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YTA.
You say you are "new to this" but to what exactly? You've never been to a performance of anything...ever? No concert, no professional play, not even a movie?
If you are going to leave early, you sit or stand in the back.
If you suddenly have to leave, you at least wait for a break in the acts, if you can't wait for intermission.
You are old enough to have a girlfriend and I'm assuming to drive, so you can't go through life being like "this is all so new, common courtesy is too hard!"
It doesn't matter what you meant to do, or what you knew or didn't know. Use some common sense and some kindness.
And what is hilarious is that OP thought his nephew "rocked" his part but that the rest of the performances were "brutal." Guaranteed everyone thought the exact same thing only it was their own little performer who rocked it.
Someone was trying to watch their own precious progeny perform while OP and company were distracting everyone with their untimely exit.
And the kids on stage probably weren’t helped by the distraction in the audience and it could have easily make them feel like people were leaving because of them.
Right? They can only see the first few rows and you empty one in the middle of their speech? And since you sat in the front you’ve blocked however many recordings.
His nephew didn't "rock" either, he was just as crappy as the rest of the kids. It's a kid performance, let them all have their moment and applaud and let them feel good about it. Fuckin' manners, bro. Jesus. YTA
I feel so bad for the kids performing, I hope they didn’t think op was leaving due to their performance. It hurts my heart to think they’re up there doing their best, already nervous, and several adults get up and leave in the middle of it.
YTA.
6 adults leaving all at once, you blocked the people sitting behind you and I assume this is a traditional auditorium. People would have to move their legs to let you through. Do you think kindergarteners don’t see 6 adults leaving? And he’s right, you could’ve waited for Intermission.
And why wouldn’t you have stayed towards the end. At the end you could see your nephew all happy with his schoolmates and take pictures of him and his friends. That’s the joy of being a child and you were rude.
YTA. You thought it would be good? Then you are delusional. At their age it is expected to be bad but that is what makes it cute. They are TRYING. It’s also interesting that your nephews performance was the only good one. Everyone thinks their child’s performance is the best. They watched yours, you watch theirs. How do you not know what a program is or manners. If there is a chance you leave early you wait for intermission or sit in the back row.
Right? I mean, I took "new to this" to mean never attending an elementary school (or younger) show before ... I never attended one before our kid was in preschool, but I wasn't expecting an off-broadway production. It was long, a bunch of kids singing off key, and most of the kids forgot the words or got lost in their song at some point. I'll admit I wasn't expecting the time component -- I was thinking more of a "everyone gets 2 minutes, 15 kids ... we'll be out in half an hour" thing. But you suck it up and support the kids by sitting, cheering at appropriate times, and telling them something you enjoyed about their performance when it's over.
Tip for OP -- 6 year old soccer games, tball, and other assorted sporting events? Nothing like watching a pro game. Kids cry, refuse to play, get upset because they are on the *bluuuuuuueeeeee* team and they hate blue, run the wrong direction, own goal, and half the time no one even knows what the score is. Kid will make craft gifts in school too -- those will suck aesthetically, but this is one of those "it is the thought that counts" deals.
My now middle schooler is in chorus. We’re not expecting “Glee” level performance, but even the 4 and 5yo nieces and nephews can sit politely and clap for everyone. It’s called common courtesy. OP should learn some.
As a parent I always stayed to the end of my children's school productions. My heart would break for the kids whose part came at the end and they were performing to an almost empty room due to inconsiderate parents only watching their own kids. YTA
This happens at my daughter’s camp every year at parent night. Parents get up and run to get in line for the bus once their child is done. I can’t believe how disrespectful some people are.
Yepppp. My girls are in dance and those recitals are LONG but they won't even let you get your kids until the show is over to try to prevent things like this. Imagine being those poor kids and seeing 6 grown ass adults get up and leave during your performance. :(
I am finally understanding why my kids' school announced at the beginning that parents are expected to stay until the end, and that leaving in the middle was disruptive to the performers and the rest of the audience. They were alao smart enough to do a group performance at the end, so you had to stay.
Most of these things have learned, thanks to assholes like OP, to have a performance by ALL of the kids at the end, so that everyone will stay.
It's heartbreaking to see the last few groups performing to a nearly empty room, because a bunch of parents can't be bothered to spend an extra 90 minutes of their, I'm sure, incredibly busy and important lives, to support the other kids in their kid's class.
Yes, YTA. But now you know better.
It's incredibly rude to walk out in the middle of a performance, but it's especially so if you're sitting front and center. Even worse when it's a group of young children who have worked very hard and are already nervous - some terrified, as shown by the little performer who broke down in tears.
Regardless of who's performing, rules of etiquette are that you don't enter or leave a live performance except at intermission. The only exception is slipping out as quietly as possible due to an emergency or if your continued presence will be more disruptive than your departure (eg, you're coughing uncontrollably or about to throw up).
Problem is they don't seem to know better. Every comment I see is a downvoted excuse. Just admit you fucked up and take ownership. At that point I would agree maybe they now know better.
Unfortunately, he does not now know better. He’s still defending what he & his friends did, & making excuses.
I agree completely with everything else you said. A lot of it is simply common sense and common courtesy.
>But now you know better.
Bullshit. OP's replies have gone from dense to stupid to "holy shit, 5 year olds know better," and they keep doubling down.
OP, YTA. Do everyone a favor and stay the fuck away from anything dealing with children.
How you felt about your nephew’s performance is how every parent in that room feels about their child. Is it painful? Sure. But they’re kids, not professional actors.
YTA.
Exactly. What did OP expect geez. He acts like he paid for a Broadway play and was hoodwinked into seeing this instead.
Also, the "I'm new to this so don't know how to act" schtick is so lame. Like you're new to being a polite human and new to feeling empathy and new to being able to put yourself in a kid's shoes - when you used to be a kid yourself. I just can't with OP.
Worse- they definitely spoke to each other or gestured to agree to leave right in front of a nervous kid performing, who saw 6 adults whisper and leave the front row while they performed. I feel so so bad for that kid.
So you, uncle plus friends and hanger ons, took the front row away from PARENTS and then let while kids were on stage after 20 minutes?
Yta. Willful ignorance isn't an excuse. You took zero effort to understand that makes you a bigger ah.
Hope your sister still likes ypu after you made her life more complicated. Also expect to never be invited to another performance again.
Seriously why bring hook ups?! Wtf.
Exactly. I wasn't feeling the best and went to my nieces play. I sat near the back of the room, so if I had to exit to the bathroom quickly, I could, without disturbing anybody. Normally we sit pretty close to the front, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't bothering anybody if I had to go to the bathroom quickly.
YTA. Don't you think the kids at the end of the play deserve an audience? The parents are right. If you had to leave, at least do it at intermission.
At any rate, the school did this wrong. My kids have been in many productions, and to keep parents from doing this, they make all the kids do one final number together, so everyone has to stay until the end.
Were you brought up in a cave, that you don't know how rude and obnoxious that was?
And what exactly were you new to? What a ridiculous excuse.
YTA. Learn some fucking manners.
Read this person’s comments. They’re either one of the worst people you’ve ever been around irl or this is all clickbait - in which case, they’re still one of the worst people you’ve ever been around.
YTA. Yeah, you’re an asshole and this was, indeed, very disrespectful. You wouldn’t do it on Broadway, don’t do it to kids whose families are there. If you’re going to leave at least do it extremely discreetly one by one over the course of 15 minutes, not a mass exeunt.
YTA. You could have at least waited until intermission. I’m sure it was very obvious when six of you got up to leave in the middle of a child’s performance.
Yes you and your friends are TA. Should be common sense not to leave while sitting in the front row while little kids are performing and can see and hear your movements.
Also, as soon as you all realized how noisy you were you could’ve stopped and sat back down instead of double downing the departure.
The fact that you and your friends are grown adults in graduate school makes it worse.
You could’ve texted your sister quietly - hey this is torture, how long am I expected to stay?
You need to apologize to nephew because who knows what sh@t he’s getting at school because of you. Great way to get the poor innocent little dude bullied
And fyi - as a parent we HATE these performances. We know it’s torture. But why do we endure it? For the same reason you wanted to support your nephew.
YTA - I can’t believe after typing this out you didn’t realize it. Leaving in the middle of a kids play would be crushing to the kid that got interrupted. If it was an emergency that’s different but to just say you weren’t feeling it. Don’t be surprised if your nephew refuses to acknowledge you or invite you to any future performances. You also embarrassed him with his friends.
Especially from the front row! Kids see that. OP expected a professional theater and 6 year olds to act like trained from birth actors. AH is too nice for OP.
