Something I Need to Talk About

[Pumpkin_Man]

Cat....K.A.T I'm allright. But it does seem unfair, and again, I seriously doubt anyone is going to eant that boy associated with their place of business. I think Community Service would be the answer. On the other hand, that kid has no friends, his gf wants nothing to do with him any more. Nobody will trust him, and nobody wants to sit next to him in the lunch room at the school he attends. The incident was in the local paper, and this kid can't hardly walk down the street without some one yelling a derogatory comment from their cars and the like.

I certainly would not want to be in his shoes. I would seriously look into relocation if I were in his shoes.

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

I told my husband about this story when I read it the other day, Mike. He seemed to think that intentional cruelty to animals (as evidenced by the pictures on the kid's car) was a felony offense. Maybe the laws differ by state? (We are in TN.) Anyway, it sounds to me like he got off a little light, at least w/re/to the legal consequences. i agree that the social stigma he's brought on himself is pretty severe.

[Pumpkin_Man]

He was fined very stiffly for the Cruelty to Animals, in addition to the Reckless Driving fines. But the ones who I feel sorry for are his parents. I can't really feel that this boy deserves any pity, and as you pointed out, he brought it on himself. I don't think that he shoud have to spend the rest of his life paying for what he did, PROVIDED THAT he doesn't become a serial killer and start usign his car to kill human beings, and PROVIED that he refrains from being cruel to animals, but for now, he needs to think about what he did.

I personaly wish he would move out of the town.

Mike

[sueluvshalloween]

I was thinking about the sale of the car ... if it were me, I'd take the money I received and donate it to the local SPCA or some other animal-related charity.

[Pumpkin_Man]

The money was given to that little boy who's kitten got run over. The car was sold for 50 bucks, because nobody wanted to be seen driving it. Some one from out of town is going to fix it up and repaint it I guess.

Mike

[sueluvshalloween]

Mike, that's nice that they gave the money to the little boy ... that's better than my suggestion.

[Pumpkin_Man]

Either suggestion would have been appropriate, but I think that little boy could have benifited. Perhaps as part of the fines, the kid who ran the cat over should have to donate some of his weekends and holidays to work at an animal shelter. But only as a cage cleaner or floor sweep. I would't trust him with the actual animals.

Mike

[Ghoul of the Graves]

I know I'm late here, but I've just read this thread and I'm appauled by the behaviour of that individual, I know people don't think highly of teenagers anyway, but this gives people more of a reason to distrust them. Being a teenager myself it makes me angry that people of my generation do these destructive acts, what can they possibly gain from doing something so cruel? What benefit does causing death and destruction give them? I don't understand.

It's a shame that most teenagers are given a bad rep just because the destructive acts of other teens are the only things put into the news, I'm certain that not all of us teenagers are destructive and mindless.

I wish the little boy a speedy recovery from his traumatic experience, and I'm glad the monster who caused so much pain is getting what he deserves.

[Pumpkin_Man]

Goul, I wrestled with those same questions back when I was a teenager, and a lot of behaviour can be attributed to peer pressure. I don't know what being a teen in today's world is like, but back in my day, it was "cool" to do acts of vandlism, smoke tobbaco or MJ. It was "cool" to drink illegaly, or to steal or sneak in to movie theatres without paying. It was " cool" to be in a street gang.

For other teenagers, it was "cool" to wear certain types of cloths, drive certain types of cars or sport certain types of hair do's and look down on those "un dool losers" who were not like them. I, of course, was one of the "un cool" guys because my parents couldn't afford to buy me a new car, or provide me with expensive designer cloths.

But what this monster did, was not "cool" by anyone's standards. Using his car to kill innocent animals had nothing to do with being a teenager or with being "cool" or getting into the "in crowd." It was about a very curel streak in an individual who may escelate to killing people in the future if he isn't stopped now. This is not a simple case of high school bullying, spraying shaving cream on some one's car or TPing some one's tree. This is a singular act of cruelty for the sake of a cheap thrill. The type of thing that can only thrill some one like Ted Bundy or Charles Starkweather.

So don't worry about this being attributed to all teenagers. Most people, ESPECIALY other teenagers see this guy for what he is, and how truely "un cool" he and what he did really is.

Mike

[Ghoul of the Graves]

I understand completely, thanks for that innovative reply, and I'm one of the 'un-cool' crowd too becuase of my geeky tastes in Sci-Fi and video games, but you know what? I'm proud of who I am.

[sueluvshalloween]

Hey, Ghoul, just to let you know I didn't think badly of teenagers when I read this kid's story. Yes, there are some bad teens out there, just as there are some pretty awful adults. I have two teenagers, a daughter 15, and a son, 13, and they'd NEVER do something like this or even close. And their friends are all good kids, too.

[Ghoul of the Graves]

I wasn't implying that everybody thinks badly of teenagers, just most people. I know a whole lot of good teenagers and I try to avoid the bad ones.

[sueluvshalloween]

Ghoul, there are probably more good kids out there than bad ones, but the tiny number of bad ones gives some people the wrong impression of teenagers as a whole ... that really sucks.

[Ghoul of the Graves]

Yeah, I completely agree.

[Andybev01]

That's probably because only the ones who cause trouble get into the news.