My rights as a minor?

Hey,posted this on Neowin, might as well post here too.

Today, after expressing my ideas about politics, with a private conversation with my friends (while out at a Bill Clinton book signing lol), someone else was butting in. Myself and my friends are only Juniors in High School. The man who approached me, got right in my face, about an inch away and said "you gotta ruin everybodies fun, dont you?" then he said "Get Lost". I serisouly thought he was going to deck me right there! I was freaked out, so i did what i was taught and calmly said, "Back off sir" after pointed to the Mall security guard 20ft away, He backed away, and shook his head and left.

Then, the same man, happened to be near where we were. And he was telling this guy who was also in his mid 40's, that we were punks. My friend overheard them calling us punks.

(they were practically aiming it at us) and said "Excuse me?" The other man (the friend of the guy who yelled at me) comes over to Matt and gets in his face and tells him "shut his F'in Mouth you A'Hole" right infront of Matt, his mother, and his 9 yr old sister!!! Matt gets upset, there's a ton of people around, plus his sister looking at him. He says "Sir, i dont appreciate you yelling obcenities when there are children present" The man says "I dont really care, shut the hell up." They keep going back and forth until the man says to him "If you dont shut your mouth, i'll shut it for you PERMANENTLY" I took that as a threat to matt so i grabbed Matt and told the guy to go back to wherever he came from or I would report him to the mall security. He did as I told him and left thank god. So within hours, two people threatened myself and my friends. I got their pictures, and their licence plate #'s. I want to report these scum to the authorities. That just isnt right..... Adults threatening minors.

I got nervous, but i told matt that if we stay level-headed and calm and try to not get wound up, we may control the situation. It also helps that we are both really into law enforcement, and want to be apart of it some day. We're great friends and think alike too, we'd make great detectives lol.

I'd let this go, but i am seriosuly upset/angry. I want him to think twice about talkin to a minor that way ever again.

Pops

#296395

You did the right thing but maybe you should try and be more careful what you say in public. Either on the Internet or in real life, discussion of issues like politics and religion is always touchy and can cause trouble with the 'wrong' sort of people as you found out today.

You were lucky to get away from there unharmed.

#296406

wait you're a kid? lol jk, but yeah fun stuff.

#296410

maybe next time you'll get some sense smacked into you

#296411

Harsh, Ji.... but maybe true.

Sure, pops, the guys were drunk and totally out of bounds, but you should definitely watch it, too.

#296418

I can't beleive what you guys are saying. He is entitiled to his opinion, minor or not. If someone doesn't like it that is their issue. Doesn't mean he should moderate his thoughts for the publics likings.

#296420

I would do exactlly what pops would have done. we have rights, and we should respect it. that guy is an idiot. a bigot. you are not breaking the law. just sharing thoughts about politics. everybody should have theri own view of things.

and, i don't mind if he hits me in the face. that's a temporary damage. but if he does that he is going to get himself in a lot more trouble than me.

i experienced simaler things. i will never forget the things that this guy that sold a dud graphics card to me. "fine you can call the cops, or we will get the cops to get rid of you." he got away with that cheap selling. damn i was so mad!

#296423

Kid having a conversation with his friend and someone over hearing it and starting all kinds of crap... and then go ahead and blame the kid for voicing his opinion in public?! This is absurd!

You did the right thing. Perhaps if you were older you would be punching some sense into the guys skull at this point.

Do not let this go, report this, something is really wrong with the guy and it sounds like he was this close to snapping and really hurting someone. Seriously report him. I am surprised your friends mother did not do anything at this point or any of the people around you.

People may say a great deal about places like New York and how rude some people may be but the guy would seriously be getting his ass kicked in the middle of the mall for something like this.

#296424

What so many people don't think to grasp is...

There are idiots everywhere, and you are entitled to your opinion, but if you would like to avoid idiots not being able to take your opinion (a la AquaSoft), practice some emotional intelligence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence) for a while...

Pops did practice some well used Emotionally Intelligent behaviour by asking the man to calm down and go away, but why couldnt he save himself the trouble? There are things people get excited and irritable about; politics is one of them - there is no real need to be venting controversial (to some) thoughts into the air just because its your right to do so... Its your right to carry around meat in a pocket if you want, yet i would not recommend you enter a cage full of tigers with it in your pocket - see where im getting at?

Do report the guys - its your right as a citizen. But really; you didnt have to get in that position...

What shocks me the most is that noone else in the line said anything :slant:

#296425

Sucks.

Find out where he lives and light it up.

#296428

Pops, you did the right thing in my view! Report them as soon as possible. These types of people should not be running around in the mall. They must have been either drunk or are really small people from the inside and have to pick on younger adults to make themselves feel bigger. Cursing at a young adults and a mother/9 year old sister? What have we come to these days where no one can practice patience. I understand everyone has their own opinion, but for God's sake ... if there is something you do not agree with, just talk calmly and professionally, not absurd and childish. I'm in constant debate with colleagues and their views, but I do not tell them to shut their F'n mouths. It's just these days we have no patience and no love towards anyone and everyone is selfish. Everything is mine, mine, mine!

I commend you on your patience and not screaming/fighting back ... even though he might have been bigger. Patience is a virtue and a quality found in few people. Defend yourself, but pick your battles wisely. Hope everything works out for you.

