Bad things in threes...

We had three horrible things happen in this part of the country this week. Of course, I do know that there were more than that, but these really stand out in my mind.

First of all, last week a newly graduated young woman from a town not far from me traveled to Florida with her family. She was hiding a pregnancy. She went into labor, delivered the baby and then dropped it in the hotel garbage chute. The child died of massive head injuries and the mother has been charged with murder. The town is in shock, with many members of the community stating publicly that had they known, they'd have bent over backwards to do what they could to help.

The girl's parents said they suspected the girl might be pregnant because she was wearing baggier clothes than she normally would, but I'm having severe problems with wondering just what the fuck were they thinking? If you suspect your daughter is pregnant, don't you FIND OUT????

The girl's boyfriend didn't have a clue, either. He was with them on the trip, saw his girlfriend carrying out bundles of bloody towels and accepted her explanation that she'd just started her period.

And, Florida has the Safe Haven laws which allow mothers to put their child in designated safe places where no questions will be asked, and the child will be put up for adoption to someone who is desperate to have a child through adoption.

I feel for the girl on so many levels. Others may condemn her, and perhaps rightfully so, but how alone she must have felt these last months. And how sad that she didn't have the relationship with her parents that would allow honesty and support. It's horrific. A baby is dead through no fault of its own, and an easily averted tragedy has now occurred.

And, some teenagers in another town thought it would be great fun to beat the hell out of a nine month old St. Bernard puppy who was outside in its own fenced in yard. The owners heard its screams and came running. But, too late, the pup had been beaten so badly that its back legs were useless. The pup died from the injuries in spite of heroic measures to save it.

And, yet another set of teenagers rented a golf cart at a local golf course. The family-friendly course did not require formal registration and ID to rent the carts, instead following their time-honored stance of trusting the people who played the course. On the course there is a pond which had been "rented" by Mother and Father Goose who thought it was a great place to raise the gosling children. The teenagers ran down the Mama Goose, severely injuring her leg. She can swim, eat, take care of her young, but she cannot walk. I don't have enough information to know if attempts to catch and treat her have happened at this time. The golf course says that as a result of this breach of trust, they'll now require formal sign up and registration of the golf carts because no one knows who the young men were.

My question is this - What have we done to raise such unfeeling young people? I think, personally, it's time to quit the permissive crap and start applying the hand to the butt of kids when they're still in diapers. Corrective action is needed! A pop on a diaper is an attention getter! It doesn't mean the kid is getting a beating, it is simply a tool for teaching the child between right and wrong. Waiting till young adulthood and expecting moral behavior to occur through osmosis just isn't working!