of a movie in a quiet theater, it wasn’t exactly the time for a long lesson on Tourette’s. I made do with, “He can’t help it,” loud enough for everyone – including the woman who had yelled out – to hear. She shot back, “Then you have to leave the theater because you are annoying everyone in it.” Notice it wasn’t a plea to leave the theater, but a command. I probably shouldn’t have, but I retorted with, “I hope you have a child with a disability someday.” Of course, there are a thousand better comebacks I can now think of, but at the time, that was the only one in my head. In any event, that put an end to the “conversation” and everyone stayed quiet after that.
About five minutes later, my son who loved the movie, whispered, “Maybe I should leave.” I asked him if he wanted to see the end of the picture and he nodded yes, then whispered again, “But maybe I should leave now.” I told him he could watch the movie until it was over and that’s exactly what we did. I wanted to tell that woman a few things more, wanted to give her a piece of my mind. But, I didn’t. We watched the movie and left as soon as the credits began to roll so we would be out of there before the rest of them.
I have been seething with anger ever since. Well, anger and a breaking heart both. This is the equivalent to having someone ask you to leave because you sneezed and made too much noise. Or blinked too much. Or breathed too loud. Tics are involuntary – he can no more control them than others can control taking a breath, blinking their eyes, or sneezing.
I’m not so much angry at that woman tonight – she was just ignorant. But, I’m angry at a world that does not tolerate differences. What is wrong with people? We’re all individuals … we’re supposed to be different. So why do people act this way? Intolerance runs rampant and people just don’t see it or care. So what if someone has a different skin color, a different religion, or a different sexual orientation? So what if someone is in a wheelchair, someone else is autistic, and another is unable to read? Life is all about diversity. You’re never going to find another person exactly like you are. We should be rejoicing in our differences, not condemning others for having them.
