Kids Can't Be Kids Anymore?

Kids pick up rocks and throw them. All kids do. They throw them at other kids, through windows, at cars, anything. When I was a kid, I remember kids picking on other kids and rock fights between rivals. Most of the time, girls would squeal and run away, but in the new millenium, I suppose girls are a little more aggressive.

Hence, my desire to express my opinions over the arrest of an 11-year-old girl in California for retaliating against an 8-year-old boy. He threw a water balloon at her. She threw a two pound rock at him. He required stitches.

Now I suppose parents should not condone the actions of either of these children, but kids will be kids. I'm sure the parents of the boy were quite upset that their little darling needed stitches after a girl hit him with a rock. However, I wonder if they considered the fact that their boy threw something at a girl first. I wonder if the boy's mom thinks it's okay for her son to be abusive toward girls.

Then again, maybe he was just playing.

But it doesn't seem to matter. The police swooped down on the little girl's home to arrest her for assault with a deadly weapon. The girl resisted arrest and scratched an officer. She said that the officer grabbed her from behind by her shirt, and she was scared. I don't think that is unreasonable to assume as accurate, considering that it is California, and we all have read about the cops in California. I don't think that I need to say anything more about CA cops.

This is crazy, though. Arresting and detaining for five days an 11-year-old girl for self-defense. I wonder if the boy had been hit by a rock from another boy, would the outcome have been the same? Or would the whole incident just been explained as "boys will be boys?"

Today, I read a follow-up article in which a judge and a lawyer used their heads. That in itself is amazing. You can read that article from the Associated Press http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GIRL_CHARGED?SITE=KOIN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Unfortunately, the little girl has went through more than Martha Stewart did. She has been put through as much as an adult, but she is only eleven. She will most likely be scarred for life from this. At the very least, she could easily become a man-hater.

And men wonder why women sometimes become lesbians.

Great News!

On July 18, I received an acceptance email from Haunted Encounters. They are publishing another of my true ghost stories. This time, it's my account of happenings in the house we rented here in Washington. The title is "A House Built for Two." I will be posting updates on publication here and on my writing website. Stay tuned!