Category: politics, culture, society

I just finished reading an article about the deaths of  a couple of teens, one an 18-year-old, who were killed in an explosion of an oil tank. The White and Byrd families are wailing about their kids being killed, kids who were not only trespassing, but acting irresponsibly on someone else’s property. And now, of course, the families are suing.

First off, what kind of family allows their sons (or daughters) to trespass on a next-door neighbor’s property? (Next door, mind you, within sight and hearing of their own home.) And who are they to allow their kids to run about with guns, ATV four-wheelers, cigarette lighters, booze, and what-have-you to commit mayhem to the local flora and fauna and to destroy private property?

“Local teenagers told the police that the unfenced, unguarded property and other oil tank sites were popular hangouts for partying, shooting deer, riding four-wheelers and smoking cigarettes.”

And, I wonder, what else were these kids doing? We don’t need much imagination to guess.

Well parents, it’s the Darwin Awards for your dead offspring. You bred and raised boys who had no respect for anything or anyone, so it’s your fault they’re dead, not the neighbor property owner. You see, it is NOT okay for your kids to go onto someone else’s property to do whatever they damn well want to, to shoot off firearms and/or kill animals, tear up the land with off-road vehicles, start fires, and, generally, get into mischief. It IS, parents, your responsibility to teach and then enforce appropriate conduct and, yes, respect for both private and public property. If it ain’t yours, what are you or your offspring doing there, violating it?

I found it typical that the mom of one of the boys got herself a tattoo with a black Christian cross to commemorate her dead son. (At least she got it in the appropriate color.) I found it equally typical that at least one of the now dead hooligans was a football player, a segment of the juvenile (and adult) population, heartily encouraged by parents, relatives, and peers, who are notorious for bad behavior, bringing to our society the worst examples of bullying, arrogance, and pampered privilege–the “I’ll do what I want and get away with it, too, cuz I’m a stud, see” crowd.

I guess the British Tories are a bit upset about one of their members, one Sir Nicholas Winterton, expressing his dislike of standard class travel as opposed to first class travel. Here’s the quote from the NYTimes on what he said:

“Sir Nicholas declared in a radio interview, speaking about the relative ghastliness of people in standard-class train cars. ‘There’s lots of children, there’s noise, there’s activity. I like to have peace and quiet when I’m traveling.'”

And they say that he’s put his “posh foot” in his mouth. Really? Um, there’s nothing worse, in my opinion, that being surrounded by rude, loud people who haven’t a clue that they should keep themselves and their children quiet, well-mannered, and well-behaved when in public, whether that’s on a train, on a plane, on a bus, in a car, in a restaurant, in the park, or anywhere else, thank you. I’m in full agreement with Sir Nicholas. I prefer peace and quiet, too, not screaming kids, blabbering people, blasting music, and people in constant motion, spilling their food and drinks on me and everyone else without a thought to how their actions discomfit me and others.

The majority of people are, as Sir Nicholas said, “a totally different type of people.” They’re rude and could care less that their public brashness makes others unwilling to share the same public space. Public shouldn’t mean cacophony, chaos, and jostling. Public should mean well-mannered and reserved, respecting the space and sensibilities of others around you.