The Observation Deck

Across the street from me, is a good guy who likes to sit on his steps and just relax after work.

Some thugs (word used to describe clothes and attitude) walked by him and they threw their empty Big Gulps or whatever the big cups were on his lawn, in front of him. He told them " We don't do that sort of thing around here", and their reply was less than eloquent to say the least. They proceeded to the church where they disrupted a kid's event. They were on public sidewalks but it's the attitude I am citing.

I hate to keep referring to the "old days" but on Richland back when I was a kid, if I were to do the same, a) I'd be awaiting my dad and a few calloused handed whacks when he would get home from work and b) I'd have to go clean up the neighbor's yard, maybe mow it for a month, and that would be getting off easy.

I also have 2 grown "kids". Neither of them would have got away with that either, when they were "youngins". My oldest daughter wouldn't allow her kids to do such things today. They would also feel her wrath.

What's up? Do we need martial law to gain control of anyone under a certain age?
Maybe it's their parents or guardians that need an attitude adjustment.

Any comments?

Mark Allan Crnolatas

I am guessing in your day any able bodied adult man would be able to administer some of the corrective actions you described. Even a neighborhood off duty police officer or teacher would have been able to dish out the same words and deeds, without filing paperwork or getting sued.

They can't really do that today. Today they have to shell out a lot of time and money for the new advanced training. that time and training justifies higher salaries. if they use the same old simple methods the training would be useless, so a much larger pool of people would technically be qualified to be police, teachers, etc.

Should someone try reacting to these "thugs" as you remember such behavior being dealth with, they would find the "thugs" ultimately have a larger support network.

punishment in schools.

kids nowadays spend more time in school and in school related activities than they do at home.

but that can backfire. I hate school and always hated school, I just loved learning and furthering my education. Both my parents and I can benefit from me attending school and completing it.

If I were to get punished (other than failing) in school for not doing work I think I'd go do my homework...but some if most kids would refrain from going back to school.

My brother on the other hand received punishment in his elementary and middle school days, and he's a excellent student that does his work.

Did anyone contact the kids parents. Part of the problem is that we don't know our neighbors as well as we used to.

I have followed a child home and talked to their parents. Of course the child called me a liar - but the parents got the message and apparently dealt with it - because we didn't have problems any more. I can think of 3 times I did this - all with positive results.

It is an idea - I don't know if it is safe - but if the parents don't know what their child is doing - it is hard to stop them. And all of us that have kids know that none of them are perfect 24/7. It does take a village.

Those punks should be caned.. It should be legal to administer an a$$ whoopin to people like that... just sayin

To note the littering, it is not just a problem with young "thugs," (although they are a very large part of the problem.) Today I was driving with my girls west on Clifton and was stopped at a light. A car pulled out of the cross street going south and an elderly man threw a banana peel out the window! I didn't know what to do or say. If he had been walking by my house I would have said something but in the car is a bit rough. I nearly had to pick my jaw up off the floor. I would never litter nor would I have the gall to do it, so whenever I see someone do it, it just boggles my mind. And, again, this was an old man! I don't understand why people think the Earth is one big garbage can.

I am hoping that I have instilled the "no-littering" law into my daughters' heads. My oldest will bring a bag with us on walks and picks up trash. She is 5.

Raid should make a spray for litter bugs

Reminds me of the scene from the movie Anchor Man where the newscasters (set in the 1970's, of course) were walking through a public park eating sandwiches and wantonly throwing their wrappers to the ground. If we are going to be bring up "when I was a kid" stories, this one is closer to the truth. I really think places are a lot cleaner than when I was a kid. The late 70's, in addition to introducing "conservation" into our language also really hit up the "Don't Litter" behaviors. Do I really need to remind you of the crying Native American (okay, he was Italian, but who is counting) commercial or the guy canoing down a frothy and gross river? It is light years better than then. That said, these dudes need some discipline, that is for sure.

The thing is, bad parents probably are going to raise bad kids. In fairness, the worst kids in my neighborhood (and believe me, we ALL know who they are and where they live) also come from the most violently abusive family that we know of around here. So said pounding of their backsides, as suggested above, would at best remind them of home or at worse would increase the behavior. What is sad is that the City, police, DCFS and Schools are very aware of these kids and their parents but not much has been done to curb either the parents lax or abusive behavior or the oldest kid's disruptive behavior. What more can a region throw at a family, beyond taking the kids out of the home? Fine a poor family? Punish them physically when physical punishment happens there as many times as kind hugs happen in ours (which is to say daily). Split the kids up among strangers? One parent is in and out of jail so what next? It may make it nicer for us neighbors because they would be gone from our radar but hardly the best interest of the children.

Answer these riddles and you will have solved the toughest questions facing regional government today.

send in Dr.Phil.

ryan costa wrote:send in Dr.Phil.

Doesn't that increase the potential for violence?? I know I certainly want to hit something when I hear him speak.

It's a matter of addition.
Add: Littering + super loud "music" in the middle of the night + cussing you out for making any remark + urinating in public + defiance of any authority = hmm. Wait, never mind, I just described some areas of Cleveland.

Mark Allan Crnolatas

Mark Crnolatas wrote:It's a matter of addition.
Add: Littering + super loud "music" in the middle of the night + cussing you out for making any remark + urinating in public + defiance of any authority = hmm. Wait, never mind, I just described some areas of Cleveland.

Mark Allan Crnolatas

Several of those things happen right next door to me.

Send in the ethnic bantu Somali immigrants.

They were doing alright until their kids got American-ed up.

David Lay wrote:Several of those things happen right next door to me.

Same here and I live on a so called nice street!

Joe Ott wrote:

David Lay wrote:Several of those things happen right next door to me.

Same here and I live on a so called nice street!

ditto.