Sumo Merriment

Another sad story. The blame falls on allot of different parties here. Yet, I wonder had the culture down in Texas been more conducive towards the distribution of birth control and the teaching of sex education, would this have happened?

That certainly would be a good start. For myself...I have been a person to look at the road ahead of me and did I want to live it burdened young with the care of a child? And I told myself no way...I wanted to educate myself first and have a decent home for them to live in. I don't think alot of kids do that today. Everything is the fastest was to gratification possible and to have as much fun on that way too. Actually I figured I wouldn't have kids at all...I changed my mind. Of course I know of younger people completely focused on their educational futures and taking care of their lives after that fact. There needs to be more of them in my opinion.

Well at least the girl didn't have an abortion, right? I'm afraid to get started on this because I'm in the same state of mind. If abortion wasn't treated as a dirty word, maybe things like this wouldn't happen. I dunno.

We were just talking about the value of a strong family and community support system. Sounds like no one in this story had that. What an awful nightmare that has to be for everyone involved. Sad story.

There is a story like this everyday somewhere in America. Not so much the 9 year old killing the 2 year old but of a failure of society to provide young people the tools to deal with the challenges of life whether it be poverty, drugs or sex. The young girl will suffer the fallout but it is society to blame.

Truly, Sumo, this is tragic on so many levels. Children having children is a tragedy of epic proportions. Who is to say exactly how she got pregnant at 15. Was it rape? Was it a pedophiliac relative? Was it a boyfriend? Too many children don't even have the information of what causes pregnancy to even ask about birth control or protection from STDs.

Then, a teenage mother doesn't have enough impulse control to understand the repurcussions of not tending the children. She's a child herself, and she wants to hang out with her friends. Somehow her childhood has been stripped from her because she's not given access to sex education, or protection.

Then there is the violence on television and video games. How is it that welfare families always have access to television and violent video games? I'm just asking, not making a judgment. That 9 year old has probably seen enough death in his life to harden anyone, and also, at 9, probably doesn't understand the full impact of what happened.

And finally, there is a government, and Christian right wing, that refuses to address the real problems: lack of proper education, protection, and the full impact of poverty. Abortion is a no-no, but prevention is worse than abortion. What a twisted world.

first about the cartoon: Are we sure Mama wasn't talking about Kelly and Clay..and Kelly and Rosie..oh.....there we are Rosie again....

About The Story down in Texas...awful and just in time for Christmas...why don't people value the Life they have brought into this world? Children raising children because like Fred said- I don't think Texas is focused on Birth Control or Sex Ed of any kind, or that they foucs on Teaching Young Mothers either, I live in the Bible Belt and it is no better here...

( I mean come on Folks I live in the State where they have been trying to decide if the Kids In Cages Parents DID ANYTHING Wrong?????)

We as a Country got some screwed up Values going on, Jesus preached night and day on 20 cable channels, but when was the last time you saw any show that focused on KIDS and Family ( and no I am not talking Nanny 911).

And yet in atleast 5 states Gays are not allowed to adopt....Because their "lifestyle is not suitable for children"...Now I have to ask Since when is Bingo and Booze Suitable? And you know some do goodie Twinkette on some news show will defend this " Mom" and say"Wel, atleast she didn't leave her kids in the car".

And yet, we don't value Parenting in this Country either....single moms are treated like shit for the most part....and I don't know why...( but I know it happens...maybe it is because of stories like this though..and then we all get painted with the same brush....)

I hate seeing something like this happen, mostly because it didn't have to....and should not have.

I must say, Sumo, that I found your tone suprisingly cold and judgmental this time.

My thinking is more along the lines expressed by fallenmonk and, naturally, divajood.

Parental skills are learned and in so many cases they are left unlearned with the epidemic number of family break downs. We tend to focus on these sensationally bad incidents without being analytical about the underlying problems. Inequality in the society, where there is a permanent under class with poor educational levels and the corresponding feeling of not being part of the main stream, is propably manifested with these ills.

