Fla. 8-Year-Old Gets Traffic Ticket For Bike Mishap (irresponsible idiot parents refuse to pay)

[Pete]

On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 17:51:21 -0700, The Real Bev <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> It used to be neat to ride out Xmas morning and see all the kids with their new bicycles. Been a
> long time since that happened.

Happens quite often at my house. Another couple this year.

Pete

 

[Zippy The Pinhe]

From the article:

Scott was riding a bicycle in his neighborhood when he jumped a dirt mound with five of his friends,
Bradenton Police Lt. Sam Campbell said. He crossed paths with a 2001 Nissan and the car clipped the
rear tire of Scott's 5-pound, 16-inch BMX bicycle. ... "I'm going to not pay this ticket, and
Scott's definitely not going to pay it," said Danielle McIntosh, the boy's mother.

___

Looks to me as though the little **** narrowly missed his opportunity to become a candidate for the
Darwin award, and his mommy wants him to have another shot at it.

 

[David Reuteler]

Zippy the Pinhead <[email protected]> wrote:
: tire of Scott's 5-pound, 16-inch BMX bicycle.

5 pound?

damn.
--
david reuteler [email protected]

 

[Sbirn]

On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 17:57:42 -0700, The Real Bev <[email protected]> wrote:
>him pay restitution, pay something additional for punishment, and give him some extra punishment
>for being careless and getting caught.
>
>Parents just aren't what they used to be...

Exactly! I mean, there was a time (and I can't believe I'm talking like this) that if you got in
trouble at school or with the police, you dreaded seeing your parents because they'd double or
triple the punishment. Now you hear stories of parents screaming at teachers for giving their kids
detentions, etc.

Stop the world. I wanna get off.

 

[The Real Bev]

sbirn wrote:
>
> On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 17:57:42 -0700, The Real Bev <[email protected]> wrote:
> >him pay restitution, pay something additional for punishment, and give him some extra punishment
> >for being careless and getting caught.
> >
> >Parents just aren't what they used to be...
>
> Exactly! I mean, there was a time (and I can't believe I'm talking like this) that if you got in
> trouble at school or with the police, you dreaded seeing your parents because they'd double or
> triple the punishment. Now you hear stories of parents screaming at teachers for giving their kids
> detentions, etc.

Actually, I defended my son against the system when he got tired of putting up with it and beat the
**** out of some kid who had been hitting him for several months, and when his first grade teacher
slapped him without my permission. He was a really smart and really good kid (still is, actually)
and I -- amazingly enough -- always had confidence in his decisions, even if they weren't the ones I
would have made for him myself.

> Stop the world. I wanna get off.

Too late. You'll never get out of it alive.

--
Cheers, Bev
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Rats cry when they hear about my life." -- Dilbert

 

[Trent Piepho]

In article <[email protected]>, Johann S. <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>Anyway, I'm very glad I'm not a kid today, and especially in the US (it seems). Must be pretty
>boring. Maybe I would have decided to stuff all these rules, and just play playstation. It's
>much more

Is it any wonder that one in three children in the united states are overweight? They DO decide to
just stay inside and play playstation, thanks to all the rules and the fear mongers. I've read that
one thing experts blame of the skyrocketing obesity epidemic among children is "lack of safe
playgrounds". What makes playgrounds so much more dangerous now than 30 years ago? It's the fear
mongers and safety nazis, people whose job it is to find things to pass legislation against, that
have created the perception on danger where it didn't exist before.

 

[Mike Kruger]

"Trent Piepho" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've read that one thing experts blame of the skyrocketing obesity epidemic among children is
> "lack of safe playgrounds". What makes playgrounds so much more dangerous now than 30
years
> ago?

Actually, the playground equipment in a typical American park is considerably safer now than it was
30 years ago. You seldom see merry-go-rounds or maypoles, and even swings aren't seen so often.
There's not much concrete or asphalt -- there are wood chips or rubberized surfaces or sand.

In terms of the social environment of the playground, (crime) that clearly depends on who is
there. I don't have any stats handy on playground crime statistics. In any event, overall
statistics are pretty meaningless because they only stats that matter are the ones for the
playgrounds near your house.

If these are more dangerous, and I doubt that they are, this is at least partly because of lower
usage. Even as painfully shy a kid as myself knew some of the places where you could find pick-up
games. That's much less common now; there are more organized sports and practices. Organized sports
are fine, but there's also learning that occurs when it's just you and a few other kids -- and the
rule book is whatever you made up.

 

[Rich Clark]

"Trent Piepho" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]... What makes playgrounds so much more dangerous now
than 30 years
> ago? It's the fear mongers and safety nazis, people whose job it is to
find
> things to pass legislation against, that have created the perception on
danger
> where it didn't exist before.

Well, them and the gangs and the drug dealers and the other friendly faces that have taken over so
many urban playgrounds.

Somehow I don't remember quite so many stray bullets flying around down by the swingset when I
was a kid.