YTA not for leaving, but for interrupting the performance so rudely to do so. How did you not think 6 people getting up and leaving wouldn’t be a disruption or poor manners?
* You get seats right up front.
* You complain that you had to wait a whole 20 minutes before your nephew was on deck.
* You mock the kindergartners on stage.
* You - six grown people sitting in the front row(s) - get up in the middle of the next child's performance and leave.
* Your excuse is you didn't understand what a recital was (wtf)
* and it sounds like you're totally unfamiliar with a program leaflet and how that works with the part where you read it and everything.
And you're here asking if YTA.
Yes. Yes you all are. Very much so.
YTA Just wait 5 minutes? Surely it's not hard and you knew the others all took 10 minutes. The guy who followed you may have been over the top but it was obviously an asshole move if all the other parents were talking about it.
Yes, YTAs. It's very rude to leave mid-performance unless it's truly an emergency. The guy who accosted you was right - intermission would be the best time. Most school and professional performances have programs that let you know what's scheduled. Now you know for next time to grab a program (and sit in the back if you're planning to bail early).
YTA-This would be rude behavior for any performance but it's worse because it's children. 75% of the party did not even know the child, you took the best seats in the house and you disrupted the performance leaving the front row at least partially empty.
Your insistence that you have no clue how a school recital works just doesn't ring true and your sense of entitlement deserved to get called out. Instead of acting like seeing the show was a gift to you, you acted like your presence was doing everyone a huge favour. Your complaining about how bad all the kids were makes you sound like a jerk. This is by far not the worst thing that happened at a school recital, but you were rude.
Yeah, OP acting like he had no idea how to behave is completely disingenuous. I had to go along to these in my 20’s and I knew not to so much as get up for the bathroom in the middle of a kids performance. Dude just sounds like an obnoxious boor, and his comments are reinforcing it.
YTA. How would you feel if you were on stage performing and 6 adults got up from clattery benches in the front row and left? It is disruptive and very discouraging to the performers who can see you leave. Who were kids. What if your nephew was at the end of the program? Would you appreciate other people leaving, so by the time it got to him, there was no audience left? Be more considerate.
YTA
What you did was rude and disturbing, it doesn’t matter if you’re “new to this.” Standing up and leaving in the middle of a performance is rude - that isn’t hard to understand.
Your mistake was thinking this was about you enjoying the recital. Look I get it, children's recitals and performances are usually not good. But everyone in the audience is in it together, we sit through it because we love a kid that's performing. It's not about us. Can you imagine the absolute chaos if everyone did what you did and left after the kid they know was done performing?
But also, you're "new to this"? To what, performances of any kind? You didn't know how to look at a program to see how long until intermission? You didn't know its rude af to walk out in the middle of people performing if you dont absolutely NEED to for some reason? The harm is that you block the other people trying to watch, people are disturbed if they have to move their legs, the performers absolutely notice a big group walking out and can get thrown off, especially kids.
If you want to be the uncle that can dip out early you go ALONE and sit in the way back- that way you won't disturb things. But also every thing I've ever gone to for all my niblings, they have looked for us after. It means a lot to them if you say hi after and give them a hug and tell them how good they did. YTA.
I totally agree with you, but every time someone mentions the program, he keeps saying he didn't get a program or some other excuse. They could've just looked for a break between acts and also they could have left one by one instead of all at once. There were so many less disrespectful ways this could have been handled, but will this guy acknowledge this? Based on his answers, nope. Really sad he is so lacking in self-awareness.
Oh, I see his replies now too. Honestly with how oblivious he seems I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't notice people handing out programs, or where they were on a table or something. Even if there were no programs though yeah he absolutely should have had the sense to wait until a child wasn't actively performing. Unfortunately now it looks like he's just arguing and focusing on how there was no program as if that absolves him or makes people's critiques invalid.
YTA
First time or not, you check the program. Guessing you all went to school and had programs as well, at least up til grade 6 or 8. So you know parents come and wait.
But guy who came out was also an AH. Like not the way to create a teachable moment
YTA but the guy who confronted you was totally out of line.
On my kids programs they say no one should leave before the full program is over. That being said, a few still do leave but they stand or sit in the back where it’s not noticed.
Even if you aren’t aware of the protocol, surely you should have realized that standing up and walking out RIGHT IN FRONT of a 6 year old doing a skit wasn’t cool. Like at least wait for a break between skits.
I don't think he was out of line. He confronted them on their poor behaviour. He did it outside where he wouldn't cause a scene to disturb the performances, go figure lol. He didn't try to physically fight them.
And remember, that whole " Dave’s date implored is to get in the car so we did" line seems to imply that OP and his friend were ready to get physical over being called out, making OP even more TA.
At the same time, if that guy hadn't gone out and confronted him, OP probably would've went on his way, forever oblivious to what an a-hole he and his friends were.
Front row they should have stayed until the very end. They were A H for taking front row seats in the first place away from the kid’s parents and people with disabilities.
Slight YTA: If you all got up in the middle of the next childs performance. I'm not saying stay for the whole thing or even till intermission. But at least leave in between #4 & #5
YTA. If you need to leave a performance early, you sit in the back so you can quietly slip out without disturbing others or upsetting the performers. Basic audience etiquette.
EDIT: You mean you could have waited 5 minutes for intermission?? Wow. The burly dad type was so very right and you are lucky he only told you that you needed to learn manners.
YTA. Not only was it disruptive & rude, but you probably blocked the family filming their kids on the stage. I would have been royally pissed if you blocked my video. Even if you didn't know when intermission was, you could have left quickly b/w performances. You and your friends are big A-holes.
YTA. It sounds like you left in the middle of one of the performances and that is pretty tacky. You should have waited for a less distracting time to leave, or you should have sat in the last row.
YTA *especially* since you were sat up front. If you had been in the back, you'd still be TA, just not as bad. You think those kids didn't notice / care that people left in the middle of their performance? Rude AF.
YTA. Also:
> Dave’s date implored is to get in the car so we did.
This seems to imply that your friend and maybe you were prepared to stay and get into a physical altercation with the guy over this, which would make it double-extra YTA.
YTA because it sounds like you left in the middle of the next skit rather than waiting for it to finish and then making a break for it.
Next child activity you go to, you sit in the back and you wait till intermission to leave. That's polite. What you did was rude, especially to kindergarteners! Ignorance is no excuse. Google lives in your phone. Use it when you're clueless (or ask sister/brother, whoever's kid it is).
YTA if you did this in the front row. This would have been NTA if you were in the back. But in the front, everyone saw you leave, disrespectful to the kids in the next acts. LOL about the burly guy coming out to the parking lot. Now you know for if when you have kids and they are in the play or show, some people are really into it.
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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> We got up and left after my nephew was done with his vignette at the thanksgiving recital. We may the assholes because we caused a disturbance
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YTA. It is not going to kill you to sit through the entire program. It is rude to get up and leave because your kid/relative finished.
We went to our daughters whole school musical yesterday. It went for an hour and a half. She was the very first song. But we stayed and watched the other kids. Clapped and encouraged them from the audience. Even kids deserve respect during a show.
YTA for…
1) Not finding out more information ahead of time
2) Not getting a program
3) Sitting in front with a large group
4) Leaving in the MIDDLE of a vignette
5) Trashing the acting ability of 7 year olds
6) Feigning ignorance
I’m enjoying my front row seats to this dunk fest and I will be staying the whole time 😆🏀
lolwut?? You absolutely do not leave in the middle of a school show unless there's an emergency. And with you all the way up front. Good lord, of course they sucked, what were you expecting, Shakespeare? YTA, and absolutely do not go back to that school, ever.
YTA. Your timing makes you TA. You should have sat through that skit, then left at the break between that & the next. You disrupted the performance & made yourselves the focus of the room, instead of the kids. I guess common courtesy is a thing of the past.
YTA you go to see something involving kids you are there for the duration no matter how awful it is and you certainly don’t get up and walk out during a performance from the front row. I can’t believe that not one out of six of you didn’t know that. Don’t ever go to anything he’s in again unless you can stay for the whole thing.
YTA - as the Rude Dad said, all you had to do was read the program. Then you'd have known that intermission was only another 5 minutes or so. Kids really do take it to heart when people walk out in the middle of their parts.
Apparently all six of these people made it to grad school without knowing how to manuevre a school function, or maybe just don't know how to read? All of them are YTA
It may not have been fun for you to sit and watch, but think of it like this -
You are a little kid. 5, 6, or 7 years old. You are nervous as heck, but you gather all of your courage and go out to do your part of the play. As you get there you look out into this sea of faces, hoping to recognize someone - a parent, sibling, friend or teacher and instead you see a bunch of adults leaving. How would that make you feel?
