I try hard to give people the benefit of the doubt. I try not to be racist. I try not to be unduly suspicious of groups of teenagers. I try to be a good person, a good neighbor, courteous and respectful to everyone.
And then I see something like this.
Intentionally or otherwise, that 68-year-old woman was slammed onto a concrete pool deck. That could easily have resulted in a head injury or broken hip. And then she was thrown into the pool. What if she’d been unconscious? Or couldn’t swim? Or had some disabling medical problem?
Intellectually I know this was an isolated incident. Emotionally I am shocked and outraged.
Teens want respect. They want acceptance. Then one of them does something like this …
glad I read what you wrote before clicking on the video–I would’ve spit my coffee on the monitor and shorted out my laptop. What the hell is wrong with this person? She could’ve just called the cops on them and made the cops tell them to keep the noise level down, but she tried to be reasonable and neighborly. And somebody just picks her up and throws her in after DROPPING her? What the hell? Did he think he’d get applause and accolades? I’d love to know what he was thinking…or not thinking. Sheesh!
All I know is that as a 74-year-old woman, I’ll be more nervous than ever around a gang of teens. But then, I’d have never approached them in the first place. This just reinforces my concerns about personal safety.
And yes, I think he expected applause. He acted after several other kids yelled “Throw her in.”
Ah, that clarifies things a bit–wonder if they really expected him to do it–and boy were they running out afterward or running to the edge to see what happened to them both. Yikes.
I watched several videos and don’t recall now if this was the one that said some of the kids went back to check on her and help her catch her dogs. But that doesn’t change what that one idiot did.
We saw this on the news, too. She and her little dog, too.
Congrats society; you’ve raised a batch of animals….and so many of all races, creeds and colors.
Hmm, all that laughing at people getting hurt for entertainment on TV. All that cheering of crude violent music. So much strutting around glorifying thug and criminal culture as cool.
Why are we surprised by what children have learned.
And when these kids grow up and raise kids of their own, the problem will be compounded. I don’t know how we’ll stop the downhill slide.
The education system, from the parents down through the school system there is absolutely no discipline
It never did me any good complaining to my parents if the teachers gave me a walloping, in my days teachers used a cane, depending on the thickness the pain inflicted, a nice thin cane that whistled through the air before the strike hurt like hell. 😀
If teachers did to students/pupils now, what they did then, the’d land up in the clink!
I don’t think it did me any harm!
I don’t condone corporal punishment. Parents don’t need it to teach love, responsibility, respect for others, etc. at home. And of course, intentionally or not, they teach by example. Schools, I think, have no right to strike students.
Of late I must admit to having no liking or respect for Jews, however, I remember an old Jewish saying ” A father who loves his child, chastises his child”.
I never administered corporal punishment on any of my children, I must admit that there were times when I was tempted, I know I was extraordinary strict, when it came to manners and general behavior , but the War Office was an excellent umpire, who guided the children gently and they’ve all turned out very well
For better or worse, I think parenting syle tends to be self-perpetuating.
Do you mean think that Jews still belt their children? 👿
For shame 😈
I never said they did. I didn’t mention religion at all.
I was just being silly PT, but the adage was real. 🙂
Oh, I know. I just wanted to make sure no one misunderstood, even though those little purple devils are pretty hard to miss!
I’m sure this young “man” has seen many videos and movies where people have been slammed and tossed about, all to raucous laughter—so funny to see other people hurt! There’s a show on TV devoted entirely to clips of this behavior. Media is a powerful teacher.
Media is indeed a powerful teacher and kids see more of it today than ever before. It’s not good for kids or adults to be saturated with so much awful, graphic, tragic news and videos.
The old cliche, “Spare the rod and spoil the child” isn’t without merit. Learning to recognize and accept authority before the age of reason requires physically getting their attention. Within reason, a swat on the backside does that admirably.
Yep, before the age of reason, a smack on the backside with a bare hand is sometimes necessary, particularly when personal safety is involved.
I would be more concerned about violence which is closer at hand, say in my neighborhood, not in Florida, which is thousands of miles from where I live. Highlighting incidents like this plays right into the fears of isolated elders, esp. those who experience the world mostly through television and sensationalized “stoiries.”.. Not even to mention emphasizing the “scary black man” perpetrator.
I’m more worried about being run over or dying of the cancer I have.
In other words, I think highlighting this kind of incident panders to the fears of old people without actually doing much to address the more common dangers of old age. There are many other stories that could be told, of kindness, of solidarity.
I remind myself constantly that although the media focus on the most sensational news, my neighborhood and my city are generally calm, friendly, and uneventful. I don’t worry a lot about this sort of thing in suburbia.
However, there are a lot of neighborhoods in the Denver metro where I would not feel safe. And although this particular incident occurred in Florida, it could happen in most big cities. I envy you if you live in place where this sort of thing never happens.
Isnt unwanted touch technically assault? The kid needs about 6 months of manner school, 90 days in juvi IMO.
Oh yes, definitely assault. But I think she has to press charges first, and I don’t know if she did or not.