Portland Diner Owner Under Fire For Screaming at Toddler
Why the Internet Is Siding With a "Deranged" Diner Owner For Screaming at a Toddler
A Portland, ME, diner owner screamed at a crying toddler and now, days later, is standing by her actions. And interestingly, so are legions of people on social media. Darla Neugebauer, owner of Marcy's Diner, said that the child's parents — who came into the busy restaurant this past Saturday — ordered three pancakes and then didn't feed them to the girl, which caused her to cry loudly. Neugebauer asked the family to leave or to take the girl outside, but after an hour, she "snapped," she told WCSH News.
"All I said was, I slammed my hands on the counter and I said, 'This needs to stop!'" Neugebauer said. "I pointed at her and she looked at me and she stopped. And her parents said, 'Are you screaming at a child?' 'Yes, I am.' And she shut up."
After paying their bill and leaving, Tara Carson, the mother of the 2-year-old girl, took to the Marcy's Diner Facebook page to complain. She called Neugebauer a "lunatic" and "deranged" and said that if her daughter bothered her so much, she "could have spoken to me and not traumatized my child by screaming."
Neugebauer's reply, although since removed from the page, was later shared as a screenshot on Facebook — and it showed that she was not backing down at all.
The altercation has since gone viral, but those commenting on the Facebook exchange aren't all one-sided. Just as many people believe Neugebauer was warranted for her actions as those who think she was way out of line:
"Good for you – your diner, your rules. If they don't like it, that's too bad."
"Marcy's Diner sounds like my kind of place, where children are seen but not heard. Good work on behalf of the manager, unlike the parents of the child, who must think they are the center of the universe."
"I agree with what you did. As the mother of four kids, I would have taken my child out of there and not bothered all the other patrons."
So, who do you think was right? Does the diner owner owe the parents an apology, or do they need to better control their child?