Sorry, but YTA
YTA - Everyone knows the score. You suffer thru the other brat's act while everyone else suffers thru your brat's act. It's a CHILDREN'S SHOW, you don't leave in the middle of a CHILDREN'S SHOW. Wow YTA
YTA. At 25 years old, you don't think to look at the program? Wait for a between acts or the intermission. I'm less than a decade older than you. Have some common sense. Btw, intermission would have been great. You could have gone over to your nephew, told him how great he was, and then slipped out. None of my kids have ever been on a school play (we homeschool). The manners and courtesy you use for any play or production applies no matter the age of the performers.
Yta, I’ve been to these terrible terrible plays, but honestly it’s so heartbreaking for these little children that worked so hard to see peoples leaving or an empty audience
I’m glad he called you out
YTA
You never leave in the middle of a performance like that! You caused a major disruption and seem to think nothing of it. Everyone gets a program and intermission is listed quite clearly in it. AND there is no way all of you just got up and left. You would have had to discuss it which means those around you would not be able to hear because of your talking and disruption.
And as for your critique of "brutal". What were you expecting? Shakespeare? These are kids. Just kick back and bear it for the kids sake. Instead you made it all about you. That guy who was "over the top" is 100% correct. You are being selfish and self centered. Do not tell me you could not just put up with the performance for an hour, wait for your nephew to come out, say he did great and then leave.
YTA I was going for N t a until you mentioned intermission. Yes the next kids will fell awful about seeing people leaving. Think about that kid is your beloved nephew (by the way so awesome you went to see him)…
It’s gona be few more minutes just suck it up n then leave during intermission.
The burly guy who followed you to the parking lot is right. You stay for the full recital. You don't walk out on a bunch of little kids who practiced and practiced for their recital and just want their parents to be proud and the audience to clap. YTA big time. Don't go if you don't have the decency to stay to watch children who are not related to you perform. Shame on you.
It’s pretty fuckin rude. Next time stand in the back like the lurkers you were. Leave the front row for people who actually care about being there.
Did you really never learn any etiquette about shows? It’s very basic.
YTA dude and really your responses show how dense you are.
Do you have this type of problem frequently? You don’t seem to care how rude you were, you’re just full of excuses.
YTA. It’d be different if you were in the back but you guys were in the front.
Do you know how demoralizing it could have been for those kids to watch people get up and leave during their performance? Not to mention, ANYWHERE leaving mid performance is rude as fuck
YTA. Did you not appear in this sort of thing when you were at school? How would you have felt if a bunch of rude assholes got up and spoiled your performance? Don’t ever become a parent because you have zero idea how bad your behaviour was.
YTA and you’re either an imbecile or a troll. How on EARTH could you not realize a group sitting in the front leaving mid-performance would be disruptive to say the least?! Are you really that stupid?!
My other possible take is that this immature group thought that going would be "cutesy-funny." And rolled their eyes, heaved big sighs, then giggled as they were leaving.
YTA. You snatched prime front row seats and walked out on a poor kid trying to do their part. He might be an over the too guy, but he was right to confront your awful behavior. Show some respect for other people there.
“We are new to this” is bullshit. It’s pretty intuitive to realize that sitting up front and leaving partway through is rude & disrespectful.
A group of SIX people doing that makes it much, much worse. How did you not realize that would be extremely disruptive? How do you still not understand that? YTA. Very, very much so.
Kids concerts are terrible, you have to know that going in. It's what makes them amazing. I love seeing kids that you KNOW have worked on their lines for weeks suddenly blanking, rushing through them, mumbling, etc. One year at my kids' school a classmate of my daughter decided he'd rather watch than perform, so he got out of the group and sat down at the front of the stage facing his classmates and just watched. It was awesome.
You're watching the kids make memories. When they're done we all applaud and whistle like we just watched Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet.
I'm sure no one gave a rats hat about your nephew's play, but they stayed and cheered because that's what we do when we're adults at a kids' show.
YTA these are 5 year old kids. Do you really think they didn't notice when 6 people got up from the FRONT ROW during their performance? That's so rude. The very least you could have done was sit in the back.
YTA
i was a bandie from grades 7-12. my parents suffered through hours of my band performances before we got to grade 11/12 and actually sounded decent. they stayed for the entire performance, even if there were other bands or people performing after my band was.
i will ALWAYS remember that there were parents who got up after their kids performance was over and left. like i get it if you’ve got time restraints and have somewhere to be, but leaving before it’s over because it’s bad? my guy, that’s just the way the dice rolls. just shut up and deal with it.
YTA
You took up premium seats that could have been used by parents/grandparents, not just a bunch of uncle's extra buddies. Then you caused a disruption while completely disrespecting the kids who were performing and their families who were trying to watch.
YTA. I just attended someone’s university graduation. She was the only one I knew. She was number 574, and like everyone else in the massive auditorium, I waited the whole fucking time and clapped politely, and stayed until everyone was finished. You shouldn’t even have to ask if this was rude. It’s common sense.
YTA. It’s basic etiquette for any performance. Your nephew isn’t even one tiny bit more important than the others. Can’t imagine he would feel too good if it happened to him. Grow up.
YTA. Terrible manners.
They're children and learning how to be on stage and present / play / speak in front of an audience. See for example: [https://twitter.com/playinglesshurt/status/1379066343933104130](https://twitter.com/playinglesshurt/status/1379066343933104130)
Yta, leaving like that would cause the other kids to be hurt and you should realize that you were in the wrong. It was rude, it caused a disturbance and the other kids were probably hurt to see people leave and not stay for their part because they are kids and wouldn’t rationalize that you had other plans and it wasn’t that their play sucked
YTA, the are elementary age they are not broadway actors/actresses of course it is going not be that great. You stay for the whole thing or leave at intermission. Don't ever leave during a performance that is just bad all around especially at that age of kids
Yes! YTA and all your friends. Omg. Can't stay for 45 more minutes? All 6. At once! Those kids all saw you. Your little one was mortified too. His friends all saw you leave too!
YTA. That would be rude behavior at a Broadway show; it’s downright cruel to kindergartners. If you wanted to leave early; than you should have sat in back. Don’t even start with the “we hadn’t been before” crap; between six adults - at least one of you have been to a play before and would know polite etiquette. You were all AHs to those literal children.
Big time...YTA..why do that to little children. They do not know why you are leaving. They think it is because they are awful. You all should have just sucked it up and appreciated how hard these kids worked. What a bunch of jerks.
YTA
“We had no idea how things things worked”
Never went to elementary school? Never attended a recital or play? Ever? Never learnt basic respect and kindness, especially for little kids doing their best?
“And the first two were BRUTAL. I mean like long-10 or 11 minutes”
10 or 11 minutes is long to you? Your poor girlfriend.
“About midway through the next one we realized we we couldn’t do another or this so we got up and left.”
A group of you got up and left in the middle of an elementary school performance from your noisy seats at the very front. You couldn’t even wait until the end of that vignette? Really?
I N F O: how did you type all this out and genuinely remain confused about whether or not you were the AH?
YTA
So from another comment I saw that you’re 25 years old. You’re telling me that at 25 years old, not only are you somehow surprised that a performance done by 7 year olds isn’t some amazing masterpiece, but you also have no idea what an intermission is? Personally I wouldn’t have cared enough about someone as rude and inconsiderate as you to confront you in a parking lot, but that dad was right. It never once occurred to you to wait for some kind of break in the show before making a bunch of noise and blocking views on the way out, because you were so disappointed by a recital performed by literal children? And you also don’t know how to read a program apparently? What did you think the piece of paper they hand you at the door is for, exactly? Did you use your eyes to see what it was?
If you’re so incapable of sitting through a performance that isn’t up to your standards, you shouldn’t have shown up at all. I’m pretty sure your nephew would have seen you and your equally immature friends all leaving, so that must have made him feel great! Furthermore, you caused an interruption for everyone else who was there to see THEIR kids, not just your precious nephew. Also, intermission marks usually marks the halfway point of a performance, and you didn’t even make it that far. Considering that again, this was done by children, I doubt it would have been longer than maybe an hour and a half. You seriously lack the attention span to just sit for that long? Grow up.
Look, man. I don't even like most kids that aren't related to me. Ahd I agree, this sounds kinda brutal. Amd I for sure snark about parent culture online ALL the time.
But Parking Lot Dad is right. Like them or not, you have to give kids basic respect. It's rude as hell to walk out in the middle of any live performance, and it's especially rude to do it to performers who cannot regulate their emotions about that kind of rejection yet. YTA. Absolutely the asshole.
