Selfless Waiter Shuts up Regular Visitor Insulting a Boy with Down Syndrome

Michael Garcia knew he was risking his job when he refused to serve a family who were regular customers at the restaurant he was working at after a man made a cruel remark about a 5-year-old boy with Down syndrome.

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes developmental and intellectual delays in people living with the condition.

Kids with this disorder generally need a lot of care and love, and they do not deserve to have their lives be more complicated by people discriminating against them.

This is precisely how a waiter in Houston, Texas, Michael Garcia, felt when he risked his job to defend an adorable young boy with the disorder.

Garcia was on duty at Laurenzo's Prime Rib in Houston, where he had worked for about two years when one of the regulars, Kim Castillo, sat alongside her 5-year-old boy Milo.

With his speech a little delayed, Milo, who has Down syndrome, started showing off his new words and talking about his birthday the week before.

Afterward, a family sitting near the Castillos in the adjacent booth asked for their table to be moved away from the kid and his mother.

Garcia obliged and, as he was making plans to move them, he heard a man from the family make a cruel remark about Milo. The man declared that:

"Special needs children need to be special somewhere else."

The waiter was astonished at the man's remarks and could not believe he had chosen to say such cruel things about the beautiful young angel.

Garcia subsequently challenged why the man would make such a statement about Milo and afterward refused to serve the man and his family even though he might lose his job. The family hurriedly left not long after.

GARCIA'S ACTIONS GENERATE POSITIVE REACTIONS

Kim Castillo was preoccupied with her son and, although she noticed the other family leaving, was not aware of what had transpired until one of the waiters at the restaurant told her what had happened.

Afterward, she lauded Garcia for standing up to the man. She was impressed he would do that for Milo even though he did not know them, but she believed he did so because it was the right thing to do.

However, Castillo was concerned that Garcia might lose his job after learning that the other family were regulars at the restaurant. Thankfully, the management supported the waiter's decision.

Speaking about her son, Castillo explained that she would understand why the family wanted to move if Milo had been making noises or being obnoxious, but the little one was being his best self that night. She declared the other family was just ignorant.

In a post on her social media, Castillo said Milo is her only child with her husband Eric, and she had been taking the kid to eat at Laurenzo's since he was a child.

The story became viral after it was reported on local television and blogs, and afterward, Garcia received a lot of praise from people for standing up for Milo.

Even the restaurant's Facebook page became filled with positive comments about the waiter for his actions. Their business also improved, and people would come in to shake Garcia's hand when they ate at the restaurant.

Castillo hoped that the story of Garcia's actions would lead to people tolerating other kids like Milo, born with Down syndrome or who look different than other kids.