“Once upon a time, you became famous because you ostensibly had some talent most of us lacked or because you did some heroic thing. That day is long gone. Fame has devolved. It has been dumbed down,†Leonard Pitts wrote about the six Florida girls who videotaped their assault of another girl because they wanted to be famous.
“The kids got their wish,†Pitts observed. “They are famous. One hopes that someday, they will be intelligent enough to recognize and lament what they are famous for.â€
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27 Comments
I would just note in this case that one of the persons involved is a 14-year-old girl, who will be tried as an adult. If this same girl made the decision to have voluntary sex, she would be considered a child no matter what her intent or desires, or the circumstances. How many dichotomies can the hysterical American mind enfold at one time?
I would also point out that fights among boys happen all the time, without society having a kitten. In the days before cable television, and all-news channels desperately seeking something to fill up 24 hours of air time, this would have been handled the way it should be now; in the juvenile courts without the outraged screams of the uberbitch Nancy Grace.
Children mirror what they see. Our society and parents are to total blame for how kids act out today.
Sorry Beber, but girls doing this sort of thing was unheard of when I was a teen….it’s just one more symptom of how our culture is heading downhill.
What this thread forgot to mention was that the victim lost sight in an eye and hearing in one ear….it was more than just a playground scuffle.
Just for the record, I don’t think that a fourteen year old girl should be tried as an adult.
Period.
Oh B.S. Mary, girls have been fighting forever. This latest incident may be a cultural blip exacerbated by MySpace, but meaningless in the great stream of life.
And the victim didn’t lose sight in one eye nor hearing in one ear. The eye was “damaged” as was her ear. In other words, she got a black eye. The charges against the eight are misdemeanor battery; if permanent damage is done, the charge is usually aggravated battery or assault. All eight are charged with kidnapping.
This is what I’ve been harping about for months on this board. You are hysterical, and you have been made hysterical by television. Nancy Grace is not telling you the truth; she is exaggerating and agitating to sell beans to bozos.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/04/17/2008-04-17_cheerleader_beaten_on_youtube_video_open.html
Beber the difference in this and a school yard brawl is that six girls and 2 guys conspired to lure 1 girl to a location and then beat the crap out of her. She does have long term physical trauma because of this. Sorry the girls were so young but how old do you have to be to realize that actions have consequences?
“It refers to forceful abduction of a human being with the intention to hold them for ransom, or seize them away for the motive of harrassment (physically or mentally or sexually), taking them hostage and various other motives. It is done by the way of taking the kidnapped person to a place where they are unlikely to be found and is unlikely to be released till abductors demands are satisfied.”
Beber she very clearly was trying to leave the home and was forceably held there against her will. Hence the kidnapping charge.
The purpose of law is to protect the innocent.
In the case of the 14 year old having sex? The law would punish the adult, and deservedly so, who would have sex with a child.
In the case of those who savagely beat up another juvenile, for sport?
Well, just a guess here, but these little darlings seem dangerous to me.
They need to be “saired straight” NOW, or they need to be locked up for a period of time until they can learn to behave.
Failing that? These girls DESERVE an adult criminal record, so that future brutal acts can be judged in the light of THIS crime.
When these little darlings beat someone up, AGAIN, when they are 18 or 19, we do not want any of them to claim that it was “self defense” or “completely out of character” for one of them to act this way, do we?
Franklin I did hear that the two 18 year olds were already on probation. Their previous crime - running someone off the road. Sounds like they need some serious time to think time and what better place than a jail cell. Just might straighten them out if not they aren’t out on the street hurting others. As for the 14 year old - where were her parents and why were her best friends this old?
In one case you treat the 14 year old as a child, and in the other as an adult to suit your moral whims.
That’s what’s completely screwed up. Everything is run through the filter of morality before it is subjected to any sort of rationality.
But all morality is b.s. since it is simply cultural hubris. HARM ANALYSIS: the punishment/intervention should have some connection to harm, and the likelihood that the perps would commit further harm. In other words, these kids should be judged, not thrown away; but where do you find wise men and women free of societal pressure to do the judging? In the end I doubt if any of them do much time except the males.
You are charging these adolescents with the same crime as two adults who take a baby with the intent of collecting ransom. This was some idiot teenage cat fight.
Not only that, you have television in the mix. Why were the tapes released? Why are we always teased by being told we haven’t seen the worst? It’s because a prosecutor is advancing his career, Nancy Grace is advancing her career, Fox and CNN are sensationalizing to sell beans, and the lives of these eight screwed up teens are immaterial.
And Mary, can’t you read a post? Show me where this girl suffered any permanent physical damage. That’s why the charge is misdemeanor battery. She might end up with a little hicky, I suppose.
Beber
You are an idiot.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying that a man YOUR age can not have sex with a 14 year old girl.
