People Have The Right To Be Stupid, But Some Abuse That Privilege
http://www.parentdish.com/2008/06/04/teenssentencedtopoetryclasses/icid=100214839x1203384068x1200142000
For the drunken teens who trashed poet Robert Frost's former home in Ripton Vermont last December, justice has been served in a rather unusual way. As you may recall, a former Middlebury college student threw an impromptu party at the historical farmhouse last year and things got way out of control. The nearly 50 guests broke furniture and china, discharged the fire extinguishers, and ruined the carpet with the by-products of too much drink and drugs. They caused over $10,000 in damage and created quite an uproar in the small Vermont town. Their day of reckoning has finally arrived and their punishment goes beyond community service and public embarrassment. Twenty-five of the party-goers have been sentenced to attend a poetry class where they will learn about the work of the man whose home they nearly destroyed. Prosecutor John Quinn explains the unusual punishment: "I guess I was thinking that if these teens had a better understanding of who Robert Frost was and his contribution to our society, that they would be more respectful of other people's property in the future and would also learn something from the experience," he says. The two-day session is being led by Jay Parini, a Frost biographer and college professor who was happy to donate his time for the cause. He draws on the Frost poem "The Road Not Taken" for its obvious parallels to this case. "This is where Frost is relevant. This is the irony of this whole thing. You come to a path in the woods where you can say, `Shall I go to this party and get drunk out of my mind?"' he said. "Everything in life is choices." I have my doubts about whether a poetry class could teach a teen about respect for the property of others. But if the professor can just get that one message across - that everything in life really is a choice - maybe these kids will learn to choose their roads more carefully.
CHANGE FOR A BUCK?
I admire the person who wrote this article, because, and only for this reason, they took the logical step of actually pointing it out:
" I have my doubts about whether a poetry class could teach a teen about respect for the property of others."
BUT that doesn't mean they're off the hook. This is the jew you're dealing with here. I speak for the entire group. I've been appointed. Somebody had to take care of this shit, and I was available. I really do have doubts about this punishment, because this is, no questions asked, the LAMEST punishment in the history of punishing. Because, and only because, back in the day, which was a Wednesday by the way (mad props to the dane cook joke), when a child misbehaved, they were spanked. When a teen misbehaved, they were grounded. When an ADULT misbehaved, they paid a fine, or did time. But poetry classes? Come on, it's like:
"Billy, you stole from mommy's purse, for this, you must be punished!"
"Aw man!"
"I want you to come into the living room, and see if you can handle A STRUCTURED TALKED ABOUT MORALS AND ETHICS!"
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
Or even worse:
"Timmy, you just cheated on a test, GO RIDE YOUR BIKE!"
Like, is this HONESTLY what we're gonna do to these kids?
Poetry is NOT going to make these kids make better choices. There's not some dude working in an office going, "I almost did crime, I almost did a B&E, and god DAMNIT I would have....but then I read The Raven, and it chilled me to the bone, it made me realize even animals are murderers.....I owe my LIFE to Poe!"
THAT'S NOT HAPPENING! THAT'S NOT EVEN AN OPTION!
I swear, if THIS is the best our system of law justice can do, I AM NOT IMPRESSED! Throw 'em in jail for a while, that'll teach 'em, THAT will make them reconsider their life choices. You'd never think it, but being cornholed by some huge guy named Bubbles REALLY makes ya reconsider shit! I have no problem with the court of law, 'cept for the fact that they took almost 6 years to get my grandparents murder case into a court, BUT, that beside the fact, they usually do a good job of practicing what is right and what is wrong, I commend them for their actions. HOWEVER, that does not mean that because some jackoff decided to throw a party and destroy, a somewhat national monument, THAT HE CAN GET OFF BY TAKING A FUCKIN' POETRY CLASS!
And I can prove this with my usual flawless logic.
In World War II, Hitler imprisoned thousands of Jews and killed them.
In 2001, Osama Bin Laden blew up the World Trade Center.
In 2008, a boy was sentenced to take a poetry class for desecrating Robert Frost's house.
Now, you show me some proof that the cops are doing their job of looking for REAL criminals, and I'll show you some proof about Jesus. Hey, all I'm saying is the justice system works, more or less. The kids did something, and got punished. All I'm trying to point out is how dumb it would have been to have John Wilkes Booth kill Lincoln, and then make him go learn Calculas as a punishment.
'Cause take it from me, since I write this journal. I've never gotten into trouble, but I do make mistakes when writing it, like saying things I probably shouldn't say. Remember, to err is human, to REALLY screw things up, you need a computer.
