A local movie buff forwards the following exchange between a patron of a local movie theater and the theater's manager. The manager agreed to release the exchange on condition names be excluded.
Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2015 9:10 AM
To:
Subject: Security
Dear Mr ____,On Saturday December 5 my date and I attended the 4:15 showing of Spotlight at the ***** . Just before the show started I was returning from the men's room , when I came across two Muslim women with large backpacks speaking a foreign language entering my theatre . I don't have to remind you what has happened in Boston, Paris , or San Bernardino lately . I then went up to speak to the manager, I believe his name was ___. He told me backpacks were allowed and took no action. Well I'm takes action , I will never attended you theater again until you have a policy the improves the security at you venue as many venue already have . I would be happy to see your response.
Thank You
The manager replied:
Dear _____,
As you can see by the fact that these two women enjoyed their movie and nobody was harmed, your fears are unfounded. You may also be aware that the majority of deadly terrorist attacks in the United States are carried out by white males, so imagine how these women might have felt surrounded by so many of them at the movies, especially given that white males are solely responsible for all of the movie theater shootings recently!
If my policy of nondiscrimination means you never step foot in my theaters again, I am happy to have one less customer who comes off as a xenophobic piece of racist garbage.
Hope that helps!
Merry Christmas,
______
Director of Operations
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Comments
I totally understand
By Michael
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:13am
...why the manager wants to stay anonymous and protect his email inbox and his employees from Trump-American unhinged rants or worse (or much worse) but, man, I wish I knew where this was so I could throw him some business.
Exactly, good on him...
By Marco
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:39am
only a "Happy Mawlid al-Nabi" at the end instead of the "Merry Christmas" could have made that response sweeter!
(Muhammad's b-day comes Dec. 23rd this year, well, NEXT year, I can't claim to understand the different calendar)
Now they have to bomb the theater
By EM Painter
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 5:31pm
The logic of terrorism means that now they should bomb this theater because you feel safe there
Hint
By Miss M
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 11:03am
There are 2 independently owned movie theaters in the Boston area, and 1 is showing Spotlight.
Independently owned movie theaters
By Ron Newman
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 11:14am
I count at least twelve such theaters scattered through Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, Belmont, Lexington, Dedham, Brookline, West Newton, Salem, Beverly, and Danvers. Probably a few more on the South Shore and further North Shore areas that I'm less familiar with.
(by "independently owned" I count anything not owned by AMC, Regal, Showcase, or Landmark, and not affiliated with a college, university, or museum)
CCT
By Steeve
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 3:44pm
And Coolidge Corner Theater is the only one that has a Director of Operations listed on their site.and that is wrong info...read on...EDIT -
but the giveaway should have been the 4:15 Saturday showing, which is only at Somerville Theater.
And they also have a Director of Operations listed on the site.
http://somervilletheatre.com/contact/
Good on you, Ian.
I agree with the person would
By Marvin Martian
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:15am
I agree with the person would absolutely leave the movie.
Well
By Michael
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:19am
Enjoy staying home the rest of your life. You will be missed.
Actually he won't be
By jmeltzer
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:33am
But he does need to stay home.
Lots to do at home! Racist
By anon
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 3:19pm
Lots to do at home! Racist comments don't write themselves.
Even if it seems that way
By Scratchie
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 6:02pm
Even if it seems that way sometimes.
You'd be missed
By lbb
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:19am
No, really.
On a serious note, I'd say that the racist xenophobic bigots among us have gotten an inflated notion of the weight that they swing, and are due for many deflations just like this one.
Not to mention ...
By SwirlyGrrl
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 10:43am
Numerous terrorist acts of their own.
Really? I was looking forward
By Anthony
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 11:05am
Really? I was looking forward to seeing Spotlight this weekend. Did you think it was THAT bad?
Donald Trump
By ninjers
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 7:58pm
Appreciates your vote
How to sneak chocolate into a theater
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 12/11/2015 - 3:09pm
[img]http://www.thepoke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/0...
