There are a number of things in life unfortunately we cannot control.

The weather, for example. The international economy. Traffic.

To add to that list iscrying babies on planes.Planes are big and scary and noisy. I’m sure if I was an infant I’d probably have a big old scream too. Crying toddlers on board your flight are about as inevitable as kicking your toe when your feet are particularly cold.

But some absolutely can’t stand it. They find it torturous. They think it’s the responsibility of the parent to calm their screaming baby for the comfort of everyone else on board.

After Elon James White, founder of the multimedia platform This Week in Blackness, read a post online which expressed anger towards parents of crying kids on planes, he shared his response to Twitter.

“Just read a post of someone yelling at people w/ kids to keep their kids from crying on planes,” he wrote. “What exactly are parents expected to do?”

Just read a post of someone yelling at people w/ kids to keep their kids from crying on planes. What exactly are parents expected to do?

— Elon James White (@elonjames) January 2, 2017

As a parent, I can’t even explain to you the precautions we take to try to make sure our kid doesn’t cry on a plane. But it ain’t up to us.

— Elon James White (@elonjames) January 2, 2017

“I didn’t have kids so I shouldn’t have to listen to yours scream.”

You should fly a private jet then. I deal w/ shit I hate all the time.

— Elon James White (@elonjames) January 2, 2017

It’s just amazing how shitty people can react to a kid and their parents. As if the parents are so ecstatic that the kid is screaming…

— Elon James White (@elonjames) January 2, 2017

“My wife and I both try everything in our power to make sure our child isn’t the crying baby because we’ve heard so many people say such awful things about parents and kids on planes,” White told The Huffington Post.

“But having tried to calm a five-month-old down on a plane, seeing the post on social media about how parents need to control their kids really got to me. It implied that parents are just letting kids cry when in all honesty when a kid is crying their parents are the ones who are the most frustrated.”

A number of Twitter users added to the conversation, expressing how “judged” they feel. One woman wrote: “I was on a plane with a baby in front of me and people complaining about the baby behind me. The complainers were more annoying.”

@elonjames It’s so hard, cos you know you’re being judged. It’s easy to forget babies are people and it’s SUPER hard to control other people

— Erin DeCaprio (@ErinDeCaprio) January 2, 2017

Crying kid means you’ve tried EVRYThing and nothing works, which sucks. They’re just uncomfortable (like most of us on a plane). https://t.co/i5TdxSUGZu

— JLBarrow (@JLBarrow) January 2, 2017

@elonjames I was on a plane with a baby in front of me and people complaining about the baby behind me. The complainers were more annoying.

— Kim Z Dale (@observacious) January 2, 2017

For those of us without kids, a little compassion goes a long way.

So if you find yourself frustrated by the sounds of a crying baby, know that that’s only a fraction of the distress felt by the parents, who are, without a doubt, doing their best.