I alway knew where my kids were...What's with the parents now a days....No disipline at home...none at school...(corpal punishment) Police can't do anything with them....Sure hope all the do gooders are happy with what Canada is now bringing up to be our future leaders...
Personally I got the strap in school...got it worse at home...and came from a very loving family. Which we still enjoy each other at gatherings and holidays...But I do have respect...for them...for property..and for people.
You can't say that for many youths of today....

I would not say "many". As has always been, I would say "some".

Here is what "some" others do.
http://www.opinion250.com/blog/view/3247/10/rylarians+arrive+for+5-day+workshop?

Given the news in the last couple of days, one would think that it is no longer safe for lone males to walk in Prince George unescorted. You either get tazered by the police or beaten over the head by teenagers.

OWL....You do not get tazered by the police if you do what is asked .The FOOL that got Tazered deserved it. Get off your Computer, Do a ride around with the Police, and SEE what they have to put up with from our so called Citizens.

I am thoroughly dissapointed in the actions of these "children" of our society.

It is a sad day in Prince.

I agree with Don....You don't fight with the police just becuase they are trying to do their job and protect us.
But back to the children as Runner calls them...this is not just a sad day in Prince George. This is happening all over Canada...ever since years ago, when it was fairly close that no one is allowed to disipline kids...or they will call in and have the parents in trouble. I know there are a few cases of child abuse...That is not the point here... It is basic disipline these people are missing. How many speeders do you think there would be if the police were only aloud to pull you over, smile and say don't do that anymore.... Our society is becoming a joke with regulations.

Owl...good point and well taken....But with looking around this city..I Believe that you may have it backwards, or were getting close to a 50 50 situation. What ever the stats are... it is getting worse. I know I sure appreciate a young adult that has respect, is enjoyable to be with, has manners, and some class about them. Have met them from poorer family's and better off family's. It's not the class of family but just the way they have been brought up and taught the meaning and respect of life. Some need to be taught differntly than others. I came from a family considered on the upper half... and believe me with a few good spanking's and more restrictive punishment in my young days...I wouldn't be where I am today... I give most of the credit to two good parents...That knew where I was ...and I sure wasn't running the streets and parks at midnight with a gang on a Tuesday night.
I don't post in here very often...but this has been building for a long time...Just watching while in town...or driving...in resturants, in pubs...or visting some friends...
Just seening how some parents have no control anymore over their kids...A lot of it is because of the disipline laws...and lots because we have created a socitey where two people have to work now to survive.....
This is just my opinion...luckly I won't live long enough to really see the out come. Which I am glad for...

You bet you can say "many."
The youth of today lack respect, and they are the result of a total lack of discipline in their lives, at home, and at school.
Parents are no longer allowed in the bedrooms of their teens. They are entitled to "their" privacy, and they demand it.
One cannot reprimand their offspring as they will simply call in Social Services, and a parent is charged with abuse. We then have more counsellors on the scene-required by both the parent-who must be educated as to parenting skills, and the youth, who must be informed his or her actions are unacceptable. Creates employment-if nothing else.
They are expelled from school if their lack of proper behavior is disturbing. No punishment
other than "don't come back for 3 days," or whatever. A lot of benefit to that expulsion-
they just lose out on 3 classroom days of
learning. The strap would have been far more
effective, or even the fear of it.
The courts are totally useless, as those poor misguided, misunderstood, children are deserving of sympathy, not any type of penalty imposed.
I understand the major drug users coming on stream now a days happen to be age 35 and over. Guess they are the part of society with the major frustrations to be dealt with-as just raising those brats to adulthood is beyond most parents stress level.
If the government had stayed out of the rearing of the kids in this society-I am certain a lot of the problems could have been avoided.
Better maybe just not to have any-sure would make life easier.
Most parents only want the best for their kids, but they are not permitted to raise them to be decent. Fortunately some kids just seem to be good and decent naturally.
Those kids involved in that beating should be subjected to a damn good one themselves.
No sense blaming their upbringing-parents really have no say.
Oh, for the good old days!

