Like the late Whitney Houston, I too believe “The Children Are Our Future”. I agree that we need to teach them well and let them lead the way. But to be perfectly honest, I’m scared to death at what our future holds. More and more I find myself shaking my head in disbelief. Not only do the majority of them lack respect for themselves and others, but they also lack responsibility for their actions. But, I do not blame them - they are just a product of their upbringing. I blame the parenting or lack thereof in most cases. I firmly believe that it should be against the law for some people to procreate.
I’m sure you are wondering what started this rant of mine. While at the adorable monster’s soccer practice earlier this week, Assman found himself in a situation where he ended up disarming an air soft gun from a ten year old boy at an elementary school. The fact that this occurred after school hours does not matter to me. The fact that the little boy alleged he was being bullied by a group of kids also does not matter to me (that’s a whole other post!). Plain and simple that child had no business having a BB gun on school grounds. More importantly, he certainly should never even have had access to it. I’m not saying he should not be able to shoot a BB gun. I personally do not have a problem with that when the child is under ADULT supervision and when the BB gun is stored in a safe place, not accessible to the child. What I am saying is that guns do not belong on school property. Not toy cap guns, not BB guns, and as far as I’m concerned, not even Nerf guns! Schools are meant to be a safe zone for children. A place where they can be kids and run around and play without worrying about whether they are going to be shot in the eye with a stray BB.
So what did Assman do? He took the gun from the kid and the kid cried and begged for it back. Assman asked for his parent’s phone number, but the kid said his parents do not want him giving it out. Assman told him he would walk him home and talk to his parents for him, but the kid refused (By the way, kudos to the kid for this stuff - he obviously paid attention during the stranger danger talk, but must have somehow missed the guns are dangerous talk!) Not having any other choice, Assman called the police.
While waiting for an officer, Assman was able to locate the school custodian who identified the troubled kid as he was fleeing on his bicycle (but not before the kid called Assman a thief and stated he was going to break into our car. Such a nice, respectful little boy!) An Officer arrived, called the kid an effing idiot, took some statements and then took off to locate the kid.
Because I’m a Paralegal, I couldn’t help but to do some quick research on the subject. Wikipedia tells us:
Many of the best-selling air soft weapons are high detailed replicas of real lethal weapons…
Air soft guns should be stored in a safe place, out of reach of children…
They are capable of breaking skin at 300 ft. ...if over 300 ft, the hit would have to be within a short range and breaking the skin is not the same as penetrating it. Blood can be drawn, but flesh is usually left intact or bruised at worst.
… the eyes may be injured by any type of impact.
...teeth can also be injured (fractured) by the impact of a pellet. Dentists have reported broken teeth that require root canal and crowns to repair damage.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft_gun)
And just in case you’re wondering, Michigan law states:
752.891 Use or possession of BB handgun by minor.
Sec. 1. No person under 18 years of age shall use or possess any handgun designed and manufactured
exclusively for propelling BB's not exceeding .177 calibre by means of spring, gas or air, outside the cartilage of his domicile unless he is accompanied by a person over 18 years of age.
752.892 Penalty.
Sec. 2. Any person who violates the provisions of this act is guilty of a misdemeanor.
I’m sure everyone knows the old African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child”. What I’m wondering is, exactly what kind of village do we live in?
Until next time, live, laugh, love and be sure to teach your children well. After all, they will be leading our future.
xoxo
