The Point them out, Knock them out game

I watched a horrible replay of a cell phone video on ABC News. A group of around 100 teens went on a rampage in a Kroger parking lot in Memphis, Tennessee. A 25 year old customer was knocked to the ground and stomped unconscious. The 17 and 18 year old store employees who came to the rescue were also stomped unconscious. Then, in a barbaric act, they picked up the pumpkins outside and threw them at the heads of unconscious victims. According to the store manager: each pumpkin weighted in excess of 20 lbs!

Some videos for you to see:

1) Sky.com, a UK News Service, reviewed this story.

2) Atlantic City, New Jersey's take on the story.

3) Huffington Post's commentary

4) A danger of the knockout game: backfired on the attacker.

5) Arrests in the grocery store assault.

6) Trying juveniles as an adult.

Please look closely at the second hyperlink above as it is the most appalling to me. All the links have the same videos but this one is the most clearest. Examining the face of those who attacked, you can see the joyous smile on some of the faces. The young teen in the lime green t-shirt seen stomping one man's head repeatedly has been arrested, as per the fifth hyperlink. The same hyperlink later stated that almost a dozen teens have been arrested, all between the ages of 14 to 19. People are pushing to arrest the parents of these teens, an action I support completely!

These parents poorly prepared their teens. Going to the sixth hyperlink, you can see that a fourteen year old can be arrested as an adult in Tennessee. If convicted, he will always be tried as an adult in the future.

If you're going to argue that they are children, then it doesn't hold water. What these teens did could have killed those three people. Their concussions will be cause for concern for the rest of their lives. The brain damage from this incident will not likely be apparent till late in life. This doesn't take into account the psychological damage of being attacked by 100 + teenagers in a large grocery store parking lot . If some are truly "children", the parents need to be charged in a court of law. These children should always be under adult supervision because they are easily swayed by peer pressure. If they left without telling their parents, the police should have been called to look for them.The teenagers and parents of these 14 and over should heed the warning in the 4th hyperlink. A teen fell in with a group of other teens. The father of a six year old was with the child at a bus stop. They (The teens) in a van circled him like a pack of rabid dogs. When they jumped out of the van, one shoved an object hard into his side. He had no idea of their intent.  Later, it was found to be a stun gun that didn't fire. This father was a licensed gun owner. In fear for his child's life, and his own, he shot the teen twice. Long story short, the teen recovered and is in prison for a year. A hard price to pay for a game.

Parents need to educate their children and teens on the responsibilities as well as the freedom of being an adult. Breaking some laws has the life altering consequences not shown in popular media. If the parents cannot control their teens, then they need to seek legal help. If they can't tell you the who, what, where, when, and why of where they are going, stop them from going! If they leave, inform the police of an underage teenager on the street that needs adult supervision. If they heard you, understood you, and didn't stay in the house, then they chose the course of action and you have no choice but to follow.

Teens without adult supervision fall prey to group mentality. Only God's grace prevented the deaths of the three people in that Kroger parking lot in Memphis, Tennessee. Besides the teenagers, the parents hold some blame.

Parents need to take back the responsibility of raising their offspring!

Wait for the facts

Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a 22 month old baby boy will be buried. He had breakfast with his father on the day he died. Then, he went through hell before he died of hypothermia. His father forgot to take him to daycare and left him in a hot car as he went to work.

My heart broke for the child and for the father. To outlive one's child is a horror all parents fear. I was at a loss for words when the police arrested the father.

Slowly, things not apparent at the boy's death are coming out. Let's wait for all the fact please before we decry the police for arresting him. The courts will try him and pass judgement if he is guilty or pardon him if innocent. I am praying for God's Grace for everyone involved and for those of us who saw it on TV. If he is found guilty, I am trying hard not to pray he is put in general population while in prison.

The Slender Man stabbings

Well...what all can I say about this?

Slender Man.  Even if he was first generated as a bit of an internet Meme by Something Awful users, the myth behind the man grew.

Whatever. I personally believe the man who created the myth had too much time on his hands.

This, however, does not stop stupidity from happening. One such incident is the is the stabbing case in Wisconsin, where two twelve year old girls stabbed a classmate who 'wanted to live', to appease Slender Man. The girls did this to curry favor with Slender Man and appease him, which deeply saddened the creator of Slender Man, and the creator even said that he was fictitious.

Blame has been posted, from the girls to the lack of God or gods in schools. Where the fault should lie, however, is with the parents.

When most of the well known psychologists agree that there is a suggestive power in the myth and encourage parental involvement in pre-teen and teenage pursuit of recreation and activities, then what in the name of Heaven did the parents of these two girls think when their kids were discussing Slender Man? Why did they not investigate their interests?

Because not all children mature at the same rate, if the child is on the internet, they must be questioned about what they read and how they feel about it. It is the duty of every parent in raising the children.

Hell, I investigated my son's activities until the age of consent. (Eighteen).

I feel sorrow for the girls for doing this and the fact their life is ruined. I feel sorrow for the parents for not realizing until it is too late they should have played an active role. I will pray for them, and for their victim who was just released from the hospital.


I will, however, still loudly state that until the child is of legal age, parents MUST be involved in their child's activities, because each child matures at a different rate.