Tragic Story in Broadlands Last Night

I second that AMEN!

 

Thanks for your opinion but no. I just heard on the radio that according the Loudon County Sheriff, apparentlty this child with no license was allowed to use the family vehicle quite often. These parents are to be blamed, judged and held accountible for their senseless act that has now caused the loss of two lives.

It's ok for people to be sensitive to the families of the victims, but it's just as ok to be angry and upset at the people that caused this because it was 100% preventable.

If you don't want to hear other peoples opinions then close your doors and windows and stay off the internet.

 

There's a big difference between "rebellion" which is learning to be an individual and "rebellion" in which kids are breaking the law.

Also, there are plenty of things for people of all ages to do in Ashburn. Here's a short list:

1. Join an activity at school. You can play an instrument in band or participate on a sports team. You can help edit the school yearbook or act as part of the drama club. If you're truly participating and not just joining to get a credential to put on your college applications, those activities take a large commitment and a lot of time.

2. Get active. Instead of sitting and whining about how there's nothing to do, go for a walk or a run. Ride your bike.

3. Help the community. There are plenty of volunteer activities in which you can participate. If you're looking for one, people in Broadlands are concerned about dog poop all over the place. You could go pick that up.

4. Learn a hobby. Like photography? Go take pictures! Like to eat? Learn to cook!

5. Read a book that isn't assigned in school. There's a library in Ashburn.

6. Go to church or synagogue or your mosque. Get active there.

7. Get a part time job if you're old enough for working papers. There are plenty of fast-food restaurants in Ashburn. You'll learn responsibility as well as getting a paycheck.

8. Help your parents instead of "rebelling" against them. Their house probably has a garage that needs cleaning out or toilets that need scrubbing. Maybe if you helped out more around the house, that would take pressure off your folks and they might be more "understanding" so you wouldn't have to "rebel".

 

I agree with smythla on all points. There are much better/safer/more constructive ways to spend your time than endangering the lives of yourself and others.

I also must take offense to vweisenburg's comments about sinless people living in the Broadlands as I can only assume they're talking about me since I addressed two questions about 'typical teenage behaviour'. Just because I didn't 'rabble-rouse' or drink in my teen years doesn't make me a saint, but it does make me well adjusted and respectful of my parents. Since when does teen drinking constitute 'normal teen behaviour'?

That being said, this is an forum for discussion and opinions...just because someone else doesn't share your's doesn't give you the right demand a cease in the public voicing of opinions that you don't happen share.

 

Nobody else has a problem with this statement?

This is infuriating...parents in this community work hard to provide for their children and how are they thanked? Drinking/drugs/carousing? All because "I'm bored." Give me a break...someone needs to teach ungrateful kids a lesson. Send them to Hati or Africa (or somewhere else equally poor domestically, like the Appalachians) to teach them how good they really have it,

 

When I went thru high school in a county that was and still is like Loudoun was thirty years ago. Teen drinking was the norm and abstainers were the very small minority. The disparity got even worse as I started working at Kings Dominion as the Teen and early twenties started mixing and the parties got better.

One thing to note. Yes some teens have a problem with drinking but the majority probably don't. We would look out for each other and make sure no one drank to much or drove. Now I drink maybe twice a month (except for wine). When I have kids I plan on having frank talks about how to handle alcohol and what to do when it gets out of hand b/c kids will be put into that position wether it's socially acceptable or not. The best you can hope for is that you did your job right and that they listened. You can't live their life and you can't control them outside of your domain.

That said. Alcohol had nothing to do with that accident. And it was an accident. Most of the time new drivers walk away from it with a lesson learned. Unfortunately, things went bad, due to errors in judgement, youthfull inexperience, and location. It's sad, but that's life.

 

I didn't mean to insinuate that alcohol played a part in the accident, I was just making a point based on others opinions.

 

Brim, you are correct that this is a forum for open discussion. However, just because you can say something doesn't mean you should. If the parents of the two kids that were killed were your next door neighbor, would you have walked over to their house on Sunday or Monday and told them to their face the exact same things you wrote here - to quote you "You do irresponsible things that have dire consequences...you pay the price, regardless of age, gender, etc..."? If not then what makes you think saying in an open forum that they might read makes it any less rude and inappropriate? That comment made me sick.

Smythla, you said "They aren't/weren't "good" boys. If they were, the driver wouldn't be out driving illegally. Good kids may act their age but they don't wantonly break the law." Are you serious? They aren't good kids because they did something stupid? Because it was against the law? Please good kids are not perfect kids. Maybe you have a Pollyannic view of the world, but the rest of us live in the real world. Teenage boys do stupid risky things. That doesn't make them bad kids, it makes them human. If you can say thet you never had even a sip of alcohol before you were 21, never even puffed a cigarette before you were 18, never drove over the speed limit, never ran a stop sign, then good for you. Clearly you are among that 1% of the population that is perfect. The other 99% of us, well we weren't and aren't perfect. That doesn't mean we deserve to be killed as a result of our actions.