Do we want a society with two different realities?, should be higher on the agenda. Cycle of nightmarish behaviour can be broken only if the playing field will get evened up. Educate the children well, no matter which town or neighborhood they live in, and you start realizing a positive change. The costs would be less and the benefits to you all would be much higher than going to war in Mess-o-potamia "I made it and so should they"-attitude wan't do any good.

I'm not the guy with all the answers, but I must agree with Fallenmonk and even more with Pekka. I was a bit surprised at your reaction to this tragedy. Clearly,we are in a society that is failing miserably. Something needs to change.

The way I read the story, it's not just one child having a child. She has had two children (a 2-month old in addn to the toddler who was killed) & she is only 17! Listen, I grew up in a large family that thought marriage meant you were pregnant. A lot of very young marrieds in the family, some so young they had to get parental consent. And to a person, not one of those pregnant early-marrieds ever pursued further education. In fact, they ended up spiraling further & further down the societal ladder as they kept having more & more babies. It is a trap -- but no amount of counseling seemed to cut through their teen-fog-brains. And we all pay for these tragedies.

In San Diego, a young mother & her druggie boyfriend used to leave her young son locked in the trunk of their car while they went barhopping. Their reaction to being hauled into court -- couldn't afford a babysitter, son had food & water in the trunk, and they only did it 2 or 3 times a week tops. Oh, but they did have money for bar drinks & partying. Good thing the weather there is mild with him locked in the trunk for hours at night. How do we as a society ensure our children are valued?

This is a good topic, Sumo. ~~ D.K.

From what I see, there is no one to blame the real culprit in this situation, the father of the child. Too many men go around making lotsa baby mommas with no regard or knowledge of what it actually takes to be a true father. planting the seed, while fun, doesn't make you a father anymore than planting a seed makes you a farmer. It's the nurturing and care you give to help your seed grow that qualifies you.

Excellent topic, and a tough one to get a good grip on at times.

I work as a speech-language therapist in public schools, and it seems odd to me that around 50% of the students with whom I work come from single-mom families, and dang, some of these parents just seem way too young to be having kids. I tend to get queasy about that, but it probably has something to do with my parents having me when they were around 30, and Mrs. Snave and I having kids when we were 30. I hope my two daughters will wait that long... they are 18 and 19, and I don't believe either of them are anywhere near mature enough to be good parents. Not yet, anyway!

Good topic, one that should be discussed more in light of "moral values"... heh! I agree with Lew's comment.

In our part of the world, "redneck humor" is very popular. One of the standard jokes here is "How can you tell if you are from a redneck town?" with the answer being "The population always stays the same, because every time a baby is born, a man leaves town."

While that might bring a chuckle, and I admit I chuckle at it now and then, I find it to be a fairly sad commentary on a general lack of parental and reproductive responsibility. Not just among "red" populations, either... it seems to be everywhere. I think the news story is another sad commentary on our times.

I am in agreement with you on this one Sumo. It's obvious these parents, young and old, have no clue how to raise children. And there's gonna be 11 of 'em coming up with the same lack of understanding from that one bingo lady alone. I don't know how much society can correct a lack of common sense, but pinning blame on videogames is certainly not going to result in anything of note. I grew up watching Tom & Jerry, Three Stooges, etc. and I've never felt the compulsion to smash someone in the face with a mallet. At least, not because of the shows, maybe for their nearly swerving into me on the highway because they're on the phone while smoking pot. You only got 2 hands to drive buddy and they're both occupied!! Off on a tangent...

Wait, PARTYING?! The 17-year-old mother left her kids in the care of the other woman because she was actually going out to earn MONEY. Ugh, next time you go off on a judgemental rant, make sure the subject concerned is actually the welfare-loving party girl you claim, not a mother who's actually trying to make Christmas money for her kids...