It’s In The Family


Last night I was at a closed party celebrating New Year’s Eve and I saw what I don’t wish to see again.

A guy old enough to be my grandfather was video shooting a group of ladies young enough to be his granddaughters who were letting their hair down. At first look, it seemed like he was capturing the essence of the revelry but then I looked closer and saw that he was only focusing on the young ladies. Assuming that he was their relative – as he filmed only a specific bunch – I went back to my beer.

Moments later, I noticed that the dancing bunch had grown smaller and that some of the ladies had taken a seat. The guy, still holding his phone and filming, now focused on individuals. He went to those who were seated and one by one filmed them from top to bottom like they were objects on display. The noise, the dark setting, and the disco lights all helped both assimilate this happening as people around us had naturally turned into party-heads. There was no shortage of alcohol in the bar and our guy would happily confirm that. It was clear that he was at his inebriated best as nothing seemed to cramp his style. He kept the phone steady longer at places that were devoid of habiliments, and that’s when I knew.

They say you can see evil in the face of the man who is transgressing, for lack of courage and a better word. That moment, I saw it on the face of the guy who was now trying to get a shot of what would have helped him go to sleep that night.

I only needed some confirmation about the immoral nature of this event, and that’s when one of the seated ladies brandished him – with a bit of regard but more with a hint of displeasure – to keep the phone away. The guy ignored the request and kept on filming, even slouching a little to get the perfect shot.

I ran to the manager and told him what was happening. He immediately sent a bouncer who confronted the guy and took his phone away from him. The privilege to be anonymous was important as I observed the bouncer check the phone for the video that could have found its way around. He looked like he was searching for the video, and I hope he deleted it, for when I met the manager later, he told me that the guy was family and was the local guardian of the girls who all were sent by their trusting parents for a night of enjoyment far away from home. T.


3 responses to “It’s In The Family”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *