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Welcome to the me-me society
(by Luigi Luciano - April 24, 2008)
It seems children are now being raised and taught that ‘it’ is all about themselves.
The lack of parental guidance combined with the lack of discipline is leading children to do horrible things.
By now you have heard about the 8 teenagers who beat one girl while taking a video of the events and posting it on YouTube. According to the victim, the girls bragged to her that they planned to post the beating on YouTube and MySpace.
On March 30 about 8:30 p.m., the victim arrived at Nichols' house on West Calendar Court and was greeted by Nichols and another girl.
The victim went into the bedroom where she was staying, and a third girl, April Cooper, 14, began to insult and threaten her, then hit her in the face several times and slammed her head into a wall, knocking her unconscious, a sheriff's report states.
When the victim awoke, she was on the living-room couch surrounded by six girls who took turns hitting and kicking her while the beating was videotaped, records show. The girl told investigators that the six blocked the door, held her down and beat her for a half-hour. Sometime during the attack, her left ear and eye were injured, authorities said.
Two teenage neighbors, both male, acted as lookouts, the Sheriff's Office said.
After the beating, three of the girls drove the victim to another friend's house, where they told her, "If you go to the police, the next beating will be worse," the report states.
So why do kids do these things? I have my own theories.
As I get older I keep saying that society is getting worse and worse. Some say that this has been said for thousands of years by each generation. I say that may be true but that doesn’t make it any less of a fact it is getting worse.
I look at what we are doing to our children today. Parents are not allowed to touch the child in any way as a form of discipline. It is forbidden to spank a child. Let me tell you something, children need to be spanked for many reasons. There is a difference between beating and spanking. Society is so fearful of everything and the few nuts who complain that everyone has to run scared.
They teach children that if a parent hits you call social services. They tell parents instead of hitting a child you give them a time out. I heard a comedian last week talking about how we give you kids time outs these days when he grew up time out was something his father took between beatings. I say beating that’s what we called them when we were younger but it was not a true beating.
My father used his belt on me. When I did something wrong that belt would come off and I would run. Then he would pull my hair (thanks dad for the full crop of hair I have today). I thank by mom for the beating with the wooden spoon. I just hoped she washed it before using it again on the food.
I got yelled at, smacked and punished. I deserved it all. I am a better person for that as well. I respected my parents and was fearful enough not to do anything wrong that would embarrass them.
In fact you could see the difference in the parents like mine who disciplined me compared to the ones that were not as strict. Those kids did drugs, drank and got in trouble.
I am talking about being strict with your child not abusive. There is a difference.
Right now the kids run the house. Parents run around to so many events for their kids they don’t have time to sit down for a family dinner as it should be. Events are held on Sundays which prevents the down time on Sundays to go to church and have a family dinner. Those days are gone.
Parents blame teachers for their kids lack of learning. If a teacher questions something the child did many parents blame the teacher first. In my day if a teacher contacted my house my father would ask what I did to get in trouble first before accusing the teacher.
Times have changed. We have teens beating up other kids without even thinking about the consequences and how it would affect their families. They don’t care. It is all about them and no one else.
Kids get everything they want and I am just as guilty as the next guy on this one. They complain they need a new cell phone so we get them on. They learn to expect to get everything they want.
Growing up I always wanted something but I knew I would not always get it. Today parents feel guilty so they buy the kids off. Most parents work leaving the kids either in day care for 8 hours a day or home alone as they get older. So to make up for leaving the kids they buy them things.
This is why kids like the ones that plotted to beat up some girl do what they do. I can’t blame all the parents of those 8 kids but what was going on at home that these kids did not know that plotting to beat someone up, video taping it and then posting it online would get them into trouble?
Just like most kids that get away with things at home they feel they can get away with doing things that might be a crime. They have no idea what consequences are because there was probably no consequences in their own household.
What needs to change are things that I don’t think we can ever go back to. We need a parent to be at home raising the child not a day care center. We need parents to use discipline with their children and if that means a spanking across the butt then it is OK. We need to parents to be parents. It is a different world than it was years ago. They need to know what their kids are doing on My Space and the other websites. They need to work with teachers who say they have a problem with the child and not blame the teacher right off.
Most of all they need to stop buying the kids off with money and gifts. Time is what kids want and need most, not more things.
Society is getting worse no matter what anyone says. Children are disrespectful now more than ever. Violence on video games, TV and movies is showing all new ways most would never have dreamed of. The clothing children wear today is in many cases horrible. Whether it is pants that show their underwear or girls that show most of the exposed body parts.
Again where are the parents in all this? I may spoil my children but I can assure you they will not be wearing pants down to their crotch or be allowed to use foul language around me or elders. It is called teaching them respect and many parents have not learned that themselves so they allow their children to disrespect others.
I have no idea how to change things but I am really sure that is it gone to far and we can never go back. We should get used to more kids doing violent crimes and disrespecting people, not because it is right but because there seems to be no way to stop it.
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