Parents

[fleaflicker]

Many parents in today's world aren't as responsible as they need to be. Jessica Lunsford's dad, on the night she was kidnapped, had left the house unlocked and wasn't even home while it happened. Unless he works the late shift,k he should have been home to tuck her home in bed, and good heavens, if he isn't going to be there, he should lock the doors. Jess's grandparents were there, admittedly, but they don't always think of this stuff. Older people often forget things. He should have at least had the door locked.

And here's another case for this. In my area, a 2 and a 3 year old brother and sister were found drowned in a sewage pond. The mom had apparently left them unsupervised in another room, and when she checked, they were gone and the door was open. Ok, not so bad, right? But, how long did she leave them unsupervised? The pond was a few hundred yards from the house. So for two little kids to travel that far, it's going to take a while. And if they stop and check everything out, as young toddlers are prone to do, it may take them a half hour to an hour. So if Mommy checks on them after five minutes and finds the doors open, she can go out in the yard and fetch them. Ten minutes, same thing. But to leave them unsupervised, even in another room, for the length of time that it took this to happen, especially with toddlers, is just plain dumb. Just my take.

[DCPassarelli]

I blame Dr. Spock. Not Mr. Spock mind you, the Doctor.

Also, I agree for the most part with what Maddox has to say. If you want to check it out, it is an older article so you might have to look for a little while.

[El-Moldo]

You pull up to the gas pumps at Sheetz. Shut off the engine, leave the keys in the car, pump in 10 gallons of gas and go in to pay. While you're in the store, someone steals your car. Who's wrong here? The guy who left the keys in, or the car thief? When did it become normal to blame the victim for the crime? No wonder she was raped. Look what she was wearing? She was asking for it!! Isn't our thinking a little skewed today? Can we really blame Jessica Lundsford's dad for the heinous crime that was committed? The grandparents were there, what else was he supposed to do? How about the criminal? Shouldn't he be blamed first and foremost. HE JUST COMMITTED A CRIME!!! When are we going to understand this?

[fleaflicker]

I'm not blaming him for the crime that was committed, I'm just saying he was very irresponsible. If you leave your keys in the car and the engine running (especially if it's a nice car, such as a BMW or a Ford Mustang convertible), isn't it partially your responsibility (or lack thereof) if your car gets stolen? If I leave a $100 bill laying around where there's a lot of people, should I expect it to be right where I left it when I get back?

Yes, the man committed a crime, and he is solely responsible, but the behavior of the father in leaving his house unlocked while he wasn't home (at night!) was very irresponsible.

And in the story of the mother, who's fault is it that her two children drowned? Isn't that sort of thing called negligence? It is just plain ignorant!! El Moldo, if you were babysitting two 3 year old kids, what is the longest amount of time you would leave them unsupervised? Especially if they were dead silent.... A parenting friend told me that when toddlers are quiet, you KNOW something is up. That was just plain irresponsible on the mother's part. Come on, if I'm babysitting a couple 4 year olds, go talk on my cell phone for 10-15 minutes (ignoring them), and one of them drowns, who's fault is it?

[The Ancient Enemy]

Moldo, I do wonder where you get some of this stuff. If you leave the keys in your car and it gets stolen, who's fault is it?! Obviously yours! There's a reason why Chevrolet and Honda put locks on their car doors, bud. Because people are thieves. If you see the keys in a car and you're a car thief... duh! Who's fault is it when someone hands you a fresh cup of coffee, you see the steam, and decide to chug it real fast and burn your whole mouth? "The coffee was too hot."

[El-Moldo]

Tell me. When they catch the guy who stole the car, who goes to jail?

[The Ancient Enemy]

Obviously the thief. It's also a subtle reminder to the owner to wake up.

Why do they put locks on the cars?

[El-Moldo]

So the thief, or crook, or criminal is ALWAYS at fault no matter what circumstances are presented him. He is the culprit. Thank you....Now, let's say your grandmother has been home all day. It's noon and she decides to run down to the end of the yard to get the mail. At the mailbox she meets her neighbor and they chat awhile. While she's there, a kid walks into her house through the unlocked door and robs her. Should she have LOCKED her door when she went for the mail? After all, WHY DO THEY PUT LOCKS ON HOUSE DOORS?

[DCPassarelli]

Locks don't matter. http://www.lockpicks.com.

I don't agree with fleaflicker's first arguement, but the second one is quite different. Another example: leaving kids in the car while you shop.

[The Ancient Enemy]

Aggie has nothing worth stealing except banana nut bread and hot dogs.