Saturday, July 12, 2008
I Really Do Want Your Opinion
I know I don’t post every day or multiple times a day and I know that there are many political bloggers who have thousands of adoring fans while I have mere hundreds. I also know that many of my readers do not comment. I also know that some of my posts get missed because they are not at the top and a lot of people read through RSS feeds and miss many of my posts or some people just don’t look past the first post. (Hint, there is a new post under this one...just saying.)
Nonetheless, I really, really want your opinions and would love to have a discussion about this particular topic:
Recently, a tour guide who brings “language” students from different countries, (I’ll avoid talking about, again, how these kids come here on mommy and daddy’s funds to learn English and have been here for 2-3 years and still don’t understand a word anyone says), was telling a co-worker and me about some rules enforced in other countries. One of those rules was that teens were not allowed to travel in packs more than 5. Their reasoning was that too many kids in a pack would cause chaos and violence and beat up little old ladies.
A co-worker agreed with that rule.
My argument was that it was too much like a nanny state and that really, they need to clearly think about it. If it’s only 5 kids, they won’t beat up an old lady but if it’s 6 kids, well, the teetering see saw slams to the ground and now, because of ONE extra person, old ladies beware? That it wouldn’t matter how many kids were all walking together, if they were hoodlums to begin with, a pair of them would beat up an old lady but if they were decent enough kids, it shouldn’t matter. And what if you were having a birthday party? You can only walk in groups of 5 and how far behind the first group can the second group walk? I understand that some kids are completely undisciplined but should we really be punishing all kids because a few of them like to beat up old ladies?
Needless to say, my co-worker and tour guide did not like to hear all of that and were not angry but getting heated that I was “refusing” to understand how horrible kids really are. Further, I know some malls in this country have that rule.
So I ask, in all seriousness, should all teens be punished to walk in groups of 5 or less because a few of them out there like to beat up old ladies? Am I the only one who sees that as absurd? Or am I wrong?
I was a teen, too. I did stupid shit, skipped school, passed notes in school instead of paying attention in class, stayed out later than my parents wanted me to and liked to pretend vomit for the traffic with the blue slurpees we got at the local drive in.....but did I beat up old ladies? No, I did not and I did hang around more than 4 of my peers at a time.
I’m going to do my best to leave this as the first entry for awhile because I know a) most people don’t read past the first entry regardless of how many I may have written in a day and b) I want to give time for those who read here once a week to have the chance to voice their opinion.
If you’ve been a silent reader, now is the time to speak up because I’m not just blabbing on about what I think, I want to know what you think.