RichC

 

[Buck]

"The Real Bev" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

> But in this case the kid DID get caught. Sensible parents would make him pay restitution, pay
> something additional for punishment, and give him some extra punishment for being careless and
> getting caught.
>
> Parents just aren't what they used to be...

Isn't that the truth. I had the pleasure of chatting with my mom about this situation this weekend.
She said she would have tanned my hide if it had been me on that bike - something I already knew.
She also had an interesting tale about one of her local school districts. They were having problems
with kids beating other kids on the busses. So, they installed security cameras on every bus. To
make this an interesting social experiment, they also filmed the parents reactions when they were
called in for a parent-teacher conference. Without fail, every parent defended their child when told
that their kid was being a bully on the bus. "My son would never act like that," was a common quote.

Imagine their reaction when confronted with a video tape of their little brat being a little brat.
At least all of them skipped immediately out of denial and switched into
kill-the-little-brat-before-he-causes-another-problem mode.

We have been brainwashed. We have been taught the "feel-good" method of parenting, which assumes
that our kids never lie and always act like little angels. It's time to be more than a little
suspicious of what they do and say. It's time to give them responsibility and expect them to live up
to it. It's time to punish them when they don't.

My kids aren't little angels. I love them dearly, but recognize that they will try to manipulate
their mother and I just to get what they want. Right and Wrong aren't concepts they intrensically
understand, they are concepts that must be taught to them.

I'll be teaching them the rules of the road. If they want to jump dirt mounds, I'll make sure they
wear safety gear while doing it and make sure the mound is nowhere near a road. There are lots of
places in this story where the parents failed to follow-up on what their kids were doing. They just
trusted the rug-rats a little too much.

-Buck

 

[Claire Petersky]

"Rich Clark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Trent Piepho" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]... What makes playgrounds so much more dangerous now
> than 30 years
> > ago?.
>
> Well, them and the gangs and the drug dealers and the other friendly faces that have taken over so
> many urban playgrounds.

I wonder.

A few years ago, I went with my kids to an urban playground -- I had a meeting coming up for a
volunteer group nearby, and we were killing some time before the meeting started. The playground was
in what you might call a marginal neighborhood -- some light industrial/warehouse type development,
worn-down rental apartments, and a reputation for junkies.

My kids, happy to see the playground before them, went running ahead into the park, with their poky
mom walking behind.

A group of kids who were playing on the playground ran up to my kids, and said, "where's your
grown-up? You can't come to the park without a grown-up!" By the time I finally brought up the rear,
I could tell that the other adults there were checking me out, only more quietly.

It became clear to me that the neighborhood had made a claim to this park.The kids on it were
actively protecting the other kids, including mine. The adults there were doing their job, too.

I realize some parks and playgrounds have been taken over by violence -- guns are just that much
more prevalent than they used to be. But also, people have worked to make sure that kids have a
good, safe place to play -- even in on "urban playgrounds".

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com

Home of the meditative cyclist: http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm

Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at: http://bookcrossing.com/friend/Cpetersky

 

[Zippy The Pinhe]

On Sun, 26 Oct 2003 12:51:51 GMT, "Buck" <s c h w i n n _ f o r _ s a l e @ h o t m a i l . c
o m> wrote:

>> Parents just aren't what they used to be...
>

>We have been brainwashed. We have been taught the "feel-good" method of parenting, which assumes
>that our kids never lie and always act like little angels.

We also aren't allowed to "yell" at our kids anymore; we've been told that the proper way is to
"whine" at them: "Tanner, PLEEEEEEEAAAASE stop killing the cat..."

> It's time to be more than a little suspicious of what they do and say. It's time to give them
> responsibility and expect them to live up to it. It's time to punish them when they don't.

"It Takes a Village" used to mean that, if you f***ed up while you were walking home from school and
did a little "harmless childish vandalism", or jaywalked against a red light, the phone call would
beat you home and your mom would be waiting at the front gate with a belt.

In the new America, "It Takes a Village" means "All you have to do is to conceive the little brat,
then your responsibility ends. The village will raise it and pay for it".

 

[Frank Krygowski]

The Real Bev wrote:

> There's a general feeling that it's no longer safe for a kid to play anywhere without an adult
> in close attendance. Damn shame, because kids NEED to learn to be alone and unsupervised
> sometimes.

I agree. It's been several years now, but back when the local Safe Kids chapter was working its
hardest to make bike helmets mandatory, they also had literature saying kids under age eight (IIRC)
should NEVER play out of eyeshot of a parent, and that they should NEVER be allowed to cross a
street alone.

I can only imagine that that Safe Kids spokewoman had hired help to do the laundry, cook the meals,
wash the floors, etc. Either that, or she tied her kids down in front of a TV until she was prepared
to carefully watch over their play!

Every time I think "How silly can they get?" some safety freak sets a new record!

--
Frank Krygowski

 

[Pete Hickey]

In article <[email protected]>, Rich Clark <[email protected]> wrote:

>Somehow I don't remember quite so many stray bullets flying around down by the swingset when I
>was a kid.

Maybe not as many, but we *did* learn to get out of the way of them back then..... I'll never forget
"Crazy Bob".

