> My mom would have said "Did you see them do it?" After the affirmative, then it would have been helping you the rest of the day then the woodshed when dad got home. Some kids now days have no respect for anything and it's being taught by their parents.
She's got to nip it in the bud.....
[flash width=640 height=390] http://www.youtube.com/v/de_P2aUZJyA?version=3 [/flash]
And you should help her, if you can turn these little miscreants around at an early age, you might be doing society a favor....
Radar
Edit-It could be that what the mom meant was; if you are going to leave $60k dollars worth of equipment out on the street, shouldn't you have somebody there to watch it? This would defeat the purpose of buying a robot so you you wouldn't have to hire someone, put she doesn't realize that.
I remember back in the 70's, catching a couple of kids sword fighting with lath we had just laid out for a grid we were doing. We put the fear of god into them, letting them know how much it would cost to replace the work they had undone. It wasn't the politically correct thing to do, but it got the point across.
> ...She responded "Well sir you should have been with your equipment"...
This statement above all else riles me up the worst. Does this mean that she and her family consider all items in their neighborhood, city, or the planet earth that are not actively being watched or attended to by somebody to be their personal targets for vandalism or thievery?? What happened to "if it's not yours, leave it alone."? Or how about common courtesy?
This whole family needs a wake up call in the form of a police visit and a reality check in the form of a billing statement of what it would cost to repair and/or replace damaged equipment.
Good Luck Stephen!! I hope you get satisfaction for all of us!!
Carl
>Does this mean that she and her family consider all items in their neighborhood, city, or the planet earth that are not actively being watched or attended to by somebody to be their personal targets for vandalism or thievery??
My money is on yes, they do.
> This whole family needs a wake up call in the form of a police visit and a reality check in the form of a billing statement of what it would cost to repair and/or replace damaged equipment.
My guess is the whole family doesn't give a d@mn what anyone else (including the police) say or do. A billing statement may make the sender feel better, but chances are it's going straight into the garbage.
> >Does this mean that she and her family consider all items in their neighborhood, city, or the planet earth that are not actively being watched or attended to by somebody to be their personal targets for vandalism or thievery??
>
> My money is on yes, they do.
I hope not, but I suspect you are right.
>
>
> > This whole family needs a wake up call in the form of a police visit and a reality check in the form of a billing statement of what it would cost to repair and/or replace damaged equipment.
>
> My guess is the whole family doesn't give a d@mn what anyone else (including the police) say or do. A billing statement may make the sender feel better, but chances are it's going straight into the garbage.
This is probably true also, but you never know what it might do... maybe the parents will buck up and start being parents too, when they see the cost of a little boys target practice.
Vandalized Robot - Follow up
> I got the impression that due to the elapsed time that they probably will not send an officer to talk to the boys, but at least my side of the story is on record.
You may want to remind the police about the value of the equipment. That might wake them up a bit.
That reminds me of a travel company that specializes in motor-coach charters and tours etc. They had a bus in the NYC area on one of their tours around the time of the Woodstock 20th anniversary. It was stolen and they reported it. At first the police shrugged it off, until their insurance company got on them about it. At that time it was worth around $240,000 and $240,000 motor-coaches are hard to hide. Finally they got serious about it. They found it a couple of days later parked on the street somewhere with an empty fuel tank. They believed it was being used to shuttle people out to Woodstock and then was abandoned after it ran out of fuel.
>...but you never know what it might do... maybe the parents will buck up and start being parents too, when they see the cost of a little boys target practice.
>
Warning - a few "naughty" words
[flash width=640 height=390] http://www.youtube.com/v/PSROlfR7WTo?fs=1&hl=en_US [/flash]
Vandalized Robot
Well we didn't do things like that ... BUT I do remember a time when all four of us teenage girls AND all our parents HAD to go the the police department for a "meeting".
The police weren't coming out to see us (well all lived next door to one another) nopie nopie ... we HAD to go see them !
It was enlightening to say the least 😉
I think at least some interaction with the police might "enlighten" these boys ... and their parents too!
Vandalized Robot - Follow up
It could be that the dad was fact-gathering and that both of the parents are handling the discipline issue privately while watching what they say publicly because they're concerned about liability for damaged equipment.
My gut says otherwise but I suppose it's possible.
Hey, Beer!
Welcome to the republican party!
😉
N
If for no other reason, I would file the report in the event you discover damage later or begin having problems with the equipment later, it may help with any future insurance claims...
the down side of the police report is that the dad will find out the value of the robot, and HE'LL probably try to steal it next time it up. 😉
Vandalized Robot
"sounds like Forest Hill, Texas and Forest Hills, New York are a world apart."
What an odd thing to say. How can you generalize my opinion, much less that of a whole community, based on this thread?
