"THE LONE SURVIVOR" at a shitty Mark Wahlberg movie, playing in the early afternoon in Florida, was not THIS GUY.
Be truthful. Does he look like an arrogant loudmouth prick or not?
Does he look like a full-of-himself Yuppie bastard with money...the type who does what he feels like doing, any time, any where? "My wife and I..." you can hear him sneer, as he demands the best table in the restaurant and...tells old people to go fuck themselves if he feels like using his cell phone in a movie.
Just when you thought 2014 was going to be another impossibly awful year of violence and stupidity...
Well, at least THIS one might send a message. Like, a) Loudmouth assholes STILL can pay a price in these "it's ok to be selfish and make all the noise you want" times, and b) If there truly was gun control, and assholes couldn't walk around packing heat, 71 year-old Curtis Reeves wouldn't be in jail at this moment, a murderer.
The facts in the case: an old fart and his wife go to see a dopey movie about a Navy Seal. There are maybe 25 people in the place. They sit behind Chad Oulson and his trophy wife. The movie hasn't even started, and Chad is busy babbling and/or texting on his cell phone, like the self-important piece of shit he is.
Told to cut it out, Chad Oulson refuses. He is ENTITLED, don't you know? He paid for a ticket. Everyone else can go fuck themselves. Why should he go out in the lobby to use his fucking phone?
Curtis Reeves walks out to the lobby. Chad Oulson smirks, his cell phone flashing irritating light in the movie house. Ha ha ha. Chad is ready for what will happen: the manager will come over, and beg his valued customer to please, please, be mindful of others.
Chad will have the option, as he no doubt always has, of saying, "Make me...you don't know who you're dealing with..." or using dripping sarcasm: "Oh, so SORRY, I'll behave. No problem..." and then he'll go right back on his cell phone.
When old Mr. Reeves returns, arrogant Chad taunts him: "‘Oh, did you go start complaining on me? Did you tell the staff about me?"
Hmm. Reeves discovered there's never anyone around in authority when you need them. But don't take the law into your own hands, right?
Except Reeves is a retired cop, and has a gun.
When Chad Oulson kept goading him, to the point where popcorn was flying (who threw the first bag??) BANG. At the move "Lone Survivor," Chad Oulson was the lone fatality.
Listen, anything goes. We already know that texting, cell phone blabber and daring anyone to do anything...is fine. And we already know that going to a movie theater is no longer a pleasant experience...even at a 1pm afternoon show with less than 25 people in the audience.
Sheriff Chris Nocco told reporters, "It's absolutely crazy it would rise to this level over somebody just texting in a movie theatre...The victim was on his cell phone, he was texting. We believe he was making some kind of noise."
That's the police. Noise complaint? Eh. Meh. Disturbing the peace? Never heard of it...besides, people need to have their fun, ya know?
Reeves could've changed his seat. And if the theater was packed? Leave. Ask for his money back and have the cashier shrug. Walk out of the theater, his entire afternoon ruined, his nemesis chuckling over having gotten his way, as usual.
He could've simply showed his weapon, said "Police Officer," and waited to see what Big Bold Loudmouth Chad Oulson would do next.
But this time, maybe with all the other "guy goes berserk in theater" headlines devilishly playing in his head, he took fatal action.
You can pick which side you're on with this one.
Choose.....
Chad, "You'll have to pry this cell phone from my cold dead hand" Oulson.
Or Curtis "There's No Cop Around When You Need One...Oh, I'm a Cop" Reeves.
UPDATE
The spin, about 8 to 12 hours later, is that Chad's just a sweet family man, and he was texting to check on his little daughter at daycare.
Except...how come he didn't tell Reeves this, and say he'd be through in a moment? How come he didn't take his shit to the lobby, which is what most reasonable people would do?
The shooting? Reeves' lawyer insists that when Chad suddenly started a ruckus, his client shot in self defense. It was dark. How the fuck was he supposed to know if Chad had a gun or not? The younger man suddenly erupts, throws stuff at Reeves...and Reeves is supposed to wonder if a gunshot is coming next? So he fired. Once.
It's too bad Curtis Reeves is going to spend the rest of his life in jail...possibly a cell that once was home to a guy he arrested. His wife is going to putter around Florida wishing he had been able to control his temper...as he did through so many years of so many assholes that he never fired at. Too bad about her.
And Mrs. Trophy Wife? Look at her, hanging on to her hunk in the photo above, looking like she's telling the world, "I'm another Paris Hilton, I know to order the expensive Chablis...and my GUY is entitled to taunt people and sass them, and mock them when they can't get a manager to enforce the rules. My GUY is entitled to suddenly go nuts and throw a box of popcorn and go on the offensive...and in a dark movie theater, everyone is supposed to know that he's not also going to suddenly fire a gun or swing a fist..."
At least she didn't have to waste a lot of money on medical bills. Chad (what a perfect name for a guy who thinks he's a star) died almost instantly. She can spend all of swag, and then go find some other 40-something jerk to keep her in Victoria's Secret panties. And yeah, she can tell the little daughter who was in day care, "Sorry your Daddy is gone, but he had to throw a tantrum in a movie theater after goading an old geezer by flaunting his arrogance."
A neighbor of Chad says "I've never seen him angry...it just doesn't make sense to me. Not from what I know of him."
Neighbors of Curtis Reeves, the ex-cop and avid hunter (with licenses in Ohio and Georgia) say...no surprise...he was "a good Christian man and a loving grandfather," and "a good guy...always very nice..."
The Cobb Theatre chain, which runs the Grove complex where the shooting happened, offered this statement:
"This was an isolated altercation between two guests that escalated unexpectedly. The safety, security and comfort of our guests and team members are always our top priorities, and we are truly heartbroken by this incident."
PS, according to various posted signs, the theater strictly forbids cell phone use.