Snappers and the Golden Rule pertaining to kids

In the past week, a few issues have been literally thrust in my face. or you could say ears...eyes...whatever.

Issue #1 a.k.a. Snappers!
I was at Ghetto-Mart today buying groceries. That would be the Wal-Mart Supercenter in the bad part of town. Yes. A great deal on hot dogs IS worth a bullet in the arm. I guess the lady behind me thought so too.
You know who you are, you size negative zero, 5'10", beauty shop hair, $900 jeans, jillion-dollar shoes, never washed a dish in your life manicure, GUM CHEWER!!!!!!!!
I have decided that public gum-chewing should be outlawed. I don't want to hear it! I absolutely cannot stand to hear someone else's saliva mushing around and teeth chomping on a piece of rubbery ick. I guess you really need to smack that gum around all over your mouth to get it absolutely full of air bubbles. Because annoying the person in front of you will not be complete until you make it pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop. Then you can start the smack-smack-smack-squish-smack-smack-smack-squish all over again.
My question is this: Who decided it was polite to chew gum in public in the first place? Usually when a person is in public, they speak to other people. If you're eating, is it polite to talk with your mouth full? So tell me why it's polite to talk with your mouth full of gum.

Issue #2 a.k.a. Bad Parents
Scene: open house at the elementary school
characters: mom, dad, small boy in Kindergarten
Let me start by saying that I do, on occasion, raise my voice at my children. I do not grab at them or hit them.
Here is what happened. This cute little boy was excited to be at the school, showing off his classroom and his teacher. In the hallway, he slowed down a little to wave at a little friend. His dad grabbed his upper arm and yanked him up off his feet while his mom yelled at him. I'm not talking a little voice raising. She was YELLING that if he didn't watch it, he was going to get his ass beat. What a mom! Yes. His parents were disgusting, but what broke my heart was the little boy. He did not deserve that kind of abuse. I'm sure he was hurt and that is sad, but what gets me the most is the humiliation he was probably feeling at that moment. Yes, kids can get rowdy, especially in public, but that is absolutely NO excuse to treat a child that way. The golden rule should apply to kids as well. Hey mom and dad, how would you like to be manhandled and verbally abused and threatened in public? I bet you'd be calling the police real quick.