Trusted.....Bravo...to bad the politicans and judges don't read these remarks...Maybe we just need some good regular people in power... I'll vote for you.....

12:30 AM? Why were the "children" out during that time? I guess their "parents" have an "outside basement entrance" which lets these kids come and go. I say "blame the day care lady" for not teaching these children respect for their elders.

There is something truly wrong with a world that believes the only way to make our children fly straight is to beat the crap out of them.

There is truly something wrong with a world that gives children daily actual demonstrations about how it is alright to make other countries/cultures fly "straight" by beating the crap out of them, mostly their women and children, even if they are halfways around the world on the other side of the globe.

Show them that might is right and that the bully always succeeds......and then, guess what?

Where were the Police when 20 people were congregating in the park. Did they patrol past them, did they ask any questions, etc; Hopefully these people will be found and arrested, and given some sort of penalty for their actions.

These kids you are talking about become adults at some stage and no doubt some of them become Teachers, Police, Politicians, or General Workers. If they didnt then the town would be full of losers (Maybe it is).

Now in regards to the Tazering. Firstly the only information you have is the information that was received from the Police and Printed in the local papers. I am not aware of any information given out by the individual involved. At this point in time no charges were laid against the individual. Also this altercation took place last Friday and to my knowledge was not reported until Wednesday. (Why?) Did someone report it to the papers, who in turn contacted the RCMP for details? Who knows.

I am aware of one individual that takes a walk every day from downtown up beyond the jail on hiway 16 east and back again. This individual has been walking around Prince George for 20 years or more, and is almost a landmark. He would be getting close to 70 years old now, and could hardly be mistaken for the 2 individuals who walked away from the jail. This chap has no great love for the Police, so it is possible that some words were exchanged, however we do not have the **other side of the story** . I suspect that this is the individual in question. In any event you have to ask yourself this question.

20 years ago (before the taser) if the same situation were to take place, how would it be handled. In a nutshell

(1) The police would have known the individual from past experience and the fact that he is on the road every day.

(2) They would have either talked him down. (Assuming he started the bad mouthing) and sent him on his way.

(3) They would have arrested him for impeding a Police officer in the execution of his duties, and thrown him in Jail and he would have gone to court and either been fined or given 30 days.

(4) They would have physically restrained him, as they were quite capable of doing so at that time, and were not afraid to take a few punches in the process.However they wouldnt have shot or tasered him. Nor would they have put the dogs on him, as they are prone to do from time to time.

It seems that lately the procedure is to shoot first and ask questions later. It seem that the Police are expending a lot of firepower protecting themselves, rather than the public.

I dont have the figures for the number of Individuals that have been shot and killed in the last 5 years but you can rest assured that it is triple the number for anytime in the history of BC and Canada. There has also been a huge number of people killed by these lasers.

We have a problem here/

Nobody said anything about beating the crap out of our kids....But be allowed to give proper punisment where it's due. Just like what has been done since time began....except for the last 10 years or so.....Teaching the fundementals of respect is not all that hard...if started at a very young age....Just like we try and teach them not to steal, lie, and cheat......
If you think giving a child a swat on the behind is beating the crap out of them....then we do have a problem.....

So, just who is expected to be out patroling Rainbow park during the middle of the night? There are not enough officers to babysit our kids.

I would like to suggest that all of those big mouths out there who are so brave and opinionated don their flashlights and their courage and do their part to keeps these poor misguided youth in line by patrolling the parks and convincing the kids they should be home in bed. Chester

If they are causing trouble, get out the paintball gun, just like for the neighbor's dog that craps on your lawn. Works great in both cases.

:-)

Why is everyone forgetting the fact that the teenagers are just that teenagers.. When I was a teeneger I knew that to do something like this was wrong!!!! No need to be blaming the parents it was the kids that did it. The problem is that when young offenders do this kind of garbage they get a slap or maybe some comunity service if they get caught and that is the end of it. The parents most times have no leg to stand on when it comes to disciplining thier children. Bottom line is It is wrong and they know it they just don't giva a damm.