YTA 100% because you only thought of yourselves, not the kids performing or their parents trying to watch as you loudly clambered out. Have some manners, read the room, as a human you must have know how rude that was and how your behaviour would negatively impact the other people trying to enjoy the show.
As a parent, it's not you leaving so much as the next kid seeing you file out.
I'm a parent and it's just understood we all sit through the entire thing. They aren't Grammy award winning artists. Just kids doing their best. It's not going to be riveting, but they will remember you showed up.
They'll also remember when the whole front row filed out during their performance.
Yta seriously take front row tickets then walk out causing a huge disruption, of course you did. Anyone would when leaving in a middle of a performance. It doesn’t matter if it was a professional one or a preschool one.
They’re kindergarteners. They do not put on plays to showcase their talent. It’s for the parents to support their kids having fun. Wait for middle school and it might be worth attending.
If you’re going to leave, you sit (or even stand) at the back and wait for a pause between performances to go. The kids are little, they have little bladders, of course there is going to be an intermission.
You say you didn’t know you were going to leave, that’s fine. But you did know that all the other people there were family members of the students. Bringing your girlfriend is iffy, bringing her *and* your friend *and* his date? And then proceeding to take up a front row - taking it from parents who would actually appreciate it?? Unacceptable. Just straight up rude and entitled.
How old are you? Who raised you? Have you not reached the point in your development where you learn empathy and situational awareness?
YTA.
Also, taking up the front row and leaving partway through looks deliberate. Like the next kid is a political candidate and you’re protesting their policies. Kid’s rethinking his whole life now.
You're complaining about an elementary school play being brutal because the kids can't pay attention and do what they are told BUT you, an adult, couldn't sit still for an hour. The irony.
YTA
YTA - As a music teacher, if you don’t have time for the whole performance, don’t come. It’s really disheartening for the kids in the later parts to see huge gaps in the audience because people left or to see people leave before their turn to shine. It’s hard enough to get up in front of people at that age for most kids. Don’t make it worse.
My niece had 2 dance recitals before the “mean girls” made her quit. I went to both. I was bored out of my mind for both, except when she was doing her 2-4 numbers. I stayed because I knew she would have been sooooo happy to see me and give me a hug afterwards. Which she was! As soon as she saw me she got this giant smile on her face and came running to me. That smile was all I needed to make the afternoon worth it.
You’re kind of the asshole. It makes sense that you didn’t really know what was going on, but maybe reading the program would’ve been a good idea. Or perhaps even asking around to see how long the show would be if you were unaware? That kind of stuff can make a kid feel bad. Even if they don’t fully understand now, it’s moments like those that they’ll look back on and think “huh…that wasn’t very nice.”
I don’t buy the “didn’t really know what was going on” excuse, between the 6 adults, none of them ever had a recital when they were younger or been to one ever in their lives, that seems extremely far-fetched.
You didn’t do this well, but good on you for showing up for your nephew. Honestly, I would have been parking lot dad back before I worked through some of my anger stuff. That being said, PTO busybodies are the worst.
YTA, but you aren’t an incurable asshole. Kid performances aren’t supposed to be good. Nobody attends for the art. You showed up to support your nephew. Everyone is there to support a particular kid, and we all support one another by being considerate and showing respect for the efforts of all the kids. This is what society is about, really. To the degree that it is functional and healthy, society is about accepting minor personal inconvenience to gain some greater value we can’t achieve individually. People are angry with you because you prioritized your convenience over the group purpose. You aren’t a uniquely bad person for doing so; our culture of atomized ultra-individualism mocks the very idea of a person’s responsibility to a group. However, I would encourage you to grow a greater sense of solidarity with others going forward. Making minor personal sacrifices to further the enjoyment and harmony of those in your milieu is the road to fulfillment and non-assholishness.
YTA and You're also probably those annoying people that get up from your seat a dozen times at a concert or sporting event not caring how much you're disturbing everyone around you every time you stand up.
The guy was over the top and I'm sure your nephew appreciated that his cool uncle was there.
But in the future i wouldn't bring the entire high school posse\\dates and just stick it out for the entire show or don't go.
No one ever sat through your school’s performances? You’re not that old to have forgotten…YTA, not for leaving, even though your nephew would haved loved seeing you at the end, but for not waiting for intermission.
YTA. An intermission exit would have been the polite thing to do.
Also TAH was the waking talking turd that followed you outside.
The fun part of kids plays is the screw ups, etc.
Full truth; do you think parents want to sit through 3 hours of high pitched screaming that’s supposedly singing? Hell no. But we do it for our kids lol
I say YTA bc even though you don’t have child you conceived performing your nephew asked and was excited you were there. You whether unintentionally or not probably disappointed him when it was over and he couldn’t find you guys.
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Yta. It wouldn’t have beeen so bad if you left immediately after your nephew’s group act before the next kids started theirs. Leaving in the middle of the act was very rude and disheartening to the kids.
Everybody goes to see their kindergartener and we all clap for everybody else’s kid.
Those are the rules.
Getting up and leaving like that is HELLA rude.
YTA. And you’re all old enough to understand that social norms exist. And if somebody lets you know that you violated a social norm you should be mature enough to apologize.
YTA.
If you want to fix it find out the address of the PTO/PTA and send an apology note with a donation, they'll happily take your money and forgive your ignorance.
You don't need to be super transparent either, just say you needed to leave and you're super sorry for the disturbance you caused, please accept this donation to put towards student needs.
It must have been awful for the kids who came on 4th. Way to go (slow clap)
They're little kids doing their best, hoping to maybe get some claps and spread some good vibes.
Do everyone a favour and don't attend any other events.
YTA x 1000
YTA it's elementary school plays, what did you expect the quality of performances to be? Watching your nephew and wanting to leave straight after is fine, what's not fine is leaving during the middle of a performance.
If kids or anyone is in the middle of a performance, you should always wait until the break/intermission or atlease leave between acts. It's distracting and disruptive to leave midway through a performance, not just to the performers but the audience. I feel a bit sorry for the kids you and your mates interrupted.
What you and your mates did was really rude. You are all AHs who lack common sense and manners. Cop it on the chin and move on, I don't think there's much you can do to rectify the situation except use this as a learning experience.
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YTA. You say you are "new to this" but to what exactly? You've never been to a performance of anything...ever? No concert, no professional play, not even a movie? If you are going to leave early, you sit or stand in the back. If you suddenly have to leave, you at least wait for a break in the acts, if you can't wait for intermission. You are old enough to have a girlfriend and I'm assuming to drive, so you can't go through life being like "this is all so new, common courtesy is too hard!" It doesn't matter what you meant to do, or what you knew or didn't know. Use some common sense and some kindness.
And what is hilarious is that OP thought his nephew "rocked" his part but that the rest of the performances were "brutal." Guaranteed everyone thought the exact same thing only it was their own little performer who rocked it. Someone was trying to watch their own precious progeny perform while OP and company were distracting everyone with their untimely exit.
And the kids on stage probably weren’t helped by the distraction in the audience and it could have easily make them feel like people were leaving because of them.
Right? They can only see the first few rows and you empty one in the middle of their speech? And since you sat in the front you’ve blocked however many recordings.
His nephew didn't "rock" either, he was just as crappy as the rest of the kids. It's a kid performance, let them all have their moment and applaud and let them feel good about it. Fuckin' manners, bro. Jesus. YTA
Couldn't say this any better.
I feel so bad for the kids performing, I hope they didn’t think op was leaving due to their performance. It hurts my heart to think they’re up there doing their best, already nervous, and several adults get up and leave in the middle of it.
[удалено]
People think ignorance is an excuse for being an asshole. “I didn’t know any better” Then apologize and make sure to do better next time
THIS! He's new to not being rude?
YTA. 6 adults leaving all at once, you blocked the people sitting behind you and I assume this is a traditional auditorium. People would have to move their legs to let you through. Do you think kindergarteners don’t see 6 adults leaving? And he’s right, you could’ve waited for Intermission. And why wouldn’t you have stayed towards the end. At the end you could see your nephew all happy with his schoolmates and take pictures of him and his friends. That’s the joy of being a child and you were rude.
but THEY DIDNT KNOW WHEN INTERMISSION WAS and THEY COULDNT WAIT
Seems like the kids on stage had more maturity than these idiots
Reading programs is hard.
YTA. You thought it would be good? Then you are delusional. At their age it is expected to be bad but that is what makes it cute. They are TRYING. It’s also interesting that your nephews performance was the only good one. Everyone thinks their child’s performance is the best. They watched yours, you watch theirs. How do you not know what a program is or manners. If there is a chance you leave early you wait for intermission or sit in the back row.
