A Sign of the Times
on 04.08.05, 06:06pm in life • share on facebook • comments (4)
We had a bit of a neighborhood scare last night - someone used a pipe bomb to blow up the sign of the country club across the street around 10:15pm. While we didn’t see it, we certainly did hear it (as did the entire neighborhood). I’m glad it didn’t wake Tyler up and that no one was hurt.
While it was most likely just a teenage prank, it still makes me wonder a bit about times these days. When I was in high school, the most serious thing you heard about was someone getting busted for smoking pot or someone brought a knife in. Today, it doesn’t go too long without hearing about some kid who was picked on over and over bringing a gun to school and shooting up his classmates.
Liz and I often joke around about moving to some island to live a simpler life, or think about moving closer to family back east. Incidents like last night make you really think about the world that you’ve brought a new child into.
JeffMc (April 8, 2005 @ 8:38 pm)
Basically, IMHO, it is parents lacking in discipline in their kids. We are all so enamored with having to keep up with the Jones, and having both parents work so we can afford our 1 Million dollar homes, our BMWs and Hummers, that we do not have time for the kids. So they turn to the role models elsewhere. Good or bad. My parents came down on us hard when we screwed up. Alot of parents today do not. They do the oposite extreme of what their parents did, because they want to be different. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. When my kid screws up, he is punished. Extra chores, no TV privs and computer time lost. If that doesn’t work, then more extreme measures are taken. Spanking is the last option, and should remain that way, but sometimes needs to be used. Most kids outlooks and personalities are shaped by they are 8 or 9. See what Barney did?
This past summer, I was at a shopping plaza, these kids threw the cans of sode they were drinking on the ground. I politely asked if they would pick them up and throw them away properly. The response I got was “Do it yourself you F__k. I do not have to do anything anyone tells, so go f__k off”. Nice to hear from 15 year olds. What ever happened to respect for other people? Oh yeah, gangsta rap shapes them now
You are so right. Things have changed.
Sorry, Steve, had to vent
Eric (April 8, 2005 @ 9:32 pm)
Amen! My wife is pregnant (7 months) and it seems there is a school shooting in Dallas atleast once a week. It’s scary out there.
Jeff Atwood (April 10, 2005 @ 9:26 pm)
Blowing up the country club sign sounds more like activism than terrorism to me.
Randy (April 11, 2005 @ 9:37 am)
I think it’s more about perspective. I’ve known many a friend from HS and pre HS that wouldn’t hesitate to blow apart a mailbox with an M80. And I knew kids that screwed around with guns in HS…
Three things that are different with current times: 1) one of the sick bastards shot up a school. 2) the press won’t ever let us forget it and will exploit any story they get their hands on to increase that fear - it sells papers/air time. 3) we’re older: things that we would have thought were funny 15 years ago - i.e. the M80, egging a car, etc. - we now think should be punishible by death or dismemberment. Perspective at work.