Random Musings

Growing like weeds...

There was a story in the paper yesterday about a young girl who got killed in a drive-by shooting. It happened in a major city, at an intersection in an area of said city where that sort of thing is, sadly, more the norm than an anomaly.

As I read on, however, I found out that the young lady was 15, and the incident happened at approximately 2:30 in the morning on a Monday. At this time of the year, it is bitterly cold in this city, especially at that time of the day.

The girl had been at home with two of her friends. According to one of the surviving girls, the three decide to go and spend the night with another of their friends, so they leave the house in the dark. On the way to the friend’s house, they stop at a gas station for chips and pop (soda).

While there, a 34 year old man and his 16 year old brother pull up and ask the girls if they want to go for a ride and have some fun. The girls get into this stranger's car and take off.

One of the girls told the police that they were "riding and having a good time" when another car pulls up out of no where and opens fire on the one they were in, shooting her friend in the head, killing her. One of the other girls was shot in the shoulder, the boy was shot in his hand, and the other of the other girls had her coat grazed by a bullet. The 34 year old man drove them all to the hospital where the one girl was pronounced dead..

As I was reading, I found the girls’ story about leaving the house to go spend the night with another girl a little shady. Who goes to another person's house at 2:00 in the morning to spend the night when you're already at home with friends? And then, what 15 year old girl is just going to up and leave her warm home, without permission; there was no mention of them sneaking out, to go out into the bitter cold to hang out if that was all they were doing?

Why would 15 year old girls get into a car with a grown man and his brother, who they don't know, at that time of the morning, just to ride and have fun? There is more to this story, I'm sure. The girls seemed mighty used to just coming and going as they pleased, when they pleased. They didn't seem to have any fear about walking the streets in the dark and getting into the car with strange men. And I am not in the least surprised at what happened to them.

But I am saddened by how so many of our children are being neglected, abused, corrupted, let down, and/or killed by unscrupulous, narcissistic, irresponsible adults. With all the contraceptive strategies and products available today, why are people still having kids that they have neither the skills nor the willingness to raise? Where were the adults in these girls lives? Why was it so easy for them to leave the house at that time of the morning when they should have been in their pajamas and in the bed asleep? One of the first lessons a child is taught-a girl is taught- is to not go off with strangers, yet these three girls got right into a car with two unknown men, and they were okay with all of it.

Where are the brakes that should be holding children in a safe place? Why are do so many children these days seem so reckless , so lacking in commons sense, self-respect, so lacking in a fear of those things they should fear? Because none of it has been instilled in them. Nobody has taken the time to teach them boundaries, respect, and to respect themselves.

In the article, the older sister (18) of the dead girl took offense at a TV reporter saying on the news that the girls were working as prostitutes. The sister’s comment was along the lines of, “This is absolutely not true. They were not prostitutes. They were just kids out having fun.”

What kind of nonsense Is that?

It sounded as if she thought what her sister and her friends were doing was normal. Either she is suffering from a serious case of denial, she has something to hide, or she doesn’t have a clue herself.

The dead girl lived with her grandmother, who said she was asleep at the time the girls left. There was the older sister, and an uncle was mentioned. Where was the mother? Where was the father? Who, if anyone was really raising her?

Why are so many children being allowed to grow up like weeds?

Unattended, uncultivated, they just come up because growing up is what they are meant to do. Nobody tends to them really. People see them, but they don’t really do anything about them. Wild and feral, they are allowed to go their own way until by the time they reach maturation, they are tough, wiry, and out of control, either contaminating the garden they are in with their seeds, overtaking the other plants, or they end up getting plucked out of the ground because they are worthless and nobody will miss them. Troublesome and unwanted, they become a scourge to society that often get contained or removed completely.

Just like weeds.

Sleep well, little girl. I hate how you got there, but I think you’re in a much better place.