Responding to cinema incident
Published 4:09 pm Friday, January 30, 2009
This letter to the editor is in reference to a write-up that was in the Jan. 7 publication of The Post-Searchlight about an incident that occurred at Bainbridge Mall Cinemas.
I am a taxpayer, and my family and I should be able to enjoy ourselves without others interfering and turning the whole situation around to blame fault on others.
My daughter was one of the girls that was asked to leave the theater, but why should anyone have to leave a movie that they couldn’t enjoy because of the movie attendant’s friends that were unruly and loud. My daughter asked them to be quiet, and that’s when everything was blown out of proportion. Law enforcement, myself and the parents of the other children were called. This situation was handled so unprofessionally. My daughter was sternly told to apologize to the movie attendant, and she did because of how afraid she was of the officer’s tone while he spoke to her.
I was very disturbed when I read the article because when I went to the police station to obtain a report of the incident there wasn’t one until I requested it. Police officers usually listen to both sides of a situation and then try to resolve the problem. My child was not able to tell her side of the story and some racial slurs such as, “black people send their ghetto children out here all the time,” was directed to her from a movie attendant. The manager of the theater stated that she had surveillance to show what happened during the incident, but couldn’t produce it.
I am not racist at all, I have worked with the public for many years, and I have a college degree. I believe the staff of Bainbridge Mall Cinemas need to take some communication courses, and that they should not discriminate against others in any kind of way. All types of problems have occurred at the theater by people with different racial backgrounds. Further actions are being taken.
Shay Jackson and Diana GunnBainbridge, Ga.