Regarding Mob Rule (News editorial June 29):
While the parents may be thankful that it’s the police at the door instead of some upset neighbour, what does that actually do for the children?
You say the parents are not responsible, but if these kids are young enough that they cannot be tried as adults, that means they’re still under their parents’ care. It’s their parents’ job to raise them in such a manner that they should know better than to start a fire indoors or whatever the actual cause was.
I grew up with a single mother. We had very little money and I had to work for everything I currently own. But that’s how I was raised, and I’m grateful for the values my family instilled in me. If this was me, I’d be more worried about what my mom or dad would do to me when they found out. Whatever punishment the Crown handed out would certainly be far better then what my parents would have doled out.
Basically what I’m trying to say, is that it doesn’t really matter what a parent’s situation is. If there’s a will there’s a way. How one’s children turn out reflects heavily on the parents à both the good and the bad. By not publishing the kids names, and sealing their record when they turn 18, they never really have to accept responsibility for their actions.
Sure they’ll get some punishment (if you really want to call it that), and people close to the family will know who they are. But at the end of the day, this will get laughed off as something stupid that will disappear and be forgotten about a few years from now.
Look at what happened in Vancouver after the hockey game. Then look at what happened a few days later as thousands of pictures were published on the social media sites and many of the individuals were identified. Even if they’re not charged for what they did, the humiliation of what they did will follow them for years.
That is how you learn about the consequences of your actions. Sending some underage kids to juvenile hall for six to nine months - is that really going to make them think twice about doing something stupid down the road? If that really worked, we wouldn’t have all the repeat offenders we have today.
I could care less if they’re the mayor’s kids or my siblings. Well actually I’d be completely mortified if they were my siblings and I’d have to go kick some butt. But in addition to whatever punishment I handed out to my siblings, I’d expect the same sort of punishment for the mayor’s kid - however unrealistic that may be.
Public humiliation and a ton of community service. Maybe some juvi as well, but mostly out in the public cleaning up the mess caused by their actions. There doesn’t need to be a public caning. Any parent worth their salt would do that themselves far sooner than the “mob” could. But the public needs to be appeased, we deserve to be appeased.
And sadly, we all know better than to trust the Youth Criminal Justice Act (which has been a complete failure) to actually hand out justice. If the justice system actually handed out justice, we the public wouldn’t be nearly as upset as we are today.
As long as these children are protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act they can thank their lucky stars in knowing that whatever punishment they do get will be far less than what they actually deserve. Print their names and photos - who knows they might actually learn a life lesson.
Jordan Rivest
Whitehorse