I agree the guy overreacted with the citation, but you don't mind if someone is around you and your family cursing like a sailor? You did say "free speech".
I don't like to hear people constantly cursing around me, but if I asked them to cut it out, and they agreed to, it would end right there, even if they made a rude comment. The bottom line is I got what I wanted, and that was not being forced to listen to them curse. The Fire Marshall seemed to take it a step further than that. At least, that's the way I see it. Pugs
I would politely ask them to stop and if not I would move away and explain to my kids how rude it is..... But free speech means....free speech... DD
Very true. but it isn't the baby's fault. its the ****ing parents who haven't figured out how to use the mute button for their kids.
Seriously. I don't have kids yet, so I'm sure I'll change my tune when I do... BUT, it's not like you don't ever see well behaved kids. Some kids are well behaved, some definitely aren't...and a young kid that is not well behaved is considerably more of a nuisance to society than an adult cursing in a private conversation. The fact that cursing can even get you a ticket is mind-boggling to me. Here's an idea...let's eliminate the mystery surround curse words and then they won't be so bad anymore.
+1 i cant stand it when I go to the movies, a R-rated one at that, or a nice restaurant and get stuck near a baby or little kids. The constant screaming, running around, kicking the seats are just annoying. Worst thing is that I really cant get mad at the kid, they're kids its the adults and every time I have said something to the parent(s) they give me this disgusted look like I shouldnt be telling them how to raise their kids. Man I for one am glad my parents would allow crap like that to happen when I was little. My mom would beat me right in front of everyone if I acted out of line in a public place...I made sure I never did after the first time. this fire marshall was totally out of line if the lady apologized and stopped cussing after the initial request. She probably shouldnt have cussed again as she was being asked to leave the store. Either way I probably would have had a similar reaction to the situation though. Probably would have told him he should be counting the people in the building to make sure we weren't reaching capacity instead of issuing a citation
...and instead of taking the high road and being polite he flexed his muscle and said "you need to watch your mouth". I can't imagine that being positively received in any tone.
I agree ours is a free speech society, but personally, I getting tired of yielding to rude inconsiderate people.
A lady drops an F-bomb, a fireman tells her to "watch her mouth", she says sorry and he arrests her. Why do I get the feeling there is more to this story....
A baby crying is MUCH WORSE than profanity. If I walk 10 feet away, I don't hear some woman having a conversation with her mother where the F-word is spoken. But I hear a 2-year old brat crying from the other side of the store, and parents very rarely do a thing about it. But that's exactly what free speech means: tolerating all speech, even speech that bothers you. Having said that, this doesn't fall under "free speech" in that we do have laws against lewd public behavior (which includes lewd speech). The fire marshal does appear to have over-reacted, though. Sounds like a simple verbal warning should have sufficed.
You think that's bad? I got a visit from Homeland Security for giving my homies a terrorist fist jab.
While I agree the fire marshal was totally overboard, you know that woman didn't just sheepishly apologize. I don't think it's surprising considering the wide variety of people that shop there. Many look like candidates for the next episode of Cops. And I've heard people talking like they're in a Tarantino movie while shopping for some light bulbs. And I'm talking about loud Samuel L. Jackson volume, not quiet conversational volume.
Words don't hurt. Guns and fists hurt. If the "offensive" words completely replace actual ideas and don't just emphasize them, then it's a waste of expression, but not offensive. Being the object of ridicule when you sound like a random swear generator is enough. It does a fine job as is. It sounds like the incident was all about the marshall's excessive pride and he couldn't back down after he got all boy scout vigilante. My language would have been on fire fo' damn sho'.