Irony
By John Costello
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:17am
Guy suspicious of supposed religious fanatics watching a movie about a religious institution that caused actual terror in children for years in Boston and around the country.
This stuff...
By SoBo-Yuppie
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:32am
...just writes itself.
Too bad JC was not the Theater Manager. It would have been great to put that in the response.
^^^^
By ChrisInEastie
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:58am
A+
When did they stop teaching
By Saul
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:18am
When did they stop teaching grammar at bigot school?
Hey!
By jmeltzer
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:34am
Even bigots have grammas!
That guy gets around
By JP Resident
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:20am
I didn't know the Donald was in Boston last weekend!
Smells fake to me
By anon
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:27am
Although I completely agree with the sentiments expressed by the alleged theater "Director of Operations", this alleged email exchange smells 100% fake. No manager that wants to keep his job would respond like this. And since most theaters are part of large corporations, it would be even less likely that this is real. Furthermore the original "complaint"6 is over the top with its bad grammar and incorrectly spelled words.
Adam, did you actually contact the manager yourself, and verify this as true, or did everything, including the managers permission to use, come from your source?
I did not contact the theater manager
By adamg
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 11:14am
Since I don't know which theater it is.
No, I don't just post everything that strikes me as interesting without checking. The exchange was forwarded to me by somebody I've known for a long time, whom I trust, who wouldn't just make stuff up and who has long been active in local theater issues.
I realize that probably does absolutely nothing to dissuade you, since all I've now done is introduce another person you don't know, but that's why I decided to run this.
As for the grammar and spelling, well, it's e-mail and even with spell check, I can vouch for the fact that many people still send out e-mails with lots of English issues.
Where did they get it then?
By Jeff F
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 12:22pm
This friend of your who you trust so much - apparently the theater's director of operations trusts them too? Enough to pass along private emails? Why? And this friend trusts you - a journalist - enough to forward you these same emails, without worrying that you'll push for any kind of confirmation?
I enjoyed this story a lot, and yes I hope it happened (because I already believe there are bigots like that out there, and I'd like to believe there are even more people of good concience like the DoO).
But now I find myself wondering just how well you vet politicially charged stories like this. "News and information" - not advocacy, right?
If it had been somebody else, yes, I would have done more to vet
By adamg
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 12:12pm
But, yes, knowing the person involved, I can see how he would get a copy of the exchange. Again, I can't say more, and I apologize for that and realizes that compromises somebody's faith in this whole thing, but I promised anonymity (and obviously, yes, I thought it worth posting even with that).
Answer not answer
By Jeff F
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 12:33pm
Just because you promised public anonymity to your source doesn't mean that you shouldn't be confirming the info for yourself. You're a journalist! Get the DoO to tell you hirself that it happened.
Right now, you're asking us to believe several links of unconfirmed testimony. If all you are is a dude with a lot of friends and a web site, how is this not just advocacy?
I've gone from being psyched about this story to disquieted about your methods. :(
Oh give it a rest
By lbb
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 1:24pm
Adam trusts his source, and for various reasons, chooses not to provide you with more details about his source. If that's not good enough for you, take your disquiet and your disbelief and your marbles and go home.
Spare me, fanboi
By Jeff F
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 2:03pm
You're likely to bolt the first time you infer Adam's politics don't align with yours. This is a news site, not a 16 year old's facebook page.
I've been a UHuber for many years, have actually sent him money directly because I value the site, rather than just let him collect minute fractions of pennies for the linked adverts sent to my browser. I know that UH is a worthwhile news site.
One can question specific instances of process without it being a rejection of his overall enterprise. The fact that Adam responds so quickly and amiably to questions like this shows that he cares about his work and how it's recieved.
"fanboi"? BWAAAAHAHA!
By lbb
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 4:42pm
Ok, you win, old-timer. About that, you're more or less right. I still think you're on a bit of a fishing expedition, but you're not altogether wrong at least.
About the "fanboi"? Not so much, but you get extra points for your quaint use of fifteen-year-old slang.
(kidding! kidding!)