That's right PGLady....they were never taught respect....


Chester...I'm just not tough enough to take on twelve at a time....
When they have to do things like this in numbers...shows they a bunch of cowards too....
No...I would rather be home in bed than to go trampsing though bushes looking for someone else's kids. I had a few nights years ago...went looking for mine...found them...and brought them home....and it only happened twice...
I'll leave that job up to the parents.

Most of you are guilty of generalizing far too much. You show absolutely no knowledge of the statistics behind your theories. How often do beatings like that occur without them being reported in the newspaper? The way it looks in here there must be about 500 for every one which gets reported. Not likely!

I know that my parents both worked from the time I was about 4. My grandmother babysat me till I went to school. Both my children grew up in a similar situation - two working parents. Neither I or my children were ever hit as a form of discipline. We gave our children respect and independence. We trusted them. If they broke the trust, we reined them in for a while.

Nurture, not torture ...... it works..

Well, I also happen to be a parent-and I can truthfully say, my child cannot tell anyone of a single time I resorted to any form of violence-not so much as a slap.
I was lucky-I just happened to have a good child.
I have also seen parents so frustrated with a child they felt helpless-and the child was uncontrollable.
I know of parents who are never informed by their child as to where they are going, and what they plan on doing.
Their friends never seem to have a last name-and the parent cannot request phone numbers.
Don't ask for addresses-a parent is not entitled to that privy information.
The wise posters can perhaps give the stressed out parent some advice. Eg:
How to obtain friends names, addresses and phone numbers.
How to get a civilized answer when asking what their plans consist of while they are out.
What action to take when the police become involved in their activities.
What to do if the child reaches a point whereby they are expelled from school.
What to do when they show no respect for their parents-or, for that matter, any adult.
By the way-they do not need a basement entrance
to take off. They simply tell their parent to go to hell, or go elsewhere.
I am so glad I am not raising a child in this day and age. I do not believe I could handle the pain. Oh yes, the parents of a belligerent child feel real pain, and they hurt.
Why has the raising of kids become increasingly difficult?
If you have the answer to resolve this problem-please do not hesitate to share.
By the way, NO ONE suggested "beating the crap" out of a child, trueblue!
Read the postings, and do not affix your own determinations without at least suggestions as to the method best utilized in dealing with these kids, as your vulgar suggestion just is not appropriate.
You probably had the "crap" beat out of you, and look at the result!

"ever since years ago, when it was fairly close that no one is allowed to disipline kids...or they will call in and have the parents in trouble. I know there are a few cases of child abuse.". - Longneck

"No disipline at home...none at school...(corpal punishment) Police can't do anything with them....Sure hope all the do gooders are happy with what Canada is now bringing up to be our future leaders...
Personally I got the strap in school...got it worse at home...and came from a very loving family." - Longnecks

"The strap would have been far more
effective, or even the fear of it." - Trusted

And Trusted, your posting was a personal attack, totally unprovoked. I have notified the managers of this web site of the hateful comments and hope they will ensure your postings will be monitored in the future.

My apologies Trueblue,if I have "hurt your feelings," but I just cannot understand people who make such suggestions, but have no remedy to resolve the problems parents and the law are having with kids that feel they have the right to Beat up a passerby, no justification, no sane reasoning for the action.
Just give some ideas as to how these kids can be brought under control, and you will certainly have my respect.
Constructive criticism, and a method to resolve the horrendous action of these kids would be undoubtedly beneficial, and perhaps assist in finding a remedy.
I, personally, have also been attacked, but I feel if I have guts enough to post an opinion, I must be adult enough to take the flak as a result.
I actually feel sorry for you-that being the reason for the apology.

trusted ... you said:

"The wise posters can perhaps give the stressed out parent some advice." and then you list some situations.

The problem I have with that is that those are situations that, in my case, it never got to, either with me and my parents or with us and our children. When it gets tht far down the road, it is difficult for both parent and child to suddenly change things.

