My boyfriend works at a McDonald's, on the turnpike. He says that at a few days ago, he was working very late and an obviously tired family of five came in- they were driving home to KS from Disneyworld FL. (The kids were wearing shirts and sporting gear from the park.) The father ordered for everyone whole the mpther tried to get her exhausted, fussy choldren to sit down and wait for their food. They were apparently being awful, and the mother said that if they kept the loudness and the obnoxiousness up, she would spank them.

At this point, an ex-Marine overhears this and threatens to call the police on this woman. She asks him to please go sit down again, and says this is not his business, and that they have had a very long day. The man goes tp the counter of the restaurant, unprompted, and tells the father that he needs tpo "get control of his abusive bitch wife." The father then is so abhorred at this that he says "Go sit down, you motherfucker." And turns to finish hos order.

The man then punches the father in the mouth and asks my boyfriend to tell the family to leave. My boyfriend called the sheriff on the man and he's been arrested for disturbance of the peace, as well as assault and battery.

Do you think that the parents were correct in their handling of the situation, or that the man had a point? Myself, I believe that a mother (or a father!) has the right to discipline their children and maintain theor behavior as necessary, to an extent. I think under the circumstances, neither parent did anything wrong. What are your thoughts?

P.S. Please try not to bias your answers based on the existence of the man's Marine involvement. He is, after all, no longer a Marine.