There is also absolutely NOTHING wrong with saying that that SAME 14 year old girl can not act this way, without being prosecuted as an ADULT!
In both cases, the law is PROTECTING 14 year olds, and the rest of society as well.
You need to get away from the “punishment” mentality and focus on PROTECTION!
Any healthy society will demand protection from predators and socio-paths.
What ever laws it takes, to protect society, need only have that goal in mind.
Saw part of the video…
So many expletives (F-bombs) dropped, one has to wonder what environment they are being raised.
My rule with using language is never say or write anything that you would not say or write in the presence of your dear old grandmother.
It appears though, that some must have some pretty “salty” grandmothers.
As per the violence, no excuse for it. I hope the Judge comes down loud and clear.
If the teenagers called their act a pre-emptive strike would they be let off the hook?
“My rule with using language is never say or write anything that you would not say or write in the presence of your dear old grandmother.” — Regular.
Convenient, since your dear old grandmother is no doubt dead.
“You need to get away from the “punishment” mentality and focus on PROTECTION!” — Franklin.
Then if competent authorities or psychologists determined that those involved in this case were unlikely to harm everyone, and understood the seriousness of their actions, they shouldn’t get any jail time?
beber
Posted April 19, 2008 at 1:15 pm | Permalink
“My rule with using language is never say or write anything that you would not say or write in the presence of your dear old grandmother.” — Regular.
Convenient, since your dear old grandmother is no doubt dead.
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True enough.
However, manners etiquette and proper behavior doesn’t stop the moment one steps outside of their family environment.
ALL of them including the 14 year old and the two boys should go to an adult prison.
“ALL of them including the 14 year old and the two boys should go to an adult prison.” — Blue Jay
And what purpose would that serve?
Beber
What purpose?
PROTECTION! They would not be able to do this again, to an innocent victim.
They will get out, Franklin. Who is going to protect the 14-old-girl in prison? The guards. All you care about is your pound of stinking flesh because you are disgusted. They didn’t permanently harm their victim, at least physically. And I know dozens of people who have survived worse beatings and injuries, including myself, without becoming revenge seeking animals. What happened to you?
Did your daddy spank you?
Now I know I’m a Con. I’ve had the last word. I won, I won, I won. Ha ha ha.
beber
You are really messed up.
What they did was wrong.
They should not be able to hide behind their ages.
There is no rational argument for not being hard on all of these attackers.
It is only by sheer luck that the victim was not injured more seriously.
It is not at all hard to cause permanent damage in such a fight.
You are an anarchist.
You want no law at all.
Franklin writes:
You are an anarchist.
You want no law at all.
Gee…sounds like Bush/Cheney to me. At least those kids aren’t responsible for thousands and thousands of dead people like WORST PRESIDENT EVER.
Franklin, as a younger man, did you never commit a stupid act that save for luck could have resulted in tragedy?
Young people in packs do stupid things. They shouldn’t be ruined by this, no matter what Nancy Grace thinks.
Paul has no problem with sentences for Bush cronies being commuted but some stupid kids do something stupid and he wants to give them a reserved seat in an electric chair. Paul’s not happy unless someone is being hurt, it’s his Christian nature.
beber
There are basketball players who constantly get into “foul trouble” in nearly every game they play.
Does this mean that those players should not be
“protected” by foul rules, themselves?
And, I rarely hear any basketball players crying about how the rules need to be changed to fit them, personally!
I would go further: I would guess that a very large number of convicts, serving time in prison right now, would say that these attackers, in this case, deserve at least a little bit of prison time.
I would even guess that a large number of current prison inmates would say that these thugs should be tried as adults.
Convicted criminals have families, too.
The primary purpose of law is the protection of the innocent. These thugs are dangerous.
Yes, we are ALL sinners, we all fall short at times, in various ways. This is not about retribution or punishment, it is about the protection of our society.
People like this must be removed from society.
Society also has a right and a duty to keep track of these thugs. Trying them in a criminal court, giving them an adult, criminal record, will make it easier for law enforcement and future courts to consider what and who they are dealing with.
“And Mary, can’t you read a post? Show me where this girl suffered any permanent physical damage. That’s why the charge is misdemeanor battery. She might end up with a little hicky, I suppose.”
The account I read in the Eagle stated she had lost sight in one eye and hearing in one ear…and the issue is about kids out of control who act out violently…like I said before, kids mirror what they live and it’s a reflection of our culture when these things happen. There is no doubt that there is a serious problem with violence in this country that needs ot be addressed. The last thing we need is to minimize the impact of these sort of crimes…with all the school shootings, teacher assaults, etc. by kids…just saying this is how kids act doesn’t cut it. Kids didn’t act out like this when I was young. There is a real problem here.