I usually do not take a stand on any issues that could be inflammatory or create ill will or discomfort for others...but I have an issue that has been smoldering for months. Today a judge settled the issue but in my mind didn't take the penalty far enough.
I know that kids do dumb things...they are kids... Teenagers can do some pretty incredible thin
gs in the name of being young, not knowing, didn't understand all those excuses.
We had a teenage "art student" write (spray paint) graffiti on the engraved names of dead soldiers at our downtown Veterans Memorial Park. I have a hard time understanding why anyone would deface and disgrace those that protect and served with their lives.
I hear this freedom of speech issues which I enjoy by being able to post. I was a wild child of the 60's...I served in Vietnam...I came back much different from who I was when I went...but I also had and have values.
The judge might have called him a disgrace big deal. The kid laughs as he goes out of the court room. The judge assigned him to community service...on Wednesday's this park is transformed into a lunch line for homeless and displaced people. They are given hot dogs, nearly 700 handed out last week. My father-in-law is know as the "Hot Dog Man", he and his wife hand out hot dogs every Wednesday without fail. The homeless know him by and name and he knows theirs too!
The teenager was given another assignment...write a biography about one of the soldiers whose name he defaced. I would have liked to see him write about each of the names not just one. I would also like to see him clean graffiti from area all around where he did this. That is just me...I want him to get a sense of pride and understanding that these people died for his freedom and mine.
I am just a wee bit irritated with the insignificance that the teenager placed on the act as "no big deal"!
Thanks for letting me have the soap box for one post.
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