 

That's opinion, at best.

Had they been my neighbors, I wouldn't have said anything to them. Like it or not, my statement is the truth. Would you feel sorry for someone that killed themselves playing Russian roulette with a .38? Probably not...why? Because the actions they were taking had consequences that result in death/injury. Rude and inappropriate is in the eye of the beholder, but the truth stands on it's own.

 

Brim, I would like to point out that they are your neighbors, and this is a neighborhood forum.
Russian Roulette is a horrible example, I thought that you might have been able to give a better argument. In the case of the game, there is a clear risk of death and it is with the willingness to die that you enter into it.
These children were probably looking for a "safe" environment in which to be rebellious- they probably thought that the closed road would harbor them from unpredictable drivers- granted, not a responsible decision- but I think they did try to take safety into account before breaking the law- they just didn't think it through as thoroughly as they ought to have.
I will say that breaking the law is wrong, but in my opinion, so is being heartless, presumptuous, judgemental, argumentative just to elicit anger or hurt feelings, and being a general pest. Not that I am calling anyone these things. Because name-calling is not too nice either

 

This explains a lot!

Originally posted by Homer Simpson


... When I have kids I plan on having frank talks about...

 

What concerns me here is that most people feel the parents should not shoulder some responsibility here. They are your children, therefore you are responsible for everything they do. It is a sad story but accountability starts somewhere and it should start from the top. Yes, the boys did make the decision on their own to do what they did, but there are plenty of other kids out there who would not make the bad decision because they understand the difference between right and wrong..which is instilled by the parents. As for the teen who responded, just because "there is nothing to do in the area" does not give anyone the right to go around, break the law and endanger others lives. You are right though, parents should be setting an example.

 

Personally, I think those without children should keep their comments to themselves. YOU HAVE NO CLUE! All rules, thoughts, and opinions change when you have your first child. I know mine did.

 

A note came home from Countryside Elementary with my kid yesterday. His 4th grade teachers son was one of the victims of Saturday nights incident. I will be writing a personal letter of condolence to his teacher. I explained the incident to my son. I told him that the boys who died were not wearing seat belts. That they were driving too fast. That they drove down the same closed road that he and I had rode our bikes on. I told him that the boys made poor decisions after leaving drama practice at school. I told them that his teacher has lost her son and that I love him.

This forum and topic is important. No one who posts a reply is completely wrong nor completely right. Times change and things change. Just because some of us lost classmates to vehicle accidents in High School (me) doesnt mean its OK to happen today. Cars and trucks are safer today. Seatbelts are the law. Sure people speed, some get tickets. But these kids intentionally went to a unlit, road under construction and sped. They were not forced, it was not raining or snowing. They had been involved in a fun and constructive activity (drama practice). Vehicle accidents are THE #1 killer of teens. Driving is a privlege not a right. Seatbelts save lives.

 

I agree with veronicasmommi and kholbert.

 

It's not a need to place blame, its the need for parents in this world to start stepping up to the plate and accepting their responsibility in the decisions that their children make. Do not knock people for being "perfect" when they were a teen. They had a choice, a choice between what was right and what was wrong and they chose to do things that would not endanger themselves or others. Just because you did those things as a teen dosen't make it right or make it an example to set for the kids of today. Some people learn from their mistakes from their youth and do not wish to see the kids today make the same wrong choices. Its not an issue of being perfect or not-perfect, its an issue of right and wrong. These days in our society, parents are so quick to push the blame off on others that they refuse to accept their roles in their childrens daily lives. The moment you have a child, you have one job in life and that is to love them and set the best example you can for them. It may have still been the kid who made the decision to drive how he did, but, the decision would NOT have been there to make, had his parents been responsible enough and not let an underaged and unlicensed driver drive the truck. Their irresponsibility in the long-run cost 2 teens their lives and its time for parents to be held accountable.

 

I agree...and at what point does it stop becoming the parents fault? If you heard about this same accident except that it was three hillbillys in the Ozarks, I guarantee you wouldn't blame their parents...you'd blame it on them being uneducated hillbillys. I think at 15, a person knows well enough whats right or wrong. Enabling is a different story...

 

Okay, first of all, the parents are responsible because they broke the law by giving him the keys, so yes they are responsible here. Also, the child is responsible for making the wrong decision. I am not ignorant to the fact that you cannot control the environment your kids will be exposed to at all time. But what I can control is the example that I set for my child and by giving them the knowledge forhand to make the right decision to not break the law. I know my earlier posts focus on the parents here, which I still do fault, but I also fault the child. I feel they are both to blame. The parents for breaking the law and providing their child with the means to also break the law and endanger and the child for making the wrong decision in speeding and endangering. I am hoping by the example and morals that we bring out child up with, when the time comes that she is exposed to unfavorable situation (example: drinking at a party), she will make the right decision. I am her parent....not her friend.