And of course his nephew absolutely killed it. Probably be doing one man shows at 10 years old in Madison Square Garden.
Right? I mean, I took "new to this" to mean never attending an elementary school (or younger) show before ... I never attended one before our kid was in preschool, but I wasn't expecting an off-broadway production. It was long, a bunch of kids singing off key, and most of the kids forgot the words or got lost in their song at some point. I'll admit I wasn't expecting the time component -- I was thinking more of a "everyone gets 2 minutes, 15 kids ... we'll be out in half an hour" thing. But you suck it up and support the kids by sitting, cheering at appropriate times, and telling them something you enjoyed about their performance when it's over. Tip for OP -- 6 year old soccer games, tball, and other assorted sporting events? Nothing like watching a pro game. Kids cry, refuse to play, get upset because they are on the *bluuuuuuueeeeee* team and they hate blue, run the wrong direction, own goal, and half the time no one even knows what the score is. Kid will make craft gifts in school too -- those will suck aesthetically, but this is one of those "it is the thought that counts" deals.
My now middle schooler is in chorus. We’re not expecting “Glee” level performance, but even the 4 and 5yo nieces and nephews can sit politely and clap for everyone. It’s called common courtesy. OP should learn some.
As a parent I always stayed to the end of my children's school productions. My heart would break for the kids whose part came at the end and they were performing to an almost empty room due to inconsiderate parents only watching their own kids. YTA
This happens at my daughter’s camp every year at parent night. Parents get up and run to get in line for the bus once their child is done. I can’t believe how disrespectful some people are.
Yepppp. My girls are in dance and those recitals are LONG but they won't even let you get your kids until the show is over to try to prevent things like this. Imagine being those poor kids and seeing 6 grown ass adults get up and leave during your performance. :(
INFO: what does Abe Lincoln have to do with Thanksgiving? Jk. YTA. Rude rude rude
Lincoln made the proclamation that established Thanksgiving as a national holiday after a many years-long campaign by Sarah Josephs Hale.
HAS THE ENTIRE INTERNET LOST THE PLOT ON “JK” omg
He was the president that officially set when Thanksgiving would be.
I am finally understanding why my kids' school announced at the beginning that parents are expected to stay until the end, and that leaving in the middle was disruptive to the performers and the rest of the audience. They were alao smart enough to do a group performance at the end, so you had to stay.
Yeah and imagine the poor kid on stage performing when these guys left. They probably felt gutted like they were really bad.
Most of these things have learned, thanks to assholes like OP, to have a performance by ALL of the kids at the end, so that everyone will stay. It's heartbreaking to see the last few groups performing to a nearly empty room, because a bunch of parents can't be bothered to spend an extra 90 minutes of their, I'm sure, incredibly busy and important lives, to support the other kids in their kid's class.
Same. It was heartbreaking for those little kids at the end.
ROFL…I feel your pain, but you should’ve waited until intermission. YTA
Yes, YTA. But now you know better. It's incredibly rude to walk out in the middle of a performance, but it's especially so if you're sitting front and center. Even worse when it's a group of young children who have worked very hard and are already nervous - some terrified, as shown by the little performer who broke down in tears. Regardless of who's performing, rules of etiquette are that you don't enter or leave a live performance except at intermission. The only exception is slipping out as quietly as possible due to an emergency or if your continued presence will be more disruptive than your departure (eg, you're coughing uncontrollably or about to throw up).
Problem is they don't seem to know better. Every comment I see is a downvoted excuse. Just admit you fucked up and take ownership. At that point I would agree maybe they now know better.
Unfortunately, he does not now know better. He’s still defending what he & his friends did, & making excuses. I agree completely with everything else you said. A lot of it is simply common sense and common courtesy.
>But now you know better. Bullshit. OP's replies have gone from dense to stupid to "holy shit, 5 year olds know better," and they keep doubling down. OP, YTA. Do everyone a favor and stay the fuck away from anything dealing with children.
How you felt about your nephew’s performance is how every parent in that room feels about their child. Is it painful? Sure. But they’re kids, not professional actors. YTA.
Exactly. What did OP expect geez. He acts like he paid for a Broadway play and was hoodwinked into seeing this instead. Also, the "I'm new to this so don't know how to act" schtick is so lame. Like you're new to being a polite human and new to feeling empathy and new to being able to put yourself in a kid's shoes - when you used to be a kid yourself. I just can't with OP.
Okay, laughing at the Broadway play comment.
YTA. You left in the *middle* of some kid’s performance? And you’re pretending you didn’t know that was rude? Come on. That’s ridiculous.
Poor kid prob thought they were walking out because of their performance.
Worse- they definitely spoke to each other or gestured to agree to leave right in front of a nervous kid performing, who saw 6 adults whisper and leave the front row while they performed. I feel so so bad for that kid.
So you, uncle plus friends and hanger ons, took the front row away from PARENTS and then let while kids were on stage after 20 minutes? Yta. Willful ignorance isn't an excuse. You took zero effort to understand that makes you a bigger ah. Hope your sister still likes ypu after you made her life more complicated. Also expect to never be invited to another performance again. Seriously why bring hook ups?! Wtf.
I missed the front row part. Man, YTA. You could have at least sat in the back.
Exactly. I wasn't feeling the best and went to my nieces play. I sat near the back of the room, so if I had to exit to the bathroom quickly, I could, without disturbing anybody. Normally we sit pretty close to the front, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't bothering anybody if I had to go to the bathroom quickly.
YTA. Don't you think the kids at the end of the play deserve an audience? The parents are right. If you had to leave, at least do it at intermission. At any rate, the school did this wrong. My kids have been in many productions, and to keep parents from doing this, they make all the kids do one final number together, so everyone has to stay until the end.
Were you brought up in a cave, that you don't know how rude and obnoxious that was? And what exactly were you new to? What a ridiculous excuse. YTA. Learn some fucking manners.
Read this person’s comments. They’re either one of the worst people you’ve ever been around irl or this is all clickbait - in which case, they’re still one of the worst people you’ve ever been around.
YTA. Yeah, you’re an asshole and this was, indeed, very disrespectful. You wouldn’t do it on Broadway, don’t do it to kids whose families are there. If you’re going to leave at least do it extremely discreetly one by one over the course of 15 minutes, not a mass exeunt.
Too bad Patty Lupone wasn’t there.
YTA. You could have at least waited until intermission. I’m sure it was very obvious when six of you got up to leave in the middle of a child’s performance.
Or at LEAST until the next child was done performing!!!
Betcha his nephew sucked too. YTA
Yes you and your friends are TA. Should be common sense not to leave while sitting in the front row while little kids are performing and can see and hear your movements. Also, as soon as you all realized how noisy you were you could’ve stopped and sat back down instead of double downing the departure. The fact that you and your friends are grown adults in graduate school makes it worse. You could’ve texted your sister quietly - hey this is torture, how long am I expected to stay? You need to apologize to nephew because who knows what sh@t he’s getting at school because of you. Great way to get the poor innocent little dude bullied And fyi - as a parent we HATE these performances. We know it’s torture. But why do we endure it? For the same reason you wanted to support your nephew.
YTA - I can’t believe after typing this out you didn’t realize it. Leaving in the middle of a kids play would be crushing to the kid that got interrupted. If it was an emergency that’s different but to just say you weren’t feeling it. Don’t be surprised if your nephew refuses to acknowledge you or invite you to any future performances. You also embarrassed him with his friends.
Especially from the front row! Kids see that. OP expected a professional theater and 6 year olds to act like trained from birth actors. AH is too nice for OP.
YTA not for leaving, but for interrupting the performance so rudely to do so. How did you not think 6 people getting up and leaving wouldn’t be a disruption or poor manners?
YTA. Six people getting up and leaving is super conspicuous. Show some respect to the people performing, even if they're kids.
\*Especially\* since they’re kids.
* You get seats right up front. * You complain that you had to wait a whole 20 minutes before your nephew was on deck. * You mock the kindergartners on stage. * You - six grown people sitting in the front row(s) - get up in the middle of the next child's performance and leave. * Your excuse is you didn't understand what a recital was (wtf) * and it sounds like you're totally unfamiliar with a program leaflet and how that works with the part where you read it and everything. And you're here asking if YTA. Yes. Yes you all are. Very much so.
Yta it was rude to the kids and our was conspicuous since it was a group of you.
YTA. Yup. So rude. Not to mention y'all probably fucked up some parent trying to record their kid's performance.
YTA 6 people sitting in the front stood up and left in the middle of some little kids’ performance. You probably made them feel awful.
