"Darrien" <Darrien_Lambert@NA.COM@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<LjlQa.135747$ZC.16145@news.easynews.com>...
> >>>> TOKYO, July 11 (AFP) - Japan's minister in charge of policy toward
> >>>> juveniles said Friday that the parents of a 12-year-old who admitted
>  killing
> >>>> a four-year-old boy should be beheaded, according to media reports.
> >>>
> >>> While I disagree with the severity, I do agree that parents should be
> >>> held more accontable than they are. For example, in the US there have
> >>> been several notable cases of teens caught stockpiling weapons for use
> >>> against their friends, and, of course, many cases of teens actually
> >>> using such weapons. I feel that if you're a parent and you have no
> >>> idea that your child has a cache of weapons in his/her room, then
> >>> you're an idiot and should be held accountable.
> >>>
> >>
> >> You underestimate the ability of teenagers to hide things from their parents.
> >>
> >> How many teenagers do you think have "dirty" magazines under their mattress?
> >>
> > I didn't.
> >
> 
> I didn't ask if you did.
> 
> > I hid mine in an old car in the back field, buried.
> >
> 
> You hid your magazines in a CAR and BURIED it?
> That's seems like overkill.
> 
It was a sweet collection. Actually, a few years ago my dad cleaned up
the field; I've always wondered if he came across those magazines.

> >> It isn't anymore difficult to hide some handguns or ammo.
> >
> > You a gun person? It isn't easy to *get* a gun, regardless of what
> > some might say. Guns cost money, usually a lot, and most of the
> > weapons used in the standard high school violence cases are not tiny
> > 25 cal. pistols. So there is very little correlation between sticking
> > a Hustler between the mattresses and hiding a gun.
> >
> 
> Isn't there? If you could, I assume successfuly, hide some Playboys
> from your parents, couldn't you extend that to weapons?
> 
I could have had I wanted to. But there are a couple of reasons why I
wouldn't have. One, I respected and loved my parents a whole lot, and
there was/is no way that I'm going to intentionally do anything that
might dissappoint them or bring them hardship. Two, I grew up with a
great respect for guns and what they can do; that's one of the
benefits of actually having to kill food for the table rather than for
sport (even though it might actually get eaten).

> > Besides, if the kid doesn't view his/her room as some sort of sovereign
> > territory (a concept I neither agree with nor understand) then they
> > know that at any time their mom/dad can enter their room and see
> > what's going on. Of course, I grew up in a tiny house where there was
> > considerable sharing of the living space, and it was very hard to have such
> > secrets.
> >
> 
> Which is why you had to hide them in a car and bury it.
> 
Exactly. Now you're getting into my confounding logic.

> >> Some of these cases
> >> were in areas where it was legal to own rifles, and the parents *knew* about
> >> this but didn't stop them.
> >>
> >> Why? Because the guns were used for hunting and it was perfectly normal for
> >> a teenager to have a rifle in his closet.
> >>
> > Are you perchance from a hunting family?
> 
> No.
> 
> > I am. I never had a rifle or
> > other weapon in my closet. I wasn't allowed. If a parent allows a
> > child to keep a weapon in their room, then for certain that parent
> > should be held accountable for that child's actions with that weapon
> 
> No they shouldn't. Anyone over the age of about 6 can tell the difference
> between "right" and "wrong". Therefore, unless I see a psychological
> evaluation of this boy, I am going to assume that he knew what he did was
> "wrong".
> 
Who do you think is responsible for teaching right and wrong? And I
certainly doubt that my son at age 6 will be able to tell the
difference between right and wrong; he'll have a general knowledge,
but the process of teaching morals and values doesn't stop in
preschool, and I'll be watching him like a hawk to ensure he
understands.

> > (and though many might agree, I consider teenagers children in many
> > respects).
> >
> 
> So do I.
> 
> >> I don't believe that you can hold one person resposible for the actions of
> >> another except in extreme circumstances. This, not being one of them.
> >
> > Parents are responsible for their kid's actions regardless of prior
> > knowledge. That's part of being a parent. At some point society forgot
> > this and that's about the time we started having some serious issues
> > involving teens.
> >
> 
> So what if a 3 month old lies face down over the mouth of a 2 month old,
> should his parents be drawn and quartered?

Nope. Because a 3 month old would most likely not be able to move over
the mouth of a 2 month old, and without a doubt that child is
incapable of the type of thought process that goes into planning
another human's demise.

John W.