It only took two and a half years, but The Defeatists finally made CNN!
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OK, we're heartless assholes. However, I don't recall any of us mentioning the kid's name. OK, it's a tragedy but why the hell did the kid have coke in her system. And, in a 911, 100MPH is very controllable. Why were the keys where she could get it. Oh, one other thing that makes me feel less bad about being an asshole. Why if you thought the kid needed a shrink was she not seeing a shrink? What was your first clue that she might need to see a shrink...the coke, maybe?
Look, even well-meaning parents can abuse their children by over-loving them in the present. I's sure these folks loved their kid; I'm sure they were horrified when the news came. I think the release of bloody crime scene, accident scene and morgue photos proves that I'm right about Tiffany v. Yahweh. But, if your child shows signs of being clinically out of control, do something about it. Or, end up on CNN complaining about blogs and cops and ghouls. There are blogs, cops, and ghouls.
Since I wrote the crap about child abuse, I stand by it. Love can be abusive. Love is probably more about saying you're sorry than not; often it's too goddamn late. I was disappointed -- maybe AGI got overstimualted but we're only one of ten kazillion bloggers they comment on. Shit, I was waiting, like a movie goer watching Janet Leigh in the shower through the curtain, for the knife to come in. "These guys, they call themselves the defeatists...what a bunch of dickheads."
Posted by: Crusader AXE | 07 May 2009 at 10:26 PM
Yep. Snopes is the one that mentioned her name and showed the photos. Not us.
Posted by: Agi | 08 May 2009 at 05:48 AM
You're not heartless assholes. The young lady was 18, old enough to command a rifle squad in Iraq, just not mature enough. Her parents did the best they could, probably, but it ended badly. Your problem is that you thought there was a lesson to be learned.
Here's a lesson that there are no lessons, just blind fate: My son, who is mid-20's now had a bit of a bad streak going for a while. At the beginning of it he was maybe, 14 and I looked at him at dinner one night and said "You're getting to where you're thinking about driving, huh?" His little face lit up. "I just want you to know what I'm thinking. It seems fair. I'm thinking about whether you're old enough to have a knife at the dinner table." My (now ex-) wife was furious because, well, she wouldn't have done that to his self esteem at such a delicate time. For a while I liked to think that I helped him through that difficult period with that and other sage advice. I began to think differently when I had to deal with his attempted murder charges, a bondsman, a judge and lawyers a few years later. It all worked out OK, thanks for asking. I learned that its mostly a story that's already been written; I have little to do with it; and I'm going to love my kids anyway. Same with those two on the teevee (and internet, the hypocrites), though I'm a lot happier than they are.
Posted by: drip | 08 May 2009 at 10:00 AM