Thinking a lot about the 2 young men from SF who are accused of murdering the Italian carabinieri. I live in the SF bay area and remember the story of the one young man who in 2016 had the issue in the park at night where he hit another kid in some fight club scenario and the kid fell, hit his head and ended up in a coma. Knowing about that and just being from here has me following this case closely. I feel that both of these men (I refuse to call them boys as some of the media has–the are adults) had every opportunity to do well in this world and seemed to have made wrong choices at every turn. Both of these men come from affluent families and seem to have been afforded many liberties. I have seen many comments blaming the parents for where these men are now. I also saw a comment from Finnegan’s mom saying that carrying a 7 inch knife around in SF is common for boys. I have an almost 14 year old son and I can’t imagine me ever think it was normal for him to carry around a 7 inch knife during his days and nights in the our community.
I find it interesting that parents get so much credit when things go well for their kids (Oh, Janie is going to Harvard?? Nice work, Mom and Dad!) but also so much blame when things go so wrong, as in this situation. I think for both of these things, it has to be part child and parent. What are your thoughts?
I think that if the parents think it is normal to carry a huge tactical knife around, and that it is normal to take it to Italy, then there is no hope for this family or son.
I have never seen my kids with a 7-inch knife other than in the kitchen. The case is extremely sad and violent.
I can’t imagine any circumstance where my kids would be walking around with such a weapon—when they were teens or now at 29/31.
And before the knifing of the police officer they were engaged in trying to buy cocaine on the street. In college we watched the Midnight Express movie about the Turkish prison nightmare that awaited the drug dealing American and I thought the lesson was that you don’t really know what will happen if you get caught dealing drugs in a foreign country so maybe you shouldn’t.
I think this case and the recent one involving A$AP Rocky in Sweden illustrate how we are pretty inured to everyday violence while much of the rest of the world is appalled.
Of course, I don’t mean that we approve, only that it happens here so often and we take that tragic mindset into the larger world, and bring the tragedy with us.
Who is this “we” you are talking about? You and your family and neighbors? Or “you people”?
The one that keeps breaking my heart is the situation at Truman State with the suicides. How could you keep your son in your life if you believed these accusations against him?
https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article233350912.html
I couldn’t finish reading the Truman State tragedy, first I’ve heard this awful story. Another example that we don’t know the people around us. Today a 21 year shot many people at Walmart in TX. Agree with @CheddarcheeseMN, saw Midnight Express in high school and Brokedown Palace in the 90s (not sure if that was a true story).
@MomofJandL - I mean all of us as Americans.
Anyone going to Italy should know Amanda Knox case.
I watch Midnight Express in 1980 too.
This real story is more brutal:
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/10275145/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/t/young-australian-executed-singapore/#.XUZPJehKjD4
watched