By now everyone has heard about the infamous theatre shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Now, after being closed since that fateful day, the Century Aurora 16 Multiplex theatre is finally opening its doors to the public. The ill-fated theatre sent out a mass e-mail to the families of those who were slain or injured by the gunman. The victim’s families are outraged, claiming that it is “disgusting” that the theatre would do this, even though the e-mail states that the January 18 re-opening will be “a night of remembrance”. The outraged townspeople are boycotting the theatre, making claims that the security in the theatre was not adequate enough to keep the gunman out.
There is a flaw in the people’s logic: most movie theatres have the same amount of security, and the gunman had the weapon concealed very well. So well in fact that the only way anyone would have found it is if the man was patted down or strip-searched. Because of the complaints of a lack in security, these people may have just piqued the interest of the government to put airport like security in movie theatres. It probably won’t happen, but there’s always that possibility. It only takes one person to ruin everything for everyone.
Just imagine walking into a theatre through a metal detector, buying your ticket, getting concessions, and then being told to hold out your arms so you can be patted down. No, that’s not okay. Many people go to theatres to escape real life, to lose themselves in a movie, not to sit there and wonder if, in some way, they have violated a law that would not be there if people would have just used common sense.
But the outrage the victim’s families feel is understandable. They are still grieving, and maybe the theatre shouldn’t have sent out an invitation, but rather just opened their doors to the public quietly. They could have even run a discreet ad in the local newspaper.
But either way the situation is viewed, whether it’s an over reaction or not, people need to realize that the theatre needs to make money, tragedy or not.
