You know how we got here? It's because we decided we were too soft for this. These kids obviously have not had a proper sense of shame instilled into them by someone who knows how.
Children are barbarians. Either you are strong enough to win their hearts, or they will eat yours.
The culture has seemingly got rid of the idea that some individuals are simply "bad seed". (Despite such popular culture offerings like "We need to talk about Kevin").
ReplyDeleteAnd of course no parent is ever going to freely admit that their progeny are really just nasty little bullies.
Fox News' noon programming ran a piece on this, including a brief interview with the father of one of the little s*ts. He seemed genuinely distressed that his kid had been a participant.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, he's learned his own lesson from this.
Incidentally, the police have said they won't press charges, even though much of this rises to criminal behavior, because the victim didn't want them too.
Also, apparently this job is her income, to the tune of $15k per year. There's been a Web site set up to collect donations for her; Fox News also reported that $150k had been donated so far.
That's 10 years of not having to do this s*t job anymore, were she to choose that.
Eric Hines
Well, she said she's going back, because it's her job. Good for her for not leaving.
ReplyDeleteI think the issue isn't her strength- I think she exhibited plenty of will to not resort to forceful speech or even physical force- since then only she would get in trouble. The problem is that the little leeches know that the worst thing that will happen to them from the school end is a few days suspension.
Hopefully, the parents will do more than that, although, at this point, I think merely showing them the comments at the video would suffice.
It isn't her strength; it's ours.
ReplyDeleteWhat those kids need isn't suspension, it's ten minutes or so with a Marine Corps Drill Instructor. We used to have some coaches when I was in school who would have served the purpose just as well. Anyone who dared speak that way to an older lady like this would have been reduced to tears -- nobody need lay a hand on them, just give them an accurate and forceful account of what they thought of a boy who would do that.
Young men need respect. Those boys are trying to prove they're strong by preying on the weak. They need a man to show them that such a road will not lead them to his respect, but to his absolute disdain.
It's my impression that parents who raise kids like that aren't capable of acknowledging either how awful the kids are or their role in making them that way. I always pay close attention to interviews of parents of accused criminals on the news. If they're busy making excuses for their kids, I take it as a sign that the charges probably will stick. "I know Junior has been in trouble every year of his life since he was 12, but I can't believe these eyewitness accounts saying he shot and killed those two people. He's been having a hard time. I blame the school, the police, etc."
ReplyDeleteIf they say instead, "We know our son, we know he did not do this thing, and we're going to stand by him until he has been proved innocent," that's a more hopeful situation. Or, if they are sadly forced to acknowledge that he really did it, the family releases a statement acknowledging their shame and extending their deepest compassion to the victims. In that case, you see a young criminal who might conceivably be convicted and punished but come out OK in the end.
The kid whose parents are blindly making excuses for him is the one who isn't going to end up well.
Oh, absolutely Grim, amen a thousand times. That's why I thought that having them read the comments at the video (which number in the tens of thousands now). They range generally from pure rage and a desire to exact violent punishment on the boys, to the clearest descriptions of just how low people think of those boys after seeing the video. The former category whould scare them, and the second might shame them. At least you hope so.
ReplyDeleteMaybe there's hope for one of them. Here's an apology he posted publicly: "I am so sorry for the way I treated you. When I saw the video I was disgusted and could not believe I did that . . . . I will never treat anyone this way again." Sounds like a little self-knowledge did some good.
ReplyDeleteI know I'd hate to have to watch video of some of my crummier behavior from adolescence. I was a little snot.