To go in after the fact is very difficult. To be observant as the kids grow up and steer them this way and that is a bit easier. No guarantees, for sure, and what I would have done if the steering had not been successful, I do not know. That is a case by case call.

Is it luck? ... That one lives in the right neighbourhood? I do not know. I think that is part of it. We were lucky to live in the DP Todd catchment area. It was a great school, and probably still is.

We did take in a young man who was 17 about 10 years ago. He lived with us for about 6 months. He moved from one friend to another because he could not live with his separated parents since they did not give a chit about him. He was kicked out of the school system because he smoked dope instead of cigarettes across the street from a no smoking school. He took distance ed courses through the adult ed system of SD57. I tried t oget him back into the school, speaking with the principals of both DP Todd and PGSS. I must say that I was not enamoured with their view of their world.

We took him in with a simple undersanding that if he did not meet with our rules, he was gone. He finished his courses, we showed an interest in his work, he was part of the family. He left to go south to live with his brother and got a job through him.

I think that might be something one could try in difficult cases. Send the kid somewhere else and put new conditions in place with new people.

trusted ... you said:

"The wise posters can perhaps give the stressed out parent some advice." and then you list some situations.

The problem I have with that is that those are situations that, in my case, it never got to, either with me and my parents or with us and our children. When it gets tht far down the road, it is difficult for both parent and child to suddenly change things.

To go in after the fact is very difficult. To be observant as the kids grow up and steer them this way and that is a bit easier. No guarantees, for sure, and what I would have done if the steering had not been successful, I do not know. That is a case by case call.

Is it luck? ... That one lives in the right neighbourhood? I do not know. I think that is part of it. We were lucky to live in the DP Todd catchment area. It was a great school, and probably still is.

We did take in a young man who was 17 about 10 years ago. He lived with us for about 6 months. He moved from one friend to another because he could not live with his separated parents since they did not give a chit about him. He was kicked out of the school system because he smoked dope instead of cigarettes across the street from a no smoking school. He took distance ed courses through the adult ed system of SD57. I tried t oget him back into the school, speaking with the principals of both DP Todd and PGSS. I must say that I was not enamoured with their view of their world.

We took him in with a simple undersanding that if he did not meet with our rules, he was gone. He finished his courses, we showed an interest in his work, he was part of the family. He left to go south to live with his brother and got a job through him.

I think that might be something one could try in difficult cases. Send the kid somewhere else and put new conditions in place with new people.

Thank you Owl for a reasonable post.

Can good parents still have bad kids? Of course they can. And if the kids are bad, there is very little recourse, other than to try and give care and custody to the province, send the kid to a group home, where he meets more kids in the same, or worse trouble.

If you are fortunate and have the money, yu can send your kid to boot camp, or boarding school. Again placing the child in a peer group full of others in trouble.

As a continually struggling parent of a teenager, I understand completely that a nurturing environment, one full of trust, love and honesty will produce the best kids. But some times, for some kids, even that is not enough.

Chester. We have more Police Officers than any other City of this size in BC. Thats not including the Auxiliary Police. A normal part of the duties of the Police is to Patrol the City at Night. Half the time in this town you cant sleep because of the constant wail of sirens, so I assume that they are out there.

When I was young and a large number of us congregated in an area it was not unusual for the Police to come by and ask us what we were about. All this really did was let us know that they were in the area and were aware of us. Why do you think we have Police and why do we pay them, other than to maintain law and order. Its their job, and they dont need you to make excuses for them.

Nothing has really changed since I was a teenager some fourty odd years ago............except we have better and more diverse forms of communication to and with the public.

Buried reporters in conflicts throughout the world.

Web cams in Iraq during the skud raids.

Blogs coming out of every orfice available.

Email machines on our hip.

But as human being we still have not been able to master the four pieces of equipment we were born with.
1. Our eyes.
2. Our ears.
3. Our brain.
4. Our mouth.

Thus todays youth have more inputs from outside the family, but still the shortcomings of parents like me.

Bloody confusing for youth when not anchored in society.

Again, a sad day for P.G. but obviously it is just a reflection of greater society.