--
--
LITTLE KNOWN FACT: Did you know that 81% of North Americans cannot taste the difference between
fried dog and fried cat?

 

[Frank Krygowski]

I wrote:

>>Nice one, Lars! Focus entirely on the helmet. Completely ignore the fact that the kid rode out
>>directly in front of a car.
>>
>>This is "Bike Safety, the American version."

Lars S. Mulford wrote:
> Frank:
>
> If you'd have read my post completely, you'd have seen that it had EVERYTHING to do with the boy
> going in front of the car and getting tagged.

Let's look at your original post again. You said:

"I noted in the writeup that the boy had no helmet on. An 8yr old out riding a BMX type bike,
jumping dirt berms and stuff, and no helmet? That is inexcusable on the part of the PARENTS to NOT
enforce wearing a helmet. To me, it shows irresponsibility. ..."

And you wrote: " I've got two daughters, and from day one since they began riding bikes, they
associated helmet wearing with riding. Now when they ride, they don't even think about it. The
helmet gets strapped on and THEN they ride... "

Now pardon me, but I somehow missed where you said "It's inexcusable on the part of the PARENTS to
NOT teach this child to respect the rules of the road." And likewise, I missed where you said
"I've got two daughters, and from day one, they were taught to stop and look both ways before
entering a roadway."

In fact, I _still_ don't see where you say that. What I see is an apparent flagrant violation of
fundamental rules of the road, and your comments fixating on the lack of a hat. As if a
certified-for-14-mph helmet would save a kid broadsided by a Nissan!

I repeat: "Bike Safety, the American version." It's all about the hat.

--
Frank Krygowski

 

[Rich Clark]

"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:73Rmb.35356$e01.66079@attbi_s02...

> I realize some parks and playgrounds have been taken over by violence -- guns are just that much
> more prevalent than they used to be. But also, people have worked to make sure that kids have a
> good, safe place to
play --
> even in on "urban playgrounds".

Yes, and it's a good thing.

My intention was only to point out that when citing a statistic about "safe places to play" and
"unsafe playgrounds," it wasn't somebody measuring excessive screw-head protrusion on the slide that
was the focus of the concern.

RichC

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Sun, 26 Oct 2003 12:09:10 +0000, Frank Krygowski wrote:

> Every time I think "How silly can they get?" some safety freak sets a new record!

Ain't that the truth. The US seems to be paralyzed with fear, nameless, unspecific, and ubiquitous.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | What is objectionable, and what is dangerous about extremists is _`\(,_ | not that they are
extreme, but that they are intolerant. (_)/ (_) | --Robert F. Kennedy

 

[Buck]

"Frank Krygowski" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

> I can only imagine that that Safe Kids spokewoman had hired help to do the laundry, cook the
> meals, wash the floors, etc. Either that, or she tied her kids down in front of a TV until she was
> prepared to carefully watch over their play!

I'm never surprised to learn that the people pushing all of this "safety" **** don't have kids of
their own.

I once had a girlfriend who was a big opponent of spanking as a punishment. So, I got her a labrador
retriever puppy. She soon learned that you can't reason with a dog, and a gentle tap on the nose
gets the point across in a hurry.

She realized the foolishness of her stance. Perhaps everyone should raise a big dog before they are
allowed to raise a child.

-Buck

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Sun, 26 Oct 2003 11:52:49 +0000, Frank Krygowski wrote:

> I repeat: "Bike Safety, the American version." It's all about the hat.

Frank does focus on this, but damn it, he's right. Too much of what passes for bike-safety education
could be summarized as "wear a helmet and you'll be safe", which is absolute nonsense.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Let's not escape into mathematics. Let's stay with reality. -- _`\(,_ | Michael Crichton
(_)/ (_) |

 

[Mike Kruger]

"Buck" <s c h w i n n _ f o r _ s a l e @ h o t m a i l . c o m> wrote in message
news:1NVmb.23191$%[email protected]...
>
> I'm never surprised to learn that the people pushing all of this "safety" **** don't have kids of
> their own.
>
It's not just safety ****. It's advice in general.

My own subjective rating of "How well do I understand how to raise kids" took a big nose-dive when I
became a father.

My own parents suddenly seemed a lot smarter, too.

Bicycle content: One of my highlight rides of the year came when I visited my youngest earlier this
month. We had just packed her off to school in August. At HER request, we got the tandem out and did
a nice, 60+ mile ride, which was slightly longer than intended due to our unfamiliarity with the
area. You get a lot of time to talk about stuff on a tandem.

 

[Gwb]

"Buck" <s c h w i n n _ f o r _ s a l e @ h o t m a i l . c o m> wrote in message
news:HrPmb.21663$%[email protected]...
> "The Real Bev" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
>
> Imagine their reaction when confronted with a video tape of their little brat being a little brat.
> At least all of them skipped immediately out of denial and switched into
> kill-the-little-brat-before-he-causes-another-problem mode.
>
These parents are perpetuating the bully behavior. If you show a child that hitting is a viable way
of effecting desires, then that's what they will do.