fenwaydav's Blog

 Like a badge of honor kids lined up one by one to talk to reporters.  All had smiles on their faces.  Those boys even if not directly involved,  are just as guilty.  Like a pack of wolves picking the meat off a fresh kill surrounded another boy and took turns either kicking or punching or even worse hitting with a pipe. 

You could almost picture in your mind the scenario.  The halls of this Holden school  in between periods crowded with kids going to and fro.  *Whispers and chatter like the old ladies at a bingo parlor.  "There's going to be a fight" "Get down to the railroad tracks" "Can you give me a ride"?  How it started  we are not sure, but a fight between two boys in High School is not that unusual.  We use to do it in the boys room in my day.   I hate that expression in my day, but it's true.  No one drove, and certainly cell phones were still another 30 years away.

The video doesn't show who took the first blow.  It doesn't show if the boy who got the worst of it was just as guilty.  I can't imagine him being totally guilt free.  (He went there knowing there was going to be a fight).  Come to find out there are many video's of this fight.  I haven't checked, but I'm sure several versions are on you-tube.  It was a brutal beating and so far as I write this 3 boys have been arrested. 

What should the punishment be?   Juvenile or adult?  Children don't do this kind of thing.  Adults don't do this kind of thing.  This is a special case and should be handled as such.  They should be made examples of.   They should go to jail.   What we witnessed was intent to murder.   The boy is thankfully fine.   He shouldn't get away totally free either.  Like I wrote earlier he didn't go to the fight expecting to be the loser.   The judge should tell the parents to just shut up and pay as well.   Parents have to start taking some responsibility for what their children do.  This is very upsetting to have to watch.  It was also upsetting to have to watch the same thing among girls about a week ago also.   These kids are angry about something and there has to be a better way to release it.   To steal a line from Shakespeare,   "ALL ARE PUNISHED"  *and as far as the line old ladies in a bingo parlor, i mean it only in jest.  I speak from experience for I am one of those chatterer's in a bingo hall.