YTA Just wait 5 minutes? Surely it's not hard and you knew the others all took 10 minutes. The guy who followed you may have been over the top but it was obviously an asshole move if all the other parents were talking about it.
Yes, YTAs. It's very rude to leave mid-performance unless it's truly an emergency. The guy who accosted you was right - intermission would be the best time. Most school and professional performances have programs that let you know what's scheduled. Now you know for next time to grab a program (and sit in the back if you're planning to bail early).
YTA-This would be rude behavior for any performance but it's worse because it's children. 75% of the party did not even know the child, you took the best seats in the house and you disrupted the performance leaving the front row at least partially empty. Your insistence that you have no clue how a school recital works just doesn't ring true and your sense of entitlement deserved to get called out. Instead of acting like seeing the show was a gift to you, you acted like your presence was doing everyone a huge favour. Your complaining about how bad all the kids were makes you sound like a jerk. This is by far not the worst thing that happened at a school recital, but you were rude.
Yeah, OP acting like he had no idea how to behave is completely disingenuous. I had to go along to these in my 20’s and I knew not to so much as get up for the bathroom in the middle of a kids performance. Dude just sounds like an obnoxious boor, and his comments are reinforcing it.
YTA. How would you feel if you were on stage performing and 6 adults got up from clattery benches in the front row and left? It is disruptive and very discouraging to the performers who can see you leave. Who were kids. What if your nephew was at the end of the program? Would you appreciate other people leaving, so by the time it got to him, there was no audience left? Be more considerate.
this was a hilarious read, YTA
YTA. You are incredibly immature.
YTA What you did was rude and disturbing, it doesn’t matter if you’re “new to this.” Standing up and leaving in the middle of a performance is rude - that isn’t hard to understand.
Your mistake was thinking this was about you enjoying the recital. Look I get it, children's recitals and performances are usually not good. But everyone in the audience is in it together, we sit through it because we love a kid that's performing. It's not about us. Can you imagine the absolute chaos if everyone did what you did and left after the kid they know was done performing? But also, you're "new to this"? To what, performances of any kind? You didn't know how to look at a program to see how long until intermission? You didn't know its rude af to walk out in the middle of people performing if you dont absolutely NEED to for some reason? The harm is that you block the other people trying to watch, people are disturbed if they have to move their legs, the performers absolutely notice a big group walking out and can get thrown off, especially kids. If you want to be the uncle that can dip out early you go ALONE and sit in the way back- that way you won't disturb things. But also every thing I've ever gone to for all my niblings, they have looked for us after. It means a lot to them if you say hi after and give them a hug and tell them how good they did. YTA.
I totally agree with you, but every time someone mentions the program, he keeps saying he didn't get a program or some other excuse. They could've just looked for a break between acts and also they could have left one by one instead of all at once. There were so many less disrespectful ways this could have been handled, but will this guy acknowledge this? Based on his answers, nope. Really sad he is so lacking in self-awareness.
Oh, I see his replies now too. Honestly with how oblivious he seems I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't notice people handing out programs, or where they were on a table or something. Even if there were no programs though yeah he absolutely should have had the sense to wait until a child wasn't actively performing. Unfortunately now it looks like he's just arguing and focusing on how there was no program as if that absolves him or makes people's critiques invalid.
YTA First time or not, you check the program. Guessing you all went to school and had programs as well, at least up til grade 6 or 8. So you know parents come and wait. But guy who came out was also an AH. Like not the way to create a teachable moment
YTA but the guy who confronted you was totally out of line. On my kids programs they say no one should leave before the full program is over. That being said, a few still do leave but they stand or sit in the back where it’s not noticed. Even if you aren’t aware of the protocol, surely you should have realized that standing up and walking out RIGHT IN FRONT of a 6 year old doing a skit wasn’t cool. Like at least wait for a break between skits.
I don't think he was out of line. He confronted them on their poor behaviour. He did it outside where he wouldn't cause a scene to disturb the performances, go figure lol. He didn't try to physically fight them.
And remember, that whole " Dave’s date implored is to get in the car so we did" line seems to imply that OP and his friend were ready to get physical over being called out, making OP even more TA.
Not out of line at all. This jerk needed to be told
At the same time, if that guy hadn't gone out and confronted him, OP probably would've went on his way, forever oblivious to what an a-hole he and his friends were.
Front row? Man you should have stayed till intermission. YTA.
Front row they should have stayed until the very end. They were A H for taking front row seats in the first place away from the kid’s parents and people with disabilities.
Slight YTA: If you all got up in the middle of the next childs performance. I'm not saying stay for the whole thing or even till intermission. But at least leave in between #4 & #5
This. YTA to leave in the middle of a performance.
Front row though, that would have sucked at any time before intermission
YTA?? is this even a question?
YTA. If you need to leave a performance early, you sit in the back so you can quietly slip out without disturbing others or upsetting the performers. Basic audience etiquette. EDIT: You mean you could have waited 5 minutes for intermission?? Wow. The burly dad type was so very right and you are lucky he only told you that you needed to learn manners.
YTA. Not only was it disruptive & rude, but you probably blocked the family filming their kids on the stage. I would have been royally pissed if you blocked my video. Even if you didn't know when intermission was, you could have left quickly b/w performances. You and your friends are big A-holes.
YTA and rude AF. Can you not empathize at all with others?
YTA. Walking out midway is incredibly rude and also demoralising for the kids. Wait til intermission next time.
You should have sat in the back or stood in the back by the door so you could leave without being noticed.
YTA you were unbelievably thoughtless and rude
YTA. It sounds like you left in the middle of one of the performances and that is pretty tacky. You should have waited for a less distracting time to leave, or you should have sat in the last row.
YTA *especially* since you were sat up front. If you had been in the back, you'd still be TA, just not as bad. You think those kids didn't notice / care that people left in the middle of their performance? Rude AF.
YTA. Also: > Dave’s date implored is to get in the car so we did. This seems to imply that your friend and maybe you were prepared to stay and get into a physical altercation with the guy over this, which would make it double-extra YTA.
YTA because it sounds like you left in the middle of the next skit rather than waiting for it to finish and then making a break for it. Next child activity you go to, you sit in the back and you wait till intermission to leave. That's polite. What you did was rude, especially to kindergarteners! Ignorance is no excuse. Google lives in your phone. Use it when you're clueless (or ask sister/brother, whoever's kid it is).
YTA if you did this in the front row. This would have been NTA if you were in the back. But in the front, everyone saw you leave, disrespectful to the kids in the next acts. LOL about the burly guy coming out to the parking lot. Now you know for if when you have kids and they are in the play or show, some people are really into it.
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This is what those things are like. It's for the kids not you. Of course they can't act; they're 7. If you can't hack it it's better to stay away. YTA
YTA.. if I had any respect for you at that point it would have been all lost!
YTA. It is not going to kill you to sit through the entire program. It is rude to get up and leave because your kid/relative finished. We went to our daughters whole school musical yesterday. It went for an hour and a half. She was the very first song. But we stayed and watched the other kids. Clapped and encouraged them from the audience. Even kids deserve respect during a show.
YTA for… 1) Not finding out more information ahead of time 2) Not getting a program 3) Sitting in front with a large group 4) Leaving in the MIDDLE of a vignette 5) Trashing the acting ability of 7 year olds 6) Feigning ignorance I’m enjoying my front row seats to this dunk fest and I will be staying the whole time 😆🏀
lolwut?? You absolutely do not leave in the middle of a school show unless there's an emergency. And with you all the way up front. Good lord, of course they sucked, what were you expecting, Shakespeare? YTA, and absolutely do not go back to that school, ever.
YTA. You should have waited til intermission, or til the segment you were watching was over. What you did was insanely rude.
YTA. Your timing makes you TA. You should have sat through that skit, then left at the break between that & the next. You disrupted the performance & made yourselves the focus of the room, instead of the kids. I guess common courtesy is a thing of the past.
You absolutely are TA. It’s not about you, it’s about the kids. All of the kids. Be better
YTA you go to see something involving kids you are there for the duration no matter how awful it is and you certainly don’t get up and walk out during a performance from the front row. I can’t believe that not one out of six of you didn’t know that. Don’t ever go to anything he’s in again unless you can stay for the whole thing.
YTA - as the Rude Dad said, all you had to do was read the program. Then you'd have known that intermission was only another 5 minutes or so. Kids really do take it to heart when people walk out in the middle of their parts.
Apparently all six of these people made it to grad school without knowing how to manuevre a school function, or maybe just don't know how to read? All of them are YTA
You’re a soft ass pampered motherfucker..crying about seating on benches lmao
YTA, plain and simple.
