[rosygail]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

i don't have a dog in this fight, but......
The squares are for everyone and no group should be able to reserve their own section for anything----that's different than an individual couple or group doing something in any given space at any given time. The seats are for everyone, that doesn't mean someone can come along and sit in your lap (nor should they be "reserved" either). You can't go to a tennis court and start playing in between the players there, nor can you hit a golf ball with someone 10 yards in front of you. You can't walk in and start a meeting at a rec center where there is already one in progress. Likewise, if a group is doing their line dance, it is inappropriate for anyone to be running in between them, and very unsafe if that anyone is a 3 year old. I'm sure no one who is slow dancing would think of weaving their dance in between the line dancers, it would be quite rude, and likewise they should be rightfully upset if the line dancers charge into their space.
As far as closing ranks goes, that's human nature in any group. Likewise, the mother/grandmother makes an issue of anyone criticizing their kid's behavior. It's no different than a school teacher correcting a student and then the parents run to the principal with "my kid wouldn't do that". The fact is that the kid was running in between the dancers, clearly a lack of parental supervision was taking place. Even in a place as safe as tv, i wouldn't take my eye off my 4 year old granddaughter for 2 seconds, there's always some pervert lurking around everyplace. And i wouldn't let her put herself or others at risk of an injury. From what i've read, i think everyone over-reacted to the situation.

well said!