Darth Maul/Kid Incident - SWW '09

[Thessair]

This may be a repeat, but a friend of mine forwarded this to me and the search didn't turn up anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br7rlbuBauM&feature=player_embedded

I'm of two minds about this, personally, but I'm interested to hear what you guys think. Again, sorry if this is a repost.

 

[Jseven]

Control your kids....no one should be in a parade route, no matter the circumstances. Its not a meet and greet for high fives.....its a show and that kid was on that guys stage ruining the parade.

 

[wdwwdeagle]

I think I just wasted 5 minutes of my life watching a guy trying to scam money out of wdw.

 

[Master Yoda]

I'll keep my opinions to myself but the comments (you have to go to the poster channel http://www.youtube.com/user/JOEFAUX65) are quite interesting to say the least.

 

[captainkidd]

This is a tough one. On one hand, the parents are stupid and should have kept their kids out of the parade route. On the other hand, the employee went too far. If it were my kid, I'd have punched Darth Maul in his face.

ETA: If you watch it closely, looks like the kid actually took a swipe at Darth Maul first.

 

[Laura]

I'm annoyed on both ends. First by the parent making a huge deal with the dramatic captions and slow motion and crap. Second by the character shoving the kid out of the street rather than just letting the CM standing right there handle it.

Why was the guy just standing there videotaping while his disabled son was running around the street?

 

[captainkidd]

Why was the guy just standing there videotaping while his disabled son was running around the street?

$$$

 

[Master Yoda]

I'm annoyed on both ends. First by the parent making a huge deal with the dramatic captions and slow motion and crap. Second by the character shoving the kid out of the street rather than just letting the CM standing right there handle it.

Why was the guy just standing there videotaping while his disabled son was running around the street?

Yep.

 

[maggiegrace1]

Did you see the mother look back at the person videotaping..as if to say..Hey, you got that?

I think maybe the actor was a little too rough..but it looked like the kid was going to attack him..so he may have just gotten defensive...also the fact that he does have a handicap and seems like you willnever know what he may do..would make youthink that the parents would have hel his hand or grabbed him from running up to the charater.

I neevr understand why people let their children do as they please at WDW or in any public place....restaurants, grocery stores, malls..

Control your children..plain and simple.

 

[Laura]

I'll keep my opinions to myself but the comments (you have to go to the poster channel http://www.youtube.com/user/JOEFAUX65) are quite interesting to say the least.

Wow. Do all the @ holes of the world congregate in the youtube comments section?

 

[LucyintheSky]

I'm annoyed on both ends. First by the parent making a huge deal with the dramatic captions and slow motion and crap. Second by the character shoving the kid out of the street rather than just letting the CM standing right there handle it.

Why was the guy just standing there videotaping while his disabled son was running around the street?

That was the first thing I thought... Why are that kid's parents letting him be in the parade route? And not just once, but constantly. The boy was clearly excited, BUT it's his parents job to control his behavior, like any other kid. They seemed to think it was ok since he is disabled.

Bad parenting made worse by obviously trying to get $$ from Disney. Boo.:fork:

 

[Master Yoda]

Wow. Do all the @ holes of the world congregate in the youtube comments section?

I think they split their time between youtube and any article on the Huffington Post that suggests that vaccines don't cause autism.

 

[rodserling27]

Hmmm..this is a tough call. I'm not sure if Maul was trying to stay in character and just went overboard, or if he really thought the kid was trying to attack him. I think parents should be held responsible for their kids actions, especially given that the father just stood there and did nothing. They're both wrong. And I hate when people hide behind excuses. "Well, my boy has autism and cerebral palsy, so it's not his fault." Please, don't give me that. Would it be any different if my 6-year-old non-handicapped cousin jumped out and the same thing happened?

My verdict: Maul was a jerk and overreacted, but ultimately it is the job of the parents to keep their kids in line and following the rules.

 

[Laura]

My verdict: Maul was a jerk and overreacted, but ultimately it is the job of the parents to keep their kids in line and following the rules.

That's pretty much the only conclusion one could come to in this situation. :lol:

I am guessing if I had been standing there watching the parade I would have spent 10 minutes grumbling and complaining about how those dumbo parents aren't watching their kid and how he's going to get hurt. Then when Darth Maul did his thing, I would have giggled a little, out of spite. :lookaroun

 

[Lauriebar]

Then when Darth Maul did his thing, I would have giggled a little, out of spite. :lookaroun

I giggled a little when I read this...

I agree that it is the parents who allowed this to happen to their child by not setting boundries on behavior. I understand this child has special needs however, this is even more reason to keep him under control.

 

[blackthidot]

Another classic example of bad parenting at WDW. If there was really something wrong with that kid and his mom KNEW he acts that way then she should not have brought him to something like then...and top it off by letting him jump around and run up to people. Pretty soon there will be barricades up because of idiot parents like her.

I constantly complain about parents letting kids do and act however they want while in WDW...Some kid is going to get their mom/dad beat up one day.

 

[brentl1127]

The whole thing is overblown about getting $$'s from Disney. I mean, what really happened, the kid when someplace he should not have, the guy in the parade pushed him back, yes sort of strongly, but hey, what was the kid doing out there in the first place.

If that were my son, first, I would be embarrassed that I had not taught my son how to act, and that I was like 15 feet away from him in the first place. Second, if anyone puts their hands on my son, I would not just be standing there like that mother, or keep video taping like the dad, I would have been right there in that Darth Maul's face. No Adult could push my son like that and not get an earful from me.

So all this ads up to a set up if you ask me. I mean I cannot think of one parent who would let an adult touch their kid in that way and not instantly react to confront the person, unless it was expected.

When I bring my boy to Disney, he will behave, or we will just go back to the hotel, so lesson 1 control your kids. Lesson two, if this was not a set up the father and mother should be ashamed for keeping with the video and just standing there pointing rather than confronting an Adult pushed their kid.

FYI, I could care less if the kid really is Autistic, and what not, Parents jobs are to control their kids in public and teach them how to behave.

 

[Fantasmic]

The Parent is most at fault here, they should not let their kid run around wildly.

Darth Maul could have handled it better, though I think he was just in character and wouldn't have realised how much he pushed the kid

 

[Goofygirl07]

i was wondering why that kid was out there running around before Darth Maul came up. But Darth Maul also didnt know that the kid was handicapped (not that it changes how he should act towards him).

 

[Monty]

What kind of parent publishes video of their child to the internet with the child's full name included? Sounds like an open invitation to any seedy character to be able to walk up to that poor kid, call them by name and say "your dad sent me to get you, come with me".