Just when you thought the daily news couldn’t grow any worse there appears the story of a Massachusetts father who assaulted Chuck E. Cheese in a Dartmouth pizzeria. According to SouthCoastToday.com, 34 year old, Trahan Pires “ripped the mascot's headwear off, pointed a finger at the man underneath the mouse costume and yelled at him”.* How could a nice day at Chuck E. Cheese’s go so wrong? According to court documents, it started out as just “another day at the office” for 19 year old Jessie Carvalho. He punched his time card, went to the costume closet and donned the trademark Chuck E. Cheese regalia; prepared to spread excitement and good cheer to delighted children scattered throughout the dining area. Unfortunately sinister forces were lurking in the gaming area in the form of a group of youths who had decided to ambush “Chuck” whenever he made an appearance. They had decided that it would be terrific fun to “behead” the mouse in the middle of the restaurant, while traumatized youngsters looked on. Mr. Cheese, however, proved more difficult to take down than they expected. Even hobbled by a clumsy mouse outfit, Carvalho proved to be too nimble for the youths to apprehend, but his evasive maneuvers ended up costing him dearly. He inadvertently bumped into a young boy who felt as though he had been “manhandled” by the mouse. The boy ran crying to his father (the aforementioned Mr. Pires), who rose to defend his son’s honor by proceeding to “lay the smack down” on Mr. Cheese. As a result, Mr. Pires was able to succeed where the band of youths had failed: off came the mouse’s head.If this story had taken place in a more civilized country then the misunderstandings could probably have been tidily handled by a few clarifying explanations and a heartfelt apology or two … but … this is America. In America, things don’t get solved unless they go to court and this story is no different. Carvalho (or Chuck E. Cheese) was charged with assault and battery because Pires alleged that the young man had “picked up his son and pinned him against a video game”*. It took eight months for the unfortunate mascot to be acquitted of all charges before a jury of his peers. Mr. Pires was not so fortunate. Monday he pled guilty to assault and battery charges and was slapped with a $500 fine for his misdemeanor. The moral of this story seems to be that a kid really cannot be a kid at the Chuck E. Cheese in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
There is, of course, a healthy dose of comedy about this whole episode, but I want it to serve as an example of how misunderstandings and overreaction can turn a relatively harmless situation into a colossal waste of time, money and emotion. The Bible warns us that “A quick-tempered man does foolish things” (Proverbs 14.17 [NIV]) and that “anger will not help you live the right kind of life God wants.” (James 1.20 [NCV]) My prayer is that we will take words like these to heart as we seek to be people who are governed by wisdom, peace and brotherly love. I hope that Chuck E. Cheese can be a sort of symbol for us of what happens when we storm into a situation with a head full of assumptions but devoid of facts. The next time you are about to speculate about the reason why someone said what they did to you … remember Chuck E. Cheese. The next time you are about to get upset because you feel that someone was insensitive to your situation … remember Chuck E. Cheese. Give people the benefit of your good opinion and take time to talk to them so you can see what they are really thinking. It may keep you from literally “ripping their head off”.
* http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090303/NEWS/903030336
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