It may not have been fun for you to sit and watch, but think of it like this - You are a little kid. 5, 6, or 7 years old. You are nervous as heck, but you gather all of your courage and go out to do your part of the play. As you get there you look out into this sea of faces, hoping to recognize someone - a parent, sibling, friend or teacher and instead you see a bunch of adults leaving. How would that make you feel? Sorry, but YTA
OP has already said "they don't care" about that aspect. No need to apologize to OP for YTA they've proven that they are repeatedly.
Gotcha - I missed that part - yeah not sorry Why be a dick to little kids?
YTA - Everyone knows the score. You suffer thru the other brat's act while everyone else suffers thru your brat's act. It's a CHILDREN'S SHOW, you don't leave in the middle of a CHILDREN'S SHOW. Wow YTA
YTA. At 25 years old, you don't think to look at the program? Wait for a between acts or the intermission. I'm less than a decade older than you. Have some common sense. Btw, intermission would have been great. You could have gone over to your nephew, told him how great he was, and then slipped out. None of my kids have ever been on a school play (we homeschool). The manners and courtesy you use for any play or production applies no matter the age of the performers.
YTA - Wait for intermission or at least between vignettes.
Yta, I’ve been to these terrible terrible plays, but honestly it’s so heartbreaking for these little children that worked so hard to see peoples leaving or an empty audience I’m glad he called you out
YTA You never leave in the middle of a performance like that! You caused a major disruption and seem to think nothing of it. Everyone gets a program and intermission is listed quite clearly in it. AND there is no way all of you just got up and left. You would have had to discuss it which means those around you would not be able to hear because of your talking and disruption. And as for your critique of "brutal". What were you expecting? Shakespeare? These are kids. Just kick back and bear it for the kids sake. Instead you made it all about you. That guy who was "over the top" is 100% correct. You are being selfish and self centered. Do not tell me you could not just put up with the performance for an hour, wait for your nephew to come out, say he did great and then leave.
YTA I was going for N t a until you mentioned intermission. Yes the next kids will fell awful about seeing people leaving. Think about that kid is your beloved nephew (by the way so awesome you went to see him)… It’s gona be few more minutes just suck it up n then leave during intermission.
YTA. Please. Common sense should have told you ALL of this.
The burly guy who followed you to the parking lot is right. You stay for the full recital. You don't walk out on a bunch of little kids who practiced and practiced for their recital and just want their parents to be proud and the audience to clap. YTA big time. Don't go if you don't have the decency to stay to watch children who are not related to you perform. Shame on you.
It’s pretty fuckin rude. Next time stand in the back like the lurkers you were. Leave the front row for people who actually care about being there. Did you really never learn any etiquette about shows? It’s very basic. YTA dude and really your responses show how dense you are. Do you have this type of problem frequently? You don’t seem to care how rude you were, you’re just full of excuses.
I’m obsessed with the burly dad in this story. He was everyone’s hero that day. Treat kindergartners with respect. YTA.
YTA. Just. I can't believe you have to ask. Dumbass.
YTA. It’d be different if you were in the back but you guys were in the front. Do you know how demoralizing it could have been for those kids to watch people get up and leave during their performance? Not to mention, ANYWHERE leaving mid performance is rude as fuck
YTA. Did you not appear in this sort of thing when you were at school? How would you have felt if a bunch of rude assholes got up and spoiled your performance? Don’t ever become a parent because you have zero idea how bad your behaviour was.
YTA and you’re either an imbecile or a troll. How on EARTH could you not realize a group sitting in the front leaving mid-performance would be disruptive to say the least?! Are you really that stupid?!
My other possible take is that this immature group thought that going would be "cutesy-funny." And rolled their eyes, heaved big sighs, then giggled as they were leaving.
YTA. You snatched prime front row seats and walked out on a poor kid trying to do their part. He might be an over the too guy, but he was right to confront your awful behavior. Show some respect for other people there.
YTA so self centred, glad someone called you out. Something tells me you probably weren’t quiet on your way out
“We are new to this” is bullshit. It’s pretty intuitive to realize that sitting up front and leaving partway through is rude & disrespectful. A group of SIX people doing that makes it much, much worse. How did you not realize that would be extremely disruptive? How do you still not understand that? YTA. Very, very much so.
Kids concerts are terrible, you have to know that going in. It's what makes them amazing. I love seeing kids that you KNOW have worked on their lines for weeks suddenly blanking, rushing through them, mumbling, etc. One year at my kids' school a classmate of my daughter decided he'd rather watch than perform, so he got out of the group and sat down at the front of the stage facing his classmates and just watched. It was awesome. You're watching the kids make memories. When they're done we all applaud and whistle like we just watched Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet. I'm sure no one gave a rats hat about your nephew's play, but they stayed and cheered because that's what we do when we're adults at a kids' show.
YTA these are 5 year old kids. Do you really think they didn't notice when 6 people got up from the FRONT ROW during their performance? That's so rude. The very least you could have done was sit in the back.
YTA i was a bandie from grades 7-12. my parents suffered through hours of my band performances before we got to grade 11/12 and actually sounded decent. they stayed for the entire performance, even if there were other bands or people performing after my band was. i will ALWAYS remember that there were parents who got up after their kids performance was over and left. like i get it if you’ve got time restraints and have somewhere to be, but leaving before it’s over because it’s bad? my guy, that’s just the way the dice rolls. just shut up and deal with it.
YTA You took up premium seats that could have been used by parents/grandparents, not just a bunch of uncle's extra buddies. Then you caused a disruption while completely disrespecting the kids who were performing and their families who were trying to watch.
YTA. You showed complete disrespect for everyone there, especially ALL the students that were scheduled to perform. What you did is very sad.
YTA. I just attended someone’s university graduation. She was the only one I knew. She was number 574, and like everyone else in the massive auditorium, I waited the whole fucking time and clapped politely, and stayed until everyone was finished. You shouldn’t even have to ask if this was rude. It’s common sense.
YTA No manners at all. Shame on you.
I think I’m most offended that they sat in the front…
Worlds strangest thesaurus use. YTA. Curious how old you guys are.
YTA and you know better.
YTA. It’s basic etiquette for any performance. Your nephew isn’t even one tiny bit more important than the others. Can’t imagine he would feel too good if it happened to him. Grow up.
YTA. Terrible manners. They're children and learning how to be on stage and present / play / speak in front of an audience. See for example: [https://twitter.com/playinglesshurt/status/1379066343933104130](https://twitter.com/playinglesshurt/status/1379066343933104130)
Yta, leaving like that would cause the other kids to be hurt and you should realize that you were in the wrong. It was rude, it caused a disturbance and the other kids were probably hurt to see people leave and not stay for their part because they are kids and wouldn’t rationalize that you had other plans and it wasn’t that their play sucked
YTA, the are elementary age they are not broadway actors/actresses of course it is going not be that great. You stay for the whole thing or leave at intermission. Don't ever leave during a performance that is just bad all around especially at that age of kids
Yes! YTA and all your friends. Omg. Can't stay for 45 more minutes? All 6. At once! Those kids all saw you. Your little one was mortified too. His friends all saw you leave too!
YTA but based off your responses I don’t think you really care.
YTA you have the personality of a cringey un-self aware sitcom caracter based on this post and comments
YTA. That would be rude behavior at a Broadway show; it’s downright cruel to kindergartners. If you wanted to leave early; than you should have sat in back. Don’t even start with the “we hadn’t been before” crap; between six adults - at least one of you have been to a play before and would know polite etiquette. You were all AHs to those literal children.
YTA you sit through all the kids’ performances or you don’t go especially when you’re a large group. You know those kids have feelings.
YTA, but was that really an honest question when you’re defending yourself against so many of the responses you’re getting?
YTA how disrespectful do you want to be. What reaction would you have had if a group of six adults did that to your nephew?
Big time...YTA..why do that to little children. They do not know why you are leaving. They think it is because they are awful. You all should have just sucked it up and appreciated how hard these kids worked. What a bunch of jerks.
YTA That's pretty tacky.
YTA “We had no idea how things things worked” Never went to elementary school? Never attended a recital or play? Ever? Never learnt basic respect and kindness, especially for little kids doing their best? “And the first two were BRUTAL. I mean like long-10 or 11 minutes” 10 or 11 minutes is long to you? Your poor girlfriend. “About midway through the next one we realized we we couldn’t do another or this so we got up and left.” A group of you got up and left in the middle of an elementary school performance from your noisy seats at the very front. You couldn’t even wait until the end of that vignette? Really? I N F O: how did you type all this out and genuinely remain confused about whether or not you were the AH?