Or is this some new version of "it takes a village"?
Anyway, read carefully. I have indicated parental responsibility needs to be ramped up. We're talking about pre-teens here.
All I'm saying is that that if you looked at the childhood of every respondent here, there'd be an incident in their early lives just as serious or even more so. Luckily, no harm was done, no monetary damage or injury was caused. Sounds to me like a mountain out of a molehill. If it happens a second time, then that''s a different story.
If the kids are "kids being kids", being chased by Steven or his contractor will keep them away.
If they're really the budding criminals everyone here is making them out to be, no amount of parental guidance will change that.
Vandalized Robot - Follow up
I think you made the right decision by reporting it. If the dad was coming to confront you about "chasing his boys", after they had commited an act of vandalism, plus the mom's attitude from yesterday, it sounds like the parents are a bigger problem than the kids. Kids do some dumb things, but this parents sound like pure idiots.
Vandalized Robot
When I was about 8 I threw a stick at the mail man. He came and told my mom. Mom apologized to him and then called dad at work. When dad got home he said "I am so mad at you, but I can not beat you to equal how mad I am. Therefore I will whip your ass tonight and then I will whip your ass again tomorrow night to balance out your punishment." And he did. I carried a whipping all day the next day knowing that when the old man got home that night I had another one waiting for me. Dad apologized to the mail man and told him that I had been punished. I never did anything like that again.
This mom didn't do anything to apologize. Then the dad came looking for the OP. Things aren't like they were in the 70s. People are crazy. You have to step back and let the police handle things or you will end up on the wrong end of the law.
Vandalized Robot
Sorry to have been so long in responding, I have been out of pocket.
I guess our definition of "kids just being kids" is just different. I consider that 10 to 12 year old kids throwing rocks at a robot is not "kids just being kids", but kids being vandals. As for them being pre-teens, I don't think that is much of an excuse for a 10 and 12 year old - maybe a 4 or 5 year old and I do believe that "parental guidance" in the form of some effective punishment will change that. It's not making a mountain out of a molehill just because no damage was done - who would want to give them a second chance to score a direct hit on a robot with a rock?
PS As far as it taking a village to raise a child, I believe that the dependence on a village to raise children is where most of the problems with our young people comes from today.
Vandalized Robot
Now a days, sad as it is, that might be considered child abuse. I know of parents afraid to discipline their children because of the fear of being turned in for child abuse. There certainly was no fear of that with my parents when I was growing up...
Vandalized Robot - Follow up part 2
Thanks for all the replies. I spent the majority of the day on site. Thankfully it was uneventful. Glad to get some work done with no drama.
Vandalized Robot
> When I was about 8 I threw a stick at the mail man. He came and told my mom. Mom apologized to him and then called dad at work. When dad got home he said "I am so mad at you, but I can not beat you to equal how mad I am. Therefore I will whip your ass tonight and then I will whip your ass again tomorrow night to balance out your punishment." And he did. I carried a whipping all day the next day knowing that when the old man got home that night I had another one waiting for me. Dad apologized to the mail man and told him that I had been punished. I never did anything like that again.
We have/had similar parents.... A Southern raising, we had...
Vandalized Robot
> I guess our definition of "kids just being kids" is just different.
> PS As far as it taking a village to raise a child, I believe that the dependence on a village to raise children is where most of the problems with our young people comes from today.
In the Village I grew up in, the whole neighborhood was a narc and would gladly have called my parents to tell them what I was up to, if I had been upto no good. (and they did a time or two). It was like growing up in the Leave It to Beaver neighborhood, despite being 20 years too late... Fathers worked, and mothers stayed home and looked out their front windows. The police didn't mind your children, your neighbors ratted out your kids when they were up to no good, and as a child you feared your father's discipline, not because he abused you, but because being disciplined HURT your rear end, which made it extremely uncomfortable to go out and ride your bike or play on the swingset. That sore rear end made you stop and think before you did something like throwing rocks at something that wasn't yours.
I'm afraid, if I had children I'd have to move out of the US to somewhere that still allows parents to put the fear of a parent in the mind of a child. I don't condone child abuse, but parents cannot effectively enforce rules without punishments, just as society cannot effectively enforce laws with an ineffective justice system.
Based on the response you received from the mother, I would have responded just as you did by contacting the police.
(as a side note, I must not have been traumatized too much by the village growing up. I still live in the same neighborhood with little old ladies who narc'd on me as a child, and we get along just fine as adults. It's also rather obvious my father didn't abuse me as a child, if I am willing to live around the corner from him as an adult. The Leave It to Beaver neighborhood still beats having an HOA to deal with!)
🙂
Vandalized Robot - Follow up part 2
If you're going to file a report then try to back it up with a statement from your builder mate as he is an independent witness.