M@RK
For the drunken teens who trashed poet Robert Frost's former home in Ripton Vermont last December, justice has been served in a rather unusual way. As you may recall, a former Middlebury college student threw an impromptu party at the historical farmhouse last year and things got way out of control. The nearly 50 guests broke furniture and china, discharged the fire extinguishers, and ruined the carpet with the by-products of too much drink and drugs. They caused over $10,000 in damage and created quite an uproar in the small Vermont town. Their day of reckoning has finally arrived and their punishment goes beyond community service and public embarrassment. Twenty-five of the party-goers have been sentenced to attend a poetry class where they will learn about the work of the man whose home they nearly destroyed. Prosecutor John Quinn explains the unusual punishment: "I guess I was thinking that if these teens had a better understanding of who Robert Frost was and his contribution to our society, that they would be more respectful of other people's property in the future and would also learn something from the experience," he says. The two-day session is being led by Jay Parini, a Frost biographer and college professor who was happy to donate his time for the cause. He draws on the Frost poem "The Road Not Taken" for its obvious parallels to this case. "This is where Frost is relevant. This is the irony of this whole thing. You come to a path in the woods where you can say, `Shall I go to this party and get drunk out of my mind?"' he said. "Everything in life is choices." I have my doubts about whether a poetry class could teach a teen about respect for the property of others. But if the professor can just get that one message across - that everything in life really is a choice - maybe these kids will learn to choose their roads more carefully.
CHANGE FOR A BUCK?
I admire the person who wrote this article, because, and only for this reason, they took the logical step of actually pointing it out:
" I have my doubts about whether a poetry class could teach a teen about respect for the property of others."
BUT that doesn't mean they're off the hook. This is the jew you're dealing with here. I speak for the entire group. I've been appointed. Somebody had to take care of this shit, and I was available. I really do have doubts about this punishment, because this is, no questions asked, the LAMEST punishment in the history of punishing. Because, and only because, back in the day, which was a Wednesday by the way (mad props to the dane cook joke), when a child misbehaved, they were spanked. When a teen misbehaved, they were grounded. When an ADULT misbehaved, they paid a fine, or did time. But poetry classes? Come on, it's like:
"Billy, you stole from mommy's purse, for this, you must be punished!"
"Aw man!"
"I want you to come into the living room, and see if you can handle A STRUCTURED TALKED ABOUT MORALS AND ETHICS!"
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
Or even worse:
"Timmy, you just cheated on a test, GO RIDE YOUR BIKE!"
Like, is this HONESTLY what we're gonna do to these kids?
Poetry is NOT going to make these kids make better choices. There's not some dude working in an office going, "I almost did crime, I almost did a B&E, and god DAMNIT I would have....but then I read The Raven, and it chilled me to the bone, it made me realize even animals are murderers.....I owe my LIFE to Poe!"
THAT'S NOT HAPPENING! THAT'S NOT EVEN AN OPTION!
I swear, if THIS is the best our system of law justice can do, I AM NOT IMPRESSED! Throw 'em in jail for a while, that'll teach 'em, THAT will make them reconsider their life choices. You'd never think it, but being cornholed by some huge guy named Bubbles REALLY makes ya reconsider shit! I have no problem with the court of law, 'cept for the fact that they took almost 6 years to get my grandparents murder case into a court, BUT, that beside the fact, they usually do a good job of practicing what is right and what is wrong, I commend them for their actions. HOWEVER, that does not mean that because some jackoff decided to throw a party and destroy, a somewhat national monument, THAT HE CAN GET OFF BY TAKING A FUCKIN' POETRY CLASS!
And I can prove this with my usual flawless logic.
In World War II, Hitler imprisoned thousands of Jews and killed them.
In 2001, Osama Bin Laden blew up the World Trade Center.
In 2008, a boy was sentenced to take a poetry class for desecrating Robert Frost's house.
Now, you show me some proof that the cops are doing their job of looking for REAL criminals, and I'll show you some proof about Jesus. Hey, all I'm saying is the justice system works, more or less. The kids did something, and got punished. All I'm trying to point out is how dumb it would have been to have John Wilkes Booth kill Lincoln, and then make him go learn Calculas as a punishment.
'Cause take it from me, since I write this journal. I've never gotten into trouble, but I do make mistakes when writing it, like saying things I probably shouldn't say. Remember, to err is human, to REALLY screw things up, you need a computer.
M@RK