While reading through the latest news articles it never seems to amaze me at the amount of idiots the live among us. I read the following article, http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/aug/13/naples-girl-15-charged-dui-manslaughter-estero-wre/, and was confused on how I should feel. Of course it was upsetting and sad, but who should the blame be put on?
I feel torn on this matter because where the hell were the parents of all these kids? Why was there no supervision and where did they get the alcohol from? Also, why would the father of Brandon, who knows his son’s friends drink, allows his son to continue to hang-out with them? It’s almost as if you’re condoning it by dropping your son off at the house. Granted he didn’t know there were no parents and alcohol present but he should have been asking his son the questions, “Are the parents home?,” “Who is going to be there?,” and “What are you going to be doing?” As a teenager, those questions are annoying as hell but now that I’m older, I understand the importance of them. Would his dad still have dropped him off if he knew the answers to these questions and would this tragedy have a different outcome?
I don’t think I can completely blame the parents though because when I was their age, I knew better! I knew it was wrong to drink and I definitely knew it was wrong to take a car joyriding drunk without a license. What the hell was Karina thinking and why did the other people get into the car with her? It’s kind of scary that not one of them had the common sense to know that everything they were doing that night from the beginning was wrong, illegal and potentially harmful to themselves.
I hope kids see this and realize the severity of their actions. They think they are so cool doing all of these really stupid things when in reality they look like complete idiots. Parents need to become more present in their kid’s lives and maybe these stupid trends kids tend to follow nowadays would reduce substantially. ATTENTION PARENTS!! If you make the decision to become a parent willingly or not, your priorities may need to change and shift towards your kids. You need to learn to talk to your kids about what’s wrong and what’s right, be present in their lives as their growing up, constantly ask them questions and be available to your kids on a daily basis. Rather you agree with whatever they present to you or not, talking is your best bet to ensure them in leading a safe and responsible life.
My prayers go out to all of the people involved in this horrible tragedy.
