Hooey story of the week: The kid getting handcuffed.

[devilgrrl]

I think it's a bunch of hot gas and seemed orchestrated. From what I saw, the adults just kept inciting the child to behave worse and WTF was a video camera doing there filming it all? It seemed to go on for quite awhile. Something stinks to high heaven.

:hide:

[Devlzown]

1. Another distraction, n/t

[tkmorris]

2. I don't know if you noticed this

but the stories which get floated out there into the media often are there to do nothing more than influence public opinion. This is the case here I believe, the story is being pushed to inspire sympathy for children who have "behavioral problems". The right wing fix for such problems is psychological diagnosis and prescription drugs. You may remember the proposal to make mandatory psychological testing for children. This is related.

Another example, and one which I found particularly frustrating due to the obvious effectiveness of the media campaign, is the lambasting of "sexual offenders". The frenzy has already resulted in a bill passing in the Florida House which would require among other things sexual offenders to wear sattelite tracking devices, after they serve their sentence, for the rest of their lives. It seems clear to me that such was their intent from the beginning and the media hyped stories only serve to whip up the public into accepting such draconian laws.

Make no mistake. The MSM is in collusion with the Christian Right in an effort to influence public opinion and produce legislation more to their liking. That is one of the reasons they were surprised by the publics reaction to Congress' Shiavo case machinations. The same tactic that they had used so effectively before (hype, media coverage, pundits telling people how to think) somehow failed to work. They underestimated the publics revulsion to forcing people to live on when they didn't want to.

[ima_sinnic]

6. yeah? well thank goodness for that "draconian" Florida law

I for one completely resent having to do the job of jails in terms of being "notified" if a sexual offender/predator lives in my town and then must be on my guard and warn my children about him. The idea of a "registry" of sexual offenders is about as dumb as they get. They really think the offenders are going to honor that by voluntarily reporting their every move? People seriously believe that adults who are motivated can't just quietly disappear somewhere into the vast hinterland of the world or even just the U.S.A.?

We the citizens have a right to live free from fear from these despicable pigs. The very fact that they have to "register" their location and be stigmatized with a well-deserved though symbolic "scarlet letter" just proves that sexual offenders are never "cured" and always a danger to the community. You weren't aware that once again, recently, 2 little girls were raped and killed by sexual offenders who had "served their sentence" and were loose in the community? It is WAY past time that sexual offenders were locked up FOREVER. I don't know what took them so long and the tragedy is that more children had to suffer and die before anything was done.

[tkmorris]

13. And do you believe this is a new thing?

Do you really believe that it is only recently that a formerly convicted individual has commited a crime? Even a murder? Do you REALLY believe that?

Such things happen CONSTANTLY. Are you surprised? You shouldn't be, such is the way in this world. What you AREN'T considering is that approximately 39, 998 registered sex offenders did NOT do anything, once released.

That is what our justice system is. You serve your time and then you rejoin society and attempt to be as useful as anyone else. Under Florida's new law a 19 year old who has sex with a 15 year old gets a life sentence. Even after they are done serving their time (which they don't deserve by the way) they are now part of the pool of "registered sex offenders". They are stigmatized for the rest of their born days. Is that what you want?

I have some news for you. Remember last summer, when you were fat and happy and the news was all about hurricanes hitting Florida and the occasional report from Iraq? Crimes commited by previously convicted sexual offenders and everyone else was pretty much the same as it is today. They just didn't TELL you. Now they report it like it's a new thing and you kneejerk a response. Way to go, Ace.

You know what else? MOST of the murdered children and and raped Mommies and kids in the last week were NOT done by registered sex offenders. They also weren't reported on CNN, Sparky. Why not? Because they want you to hate convicted sex offenders. And you fall for it.

Ask yourself a few questions. How long did you hear about Laci Peterson? Do you think she was the only pregnant woman killed during this period? So why was such a big deal made of her but not the others? When you know the answer to that you will begin to understand just what the media is up to now.

[podnoi]

14. Glad someone else is pointing this out

The media is helping to whip us into a fearful "penal society".

No one defends sexual offenders. But much of the fearmongering about this issue is part of the "non-forgiveness" paranoia society that the Pharisee Right wants. Look even at the terminology they have recently labeled "sexual predators". Our entire society uses this loaded term now.
I am not sure how much good it does society to hound these people the rest of their lives.

It would be better to deal with the societal ills that bring about these horrible crimes in the first place. When it comes to sexual attitudes American society has serious issues that drive deviant behavior.

[WearyOne]

3. just another sign of Fascism. When 5 year old's get handcuffed

I reckon you have a society in real trouble : the public is being perpetually softened up for total control in every aspect of their lives.

Hitler , Geobbels & Co must be rolling in their graves with envy.

The fact that this report can even appear and the outrage is so muted , shows we are so close to a new form of Fascism it just aint funny.

[oscar111]

4. Undecided: what CAN one do with a flailing one?

agreed, the video seemed to show she was not flailing at the time, but if she had been,

what should one do with her?

straightjacket?

hold her arms by hand? - uses an employee full time

spank? not legal

pill? not legal i think

rope? not legal

handcuffs seem a good choice. If she were in an institution, i think she would have been straightjacketed.

Open minded.-- give me feedback

[cornermouse]

5. Institution? Give me a break.

This is a child out of control, not a criminal or mentally ill.

If you're her mother, you swat her on the bottom and then exercise some parental control.

If you're a teacher, you put her in a room where she can't do any harm until her mother arrives and then suspend her until her mother can prove that she'll behave.

[MollyStark]

8. Do they have padded rooms in schools these days?

What room exists where it is safe to put an out of control child with no supervision. Even if there were a padded room the child could hurt herself. LAW SUIT.

[cornermouse]

10. Interesting posts you're putting out.

Not everyone thinks alike, but you appear to be consistent.

[oscar111]

11. there are people her age in institutions

perhaps she needs to be in one.

eg, some her age that i know are institutionalized, are the bulgarian adoptees here, who "cry incessantly and are not toilet trained" etc,
They were institu. in bulgaria till the destruction of funds for such.

eg also, the severely retarded

any uncontrollable bad behavior , when long term, usually results in institutionalization.

i cited what is done in the insti's as an example to think upon. I dont know for sure if that kid belongs in one.

You cannot say for sure she is NOT insane or a young criminal. Both such are young at some point.

I BTW, did not like going to lower school with young criminals. Bullies are the polite term for them. I have zero tolerance for them.

[cornermouse]

12. I don't believe I said that you should go to school with a bully or

an out of control child.

When her mother picked her up that day, she should have been suspended until proof could be provided that she would behave. If she started this again, she should be immediately suspended again. Some parental counseling for her mother should also be insisted upon. I would not be against visits to a child psychologist, but given the probable finances of her mother and the way our government is moving toward a "survival of the fittest" mentality, I don't look for that to happen until Bush is gone from office.

[MollyStark]

9. or a sign of failed liberalism

Think about teachers so handicapped by laws and threats of litigation that they are not allowed to grab this kid and hold her until she stopped struggling.
We need to give some power back to teachers to control their own classroom.

[QC]

7. People here have certainly taken the bait...

there's at least 800 posts on this story, many of them consisting of the usual attacks on teachers.