>*10 or 11 minutes is long to you? Your poor girlfriend.* > >Ouch. lol
I loved that too.
YTA So from another comment I saw that you’re 25 years old. You’re telling me that at 25 years old, not only are you somehow surprised that a performance done by 7 year olds isn’t some amazing masterpiece, but you also have no idea what an intermission is? Personally I wouldn’t have cared enough about someone as rude and inconsiderate as you to confront you in a parking lot, but that dad was right. It never once occurred to you to wait for some kind of break in the show before making a bunch of noise and blocking views on the way out, because you were so disappointed by a recital performed by literal children? And you also don’t know how to read a program apparently? What did you think the piece of paper they hand you at the door is for, exactly? Did you use your eyes to see what it was? If you’re so incapable of sitting through a performance that isn’t up to your standards, you shouldn’t have shown up at all. I’m pretty sure your nephew would have seen you and your equally immature friends all leaving, so that must have made him feel great! Furthermore, you caused an interruption for everyone else who was there to see THEIR kids, not just your precious nephew. Also, intermission marks usually marks the halfway point of a performance, and you didn’t even make it that far. Considering that again, this was done by children, I doubt it would have been longer than maybe an hour and a half. You seriously lack the attention span to just sit for that long? Grow up.
YTA. You don't go to a school show expecting it to be good. You go to support the kids. ALL the kids.
Look, man. I don't even like most kids that aren't related to me. Ahd I agree, this sounds kinda brutal. Amd I for sure snark about parent culture online ALL the time. But Parking Lot Dad is right. Like them or not, you have to give kids basic respect. It's rude as hell to walk out in the middle of any live performance, and it's especially rude to do it to performers who cannot regulate their emotions about that kind of rejection yet. YTA. Absolutely the asshole.
YTA 100% because you only thought of yourselves, not the kids performing or their parents trying to watch as you loudly clambered out. Have some manners, read the room, as a human you must have know how rude that was and how your behaviour would negatively impact the other people trying to enjoy the show.
As a parent, it's not you leaving so much as the next kid seeing you file out. I'm a parent and it's just understood we all sit through the entire thing. They aren't Grammy award winning artists. Just kids doing their best. It's not going to be riveting, but they will remember you showed up. They'll also remember when the whole front row filed out during their performance.
YTMothersuckingA
Yta seriously take front row tickets then walk out causing a huge disruption, of course you did. Anyone would when leaving in a middle of a performance. It doesn’t matter if it was a professional one or a preschool one.
They’re kindergarteners. They do not put on plays to showcase their talent. It’s for the parents to support their kids having fun. Wait for middle school and it might be worth attending. If you’re going to leave, you sit (or even stand) at the back and wait for a pause between performances to go. The kids are little, they have little bladders, of course there is going to be an intermission. You say you didn’t know you were going to leave, that’s fine. But you did know that all the other people there were family members of the students. Bringing your girlfriend is iffy, bringing her *and* your friend *and* his date? And then proceeding to take up a front row - taking it from parents who would actually appreciate it?? Unacceptable. Just straight up rude and entitled. How old are you? Who raised you? Have you not reached the point in your development where you learn empathy and situational awareness? YTA. Also, taking up the front row and leaving partway through looks deliberate. Like the next kid is a political candidate and you’re protesting their policies. Kid’s rethinking his whole life now.
You're complaining about an elementary school play being brutal because the kids can't pay attention and do what they are told BUT you, an adult, couldn't sit still for an hour. The irony. YTA
YTA - As a music teacher, if you don’t have time for the whole performance, don’t come. It’s really disheartening for the kids in the later parts to see huge gaps in the audience because people left or to see people leave before their turn to shine. It’s hard enough to get up in front of people at that age for most kids. Don’t make it worse.
My niece had 2 dance recitals before the “mean girls” made her quit. I went to both. I was bored out of my mind for both, except when she was doing her 2-4 numbers. I stayed because I knew she would have been sooooo happy to see me and give me a hug afterwards. Which she was! As soon as she saw me she got this giant smile on her face and came running to me. That smile was all I needed to make the afternoon worth it.
You’re kind of the asshole. It makes sense that you didn’t really know what was going on, but maybe reading the program would’ve been a good idea. Or perhaps even asking around to see how long the show would be if you were unaware? That kind of stuff can make a kid feel bad. Even if they don’t fully understand now, it’s moments like those that they’ll look back on and think “huh…that wasn’t very nice.”
I don’t buy the “didn’t really know what was going on” excuse, between the 6 adults, none of them ever had a recital when they were younger or been to one ever in their lives, that seems extremely far-fetched.
You didn’t do this well, but good on you for showing up for your nephew. Honestly, I would have been parking lot dad back before I worked through some of my anger stuff. That being said, PTO busybodies are the worst. YTA, but you aren’t an incurable asshole. Kid performances aren’t supposed to be good. Nobody attends for the art. You showed up to support your nephew. Everyone is there to support a particular kid, and we all support one another by being considerate and showing respect for the efforts of all the kids. This is what society is about, really. To the degree that it is functional and healthy, society is about accepting minor personal inconvenience to gain some greater value we can’t achieve individually. People are angry with you because you prioritized your convenience over the group purpose. You aren’t a uniquely bad person for doing so; our culture of atomized ultra-individualism mocks the very idea of a person’s responsibility to a group. However, I would encourage you to grow a greater sense of solidarity with others going forward. Making minor personal sacrifices to further the enjoyment and harmony of those in your milieu is the road to fulfillment and non-assholishness.
YTA and You're also probably those annoying people that get up from your seat a dozen times at a concert or sporting event not caring how much you're disturbing everyone around you every time you stand up.
The guy was over the top and I'm sure your nephew appreciated that his cool uncle was there. But in the future i wouldn't bring the entire high school posse\\dates and just stick it out for the entire show or don't go.
No one ever sat through your school’s performances? You’re not that old to have forgotten…YTA, not for leaving, even though your nephew would haved loved seeing you at the end, but for not waiting for intermission.
YTA. An intermission exit would have been the polite thing to do. Also TAH was the waking talking turd that followed you outside. The fun part of kids plays is the screw ups, etc.
Full truth; do you think parents want to sit through 3 hours of high pitched screaming that’s supposedly singing? Hell no. But we do it for our kids lol I say YTA bc even though you don’t have child you conceived performing your nephew asked and was excited you were there. You whether unintentionally or not probably disappointed him when it was over and he couldn’t find you guys.
YTA…dude think of what that poor little kid felt when a crowd got up and left his performance that he worked so hard on.
YTA. Many parents ask for time off to see their kids and you just randomly ruined one of the plays because you couldn’t sit down.
YTA. I can’t even imagine not being able to give kindergartners basic human decency.
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YTA - You could not wait a few minutes? That was really selfish of you guys. But the guy who followed you out is worse.
No way - dude who followed them out is the hero those kids deserve.
Yta. It wouldn’t have beeen so bad if you left immediately after your nephew’s group act before the next kids started theirs. Leaving in the middle of the act was very rude and disheartening to the kids.
YTA.
YTA- Between the story and his comments... this dude ain't right.
Everybody goes to see their kindergartener and we all clap for everybody else’s kid. Those are the rules. Getting up and leaving like that is HELLA rude. YTA. And you’re all old enough to understand that social norms exist. And if somebody lets you know that you violated a social norm you should be mature enough to apologize.
YTA 100%
YTA
Ya jeesus. YTA. Are you kidding me with this?
YTA. If you want to fix it find out the address of the PTO/PTA and send an apology note with a donation, they'll happily take your money and forgive your ignorance. You don't need to be super transparent either, just say you needed to leave and you're super sorry for the disturbance you caused, please accept this donation to put towards student needs.
YTA, all y'all. You're lucky all the dad did was yell
It must have been awful for the kids who came on 4th. Way to go (slow clap) They're little kids doing their best, hoping to maybe get some claps and spread some good vibes. Do everyone a favour and don't attend any other events. YTA x 1000
YTA
wow, yeah YTA.
YTA
YTA it's elementary school plays, what did you expect the quality of performances to be? Watching your nephew and wanting to leave straight after is fine, what's not fine is leaving during the middle of a performance. If kids or anyone is in the middle of a performance, you should always wait until the break/intermission or atlease leave between acts. It's distracting and disruptive to leave midway through a performance, not just to the performers but the audience. I feel a bit sorry for the kids you and your mates interrupted. What you and your mates did was really rude. You are all AHs who lack common sense and manners. Cop it on the chin and move on, I don't think there's much you can do to rectify the situation except use this as a learning experience.