Managers Reply
By anon
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:36am
I agree that the customers complaint is complaint uncalled for and dumbfounded, but on the other side I felt the managers reply was completely unprofessional.
Do tell
By lbb
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 1:26pm
In this case, what would a "professional" reply look like?
Piss Off
By BostonDog
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 1:42pm
Sincerely, The Management
I hope to never be in the same space as the patron
By Boston_res
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:38am
Ever. Being prejudged sucks.
not always
By Scumquistador
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 12:11pm
when women see my lift kit adorned F-450 turbodiesel with dualies i believe its almost guaranteed that they've pre-judged the size of my exhaust, or as i call it 'the muffler' *smug*
Which is...
By lbb
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 1:27pm
Which is in inverse proportion to the size of...
well man
By Scumquistador
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 1:48pm
ill consider this progress, this might be the first joke of mine you've gotten
You said it, I didn't
By lbb
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 2:01pm
Sorry 'bout the small one, and, uh...don't quit that day job.
Just in case anyone missed it...
By Neal
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:40am
The cinema manager's sign off Hope That Helps! is a reference to the brilliant Facebook page Hope That Helps!, managed by Atlanta comedian Ben Palmer, who trolls various companies' (and in at least one case, a certain religious fraud's) Facebook pages, posing as a customer service agent posting hilarious responses to petty and whiny customer complaints.
actually
By Scumquistador
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:53am
"hope that helps" has been an expression for a long, long time, made even more popular recently as part of the recent vernacular used on the internet. hth.
Sounds too good to be true...
By b from Ros
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:47am
But if it is, the manager dropped the ball on being professional and could have handled it much better.
It does make me feel better and sounds quite righteous. However, responding to an overreaction with an overreaction is not productive. This sort of @#$% leads to more extreme views, not less...
be honest
By Scumquistador
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:53am
how upset were you when you weren't able to kick blacks out of the front of the bus anymore
I do not appreciate your comment
By b from Ros
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 10:02am
But we are on the internet after all. I certainly hope it makes you feel better. :)
yeah
By Scumquistador
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 10:22am
you're truly the real victim here.
Bizarre, offensive non sequitur
By bohemka
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 12:23pm
And you have fans! The Internet is a wondrous place.
The point is that if you want to educate or enlighten someone, insulting them is not the way to do it. Measured responses are a thing of the past, apparently, so much so that you accuse someone who agrees with you of being a bigot simply because they've suggested a less obnoxious way of speaking to another person. Dark days.
And I imagine (and hope) this is an independent theater, as, regardless of how right the manager is, calling a customer a "xenophobic piece of racist garbage," is an excellent idea if the goal was to get the assistant manager promoted.
he agrees with me
By Scumquistador
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 2:01pm
in part.
we clearly disagree on other parts. do you also have a hard time understanding things like primary races in politics, or different religious sects? people that "agree" on a lot of things have gone to great lengths- including war- to hash out some of the things they disagree on.
Let's see your version
By lbb
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 1:28pm
Please show us how you would have "handled it much better". Verbatim, what would your response have been?
Well, at least he wished him a "Merry Christmas"
By issacg
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 9:58am
[edit - my earlier text seems to have magically disappeared. This is a repost]
because if he had said "happy holidays" it would have given all the local and national windbags the opportunity to trot out the "war on Christmas" stuff.
As for the other comment, I did in fact miss that "Hope That Helps" thing, and will have to check it out!
Except
By Patricia Roberts
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 10:00am
the terrorist attack in San Bernardino was done by an Arab man and an Arab woman--not by "white males". So while the manager probably feels good about saying snotty things to the person objecting, there are grounds for that person's concern. And while I'm sure all the commenters feel good about themselves for saying the person objecting is a racist bigot, it would be helpful to have a conversation about what a reasonable policy might be, in light of the San Bernardino attack.
And the movie theater
By Scratchie
Thu, 12/10/2015 - 1:25pm
And the movie theater massacre in Aurora was done by a white male, not an "Arab man". Stop me if I'm going too fast for you.
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