I must tell you that I am so ANGRY! Today, I was watching Oprah, and the story was about a teenage boy who killed another teenage boy, and how the situation affected each of the two families. Here is the basic story:Boy One and Boy Two were at the same local baseball game. After the game Boy One (the larger of the two boys) was teasing Boy Two. In response to the teasing, Boy Two takes out his baseball bat and hits Boy One in the leg, and then swings the bat, smashing him in the head. Less than two hours later, Boy One is DEAD. Boy Two was taken into custody and was charged with 2nd degree murder, and is serving a 12-year sentence for the crime.
Oprah first talked with the family of the incarcerated boy. Throughout the interview the family kept calling this “unfortunate event” an “accident.” Will someone please explain to me how pulling a baseball bat out of a bag and smashing it against someone’s skull is an accident? A mistake….YES, but an ACCIDENT? I don’t think so. I am sorry that they will miss their son as he serves out his punishment, but making excuses for his criminal behavior is not okay. They are able to visit their son in jail. The other family visits their son at the cemetery.
When Oprah moved on to discuss the situation with the family of the murdered boy, I became so sad for them. I was saddened not only because they had lost their son due to this horrible crime, but also because it was obvious that the other boy (and family) felt like the biggest injustice had been felt by their challenges. The family of the murdered boy was minimized and even ridiculed for not accepting this as an “accident.”
This story shocked me. If adults can rationalize a murder into an unfortunate event, how can we expect our children to learn the difference between right and wrong and ultimately learn to take responsibility for their own actions? It made me angry at the parents of Boy Two to watch this story unfold, and it made me sad to think that this is what our society is turning into.
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