They're All Gonna Laugh At You*

Monday I finished the work day in the gift shop (I work in a museum) where we politely let people know that they need to get the fuck out so we can leave. Every time I want to get straight home, there is always a few people who like to linger. For some reason they think the museum gradually closes piece by piece. They think the actual museum closes at 5 but the gift shop will stay open as long as they like.

Yesterday, at 5:10 a woman and her son were looking at a book about prisons. When I admitted them to the site, it was obvious that she and her son had some mental problems. Not the normal obnoxious type of people who gets on your nerves. This woman and her son were clearly mental. As clear as I was with directions, admittance price and how the site works, and after repeatedly telling them this, they still looked at me like I had 5 eyes.

When she put the book down, she just blurted out, 'I don't believe in prisons.'

I turned around, expecting to see who she was talking to, but she was talking to herself. Again she said, 'I don't believe in prisons.' I knew I should have just let it go, but she needed to let something off of her chest, so I took the bait. 'Oh. So you believe in the death penalty?', I said.

'No.'

'Rehabilitation instead incarceration?'

'No.'

'Well, what do you believe in?'

She casually moved closer to me and within 10 inches of my face, intense eye contact, and her son by her side she said...

'Castration. I think every criminal should be castrated five minutes after conviction. It worked in Europe, so they need to do it here. It's cheaper than a prison and the crime rate will go down by 30% if not more.'

Before she could finish the sentence, her son asked what would be done to females.

'Sterilization.'

I couldn't believe it.

Her son was getting very impatient, so he ushered her out the door ranting to the general public.

I couldn't believe it. I had tons of questions, but more concerning her home life. What does she do for a living? What condition does she and her son have? How long has she known? What, if any, medications are they taking? What is their family history? Does she hinder his life? Or help it? Etc. Etc.

She is what I love about my job. I would have never had that conversation in a different setting. Compared to some people, I am extremely abnormal, but to people like her, I am the straightest arrow in the bunch.

*seeing her brought to mind a scene from a classic movie, hence the title. Can you guess which movie the title is from?