Posted on 08/10/2010 4:39:06 PM PDT by nickcarraway
One family got more than unlimited breadsticks when they visited a Boynton Beach Olive Garden Saturday night.
Richard Bennett and his family were having dinner at the Olive Garden at 1001 N. Congress Avenue when Bennett claims Paul Blankenfield started to make comments about his son, according to the police report.
"Can you control your kid, I'm trying to have dinner," Bennett told police Blankenfield said several times. Bennett said he tried to ignore Blankenfield, but when Blankenfield began to curse, Bennett told him that his 11-year-old son had autism. To which Blankenfield replied, "So what?"
The confrontation got physical when Blankenfield got up from his seat, pushed Bennett's chest and struck him in the side of the neck before other patrons intervened. When police arrived, Blankenfield was handcuffed and charged with simple battery.
"You know what, good for him," the police report states Blankenfield said of Bennett when he was being transported to jail. "he gets what he deserved - an autistic kid."
This isn't the first time lately that a complete stranger has taken to disciplining another person's child.
Jeffrey Feld was arrested in June after slapping a crying toddler in the elevator at a Surfside Publix.
Bingo! If you read my other posts, you’ll see I wouldn’t tolerate that in a heartbeat. That’s a heart issue - enabled by the mother - NOT an Autism thing. My son is similar age but he’s learned a long time ago, in spite of Mommy treating him special that Daddy will discipline. The way you describe it, that kid is going to have a bad life, and the sad thing is, because he’s Autistic and there really are frustrating things going on inside his head, he won’t be cut a break when his heart does something vicious and the Autistic reasoning of his brain will be able to cope less with the hand of the Law and Society repercussions than even a ‘normal’ person would barely be able to.
REALLY clever riposte. REALLY, I'm so impressed with your wit. Go threaten someone else you schmuck.
ML/NJ
Funny that you would equate those who actively disturb others, with people who just sit there and have dinner. Or are you actively disturbed by people who are not of your kind?
And also funny that you would have this comment on your FR Page:
"At the core of modern liberalism is the spoiled child - miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling brats ."ML/NJ
That’s how I feel, heaven forbid if a family with an autistic child have something resembling a normal life once in awhile.
I think anytime I would be bothered by the child, I would always come back to “There but for the Grace of God...”
Watch it there, laddie!
I just thought it was curious that society is so busy segregating us in the name of progress.
Nothing worse than a spoiled special ed kid. I teach special ed; I see a lot of them.
But this article doesn't give enough information - there's no way to tell what was going on.
You are teaching him to behave appropriately in social situations and to control himself. This is invaluable.
Thanks for the cackle.
That’s an a-hole thing to say. You’re personal comfort is more important than societal norms and acceptance. There are all kinds of people you meet in public? Would you say the same thing if it were my 94 year old grandmother that is talking nonsense because of her age?
Is it too much to ask that a person be able to eat a meal in peace? This really struck a nerve with me. I don’t dislike children. Well-behaved children are a joy to be around, even the slightly mischievous one. It’s the heathens that get my blood to boiling.
The Olive Garden near where I work seems to be a loud women’s place for lunch. On salary. They need a bunch of guys to go in there for lunch and infiltrate those babes. “Let’s do lunch together”, “Is this seat taken?” etc.
You are just plain nuts.
I gave them swats with my hand on the butt all the way out to the car as a woman from a nearby apartment yelled at me for abusing the children. I had been going through a real difficult time during that period of my life, actually the worst and I yelled at the lady to come down if she had a problem.
The kids never had a problem in a restaurant again.
This is important enough to cut/paste to repeat because I didn't see anyone pick up on it throughout the whole thread. Something like 80% of these OCD/ADD/ADHD "cases" are from this crap they put in food (probably additives combined with insufficient discipline by parents)... but, by God, some pharmaceutical company out there has a drug to control these "disorders", and they have a team of lobbyists working overtime so they can prove it!
It sounds to me like you are doing a great job of balancing raising your child and being considerate.
I would encourage you to let people know that your daughter is autistic, as other people need to know ho to respond as well. Its a matter of expectations, and the person who would have patience for a three-year-old’s actions has none for the same actions from a ten-year-old, unless there is some reason to.
Interesting take. I’ve taken my kids to stores since they were born, and I’ve never “turned them lose”. They are well behaved, because they don’t have another option.
They have never put an item in the cart and they have never gotten candy in the check out.
The norm is or used to be that people have a right to expect not to be disturbed in their personal space. Maybe you remember the adage, "Children should be seen, not heard." I didn't make it up. I like kids; in their place. I certainly don't mind them in a restaurant as long as they are not disturbing people at other tables. I feel the same way about your grandmother; or the yuppie who wants to run the world from his cell phone; or myself even. (Does anyone here think I have a right to be drunk and start talking loudly about sexual fantasies at the table next to their kids?)
ML/NJ
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