#296429

got a question. how much does tasers and peper sprays cost?

#296430

Shouldn't cost more than $10 to $25 for spray. Don't know about the tasers, maybe $100+ ? But, that's sad you have to carry pepper spray just to voice out your opinion in a private conversation.

#296434

If it were me....I would have told him to F*** off!!! If you were in a mall, he would not have done anything to you...too many people. And if he did, perfect you have witnesses! Take his ass to court and sue

#296437

should've insulted him really badly and then when he lunged at you, yelled

"RAPE!"

"PEDOPHILE!!!"

While pointing at him(unbutton your pants too, so that nobody will believe his protests).

Then, when he gets carried off by the fuzz, you follow his friend out to his car, and knife his tires.

This is what we adults call "emotional maturity".

You reach full adulthood when you get your first handgun permit.

#296450

95 % of the human race is stupid. Deal with it.

#296456

and how much percentage of aqua-soft forum members? :slant:

#296457

equivalent to walking into into a police station and saying "you are all a bunch of donut eating, pig farmers who should die in the line of duty" Just my opinion, but I am entitled to it....but you better believe some will take offense and will sure enough sound off on it.

Opinionated conversations are best held in private, unless you are willing to debate your point of view to the opposition.

#296458

Exactly - You have an opinion, others do too; Dont expect their way of portraying said opinion as you did (considering it was done tastefully, in this case)

@Photo: I've got to try that one on a police station; sounds like fun fun FUN!

#296463

wtf?

1. He was at an event that centered around a politician - and a 'liberal' , at least under American terms, one to boot!

2. The guy didn't want to debate him, he wanted to punch him in the face.

3. Only a really uptight nerd could possibly think that public venues are verboten for discussing politics with friends. (and being a doormouse is not a social grace either)

4. Unless pops et al provoked the guy (in a similar crudeness to the way the guy responded), there's no way anything pops did was "emotionally unintelligent" or counter to social norms.

Just think of how many coffee shop political leaders/philosophers/thinkers etc. the French would have lost if isolation was the answer.

5. The guy's reaction seems highly unusual (excessively aggressive) - its a reaction that would take me by suprise because it would be statistically/socially unexpected.

#296486

Yes, the reaction of the guy was wrong, but i dong think you got the concept of being emotionally intelligent here - I am not saying Pops did anything wrong; on the contrary, he handled the situation VERY well. He could have just avoided the situation (unless the guy was really out of his face and did not even listen to him but just wanted to pick on them in general )

#296488

well. i think that what was discussed between matt and pops might be a reason.

there are some very touchy guys that hate it if someone screamed "BUSH SUCKS!" that would startle a lot of people and begin a Huge fight. all bush lovers against you.

so content of discussion might be a reason. but i don't think that pops did anything wrong in the discusion though. the situation was simple. somebody shares his opinion, idiot overhears it and became pissed off.

this kind of incident always happen to me when i was in middle school. I won't discuss what i discussed or support though.

#296493

Yeah - i think i am being misinterpreted here... Let me recap my views...

1. Pops handled the situation very well

2. Pops has every right to discuss whatever he likes wherever he wants (Except here, dont go political/warez/religious )

3. Some people are stupid (a big percentage) and will react like the uneducated rednecks they are

4. Us with more than an inch of big-picture-mentality can go around the above type of people without giving up our rights

If there is something i have learned from living in 3 different countries and 6 different cultures is that sometimes you need to hold your thoughts, put the mute on for a second - this doesnt mean you are giving up your rights, this just means you choose not to vent them out in a specific time and place - an utilitarian view of opinion if you like think about it...

#296496

Nope, I did get the concept of being emotionally intelligent.

The way pop's presents it, he likely could not have avoided the situation, since he did not know a/the guy would react to something that is a normal course of action/dicussion in such a way, until after it occured.

Thus, he could only have avoided the situation by being a doormouse and not having a perfectly normal conversation in the firstplace - an act that is that of a person who is half-a-person, or to put it bluntly an emotionally stunted and unintelligent child.

After the 'confrontation' started, the reactions depicted in the story (on the pops side) border on deferential - defensive yes, but minimally so and it's obvious that fear was involved.

Sure, they could have left, or just remained entirely silent - but hey, thats where the half-a-person steps in isn't it?

edit: I guess its #4 of your last post I'm disagreeing with, ie. One of the largest discontents of intellectual elites (this runs through hundreds of years of literature) is the fact that they can NOT always avoid what they view as the rabble - Socrates is a prime example with his murder/suicide.

The 2 sides to that are 1. That avoiding the rabble when they are wrong is quite often bad for the rabble 2. Intectuals' often mistake their elitism as a justifiable verification of their status, inturn a justification of isolating their class, and finally a confirmation that the can isolate their class.

Spend some time with a British Elitist and the flaws of #4 will become evident in their speech patterns, affectation, and accent in no time.

#296500

What i mean is - he should have known that politics is one of those subjects that raise blood pressure easily, magnify that obvious point with the loupe that is a "political" congregation - its just statistics at this point

My point still stands

"sometimes you need to hold your thoughts, put the mute on for a second - this doesnt mean you are giving up your rights, this just means you choose not to vent them out in a specific time and place - an utilitarian view of opinion if you like"

Honestly though, Realitybath, do you not agree with my last statement?

#296501