Marguerite
Active Member
Sorry to bring you guys down, but this is a classic example of cultural differences again. Tonight I saw one small band of poorly attired little kids being escorted around the neighbourhood searching for sweets. We'd bought a bag of mixed lollies, I split the bag with mother in law so we would each have enough. About a dozen items, and it turned out that this one band only used about half what we had. And that is a good year...
Meanwhile, it is ice cream truck night tonight (once a fortnight). The driver is from India and is a very nice man. He sells bulk boxes of ice creams once a fortnight.
Tonight I saw him pick off a water bomb from his truck. He said he got egged as well and would have to clean the truck. Not impressed but he was not going to go to the police about it. I can understand this - he does not want to antagonise customers by being oversensitive.
Then tonight a young friend of difficult child 3's, another spectrum kid who friended me on FB, has bragged on FB about how they waterbombed the ice cream truck. Then ensued 'charming' (not) exchange between him and his cronies which I got all of (because everything going to my friend, goes to me). When one of these kids (whose names were all there for me to see and identify, I know where they live!) talked about his regret at missing "the curry-muncher" I had to respond. Told the kids they had done a bad thing and I was very disappointed in them.
These kids, by the way, are all a lot younger than difficult child 3, they would be no more than 12, 14 at the most. Of course, their age on FB is stated as 20. Not true, I know.
Some of these kids are serious problems in the making. Some of them are decent kids in with the wrong crowd. And some are in between.
I have taken a screen shot of the thread in entirety and plan to drop in on their parents tomorrow. Or at least drop in a copy along with my own note about the possible dangers their kids could have been involved in. I did call the cops, but well - it's Halloween. I did say to the cop that if there are ANY other complaints of vandalism of tis sort from the street I named, that I have them admitting to it in writing on FB.
I really, really hate Halloween...
My current plan is to write a note, from me, reminding the parents that it is NOT harmless fun to throw projectiles at a moving vehicle. Also to remind at least one of the parents, a tradesman, that if kids like this pick on one businessman's vehicle they will pick on another's. They say they don't care - would the parents care if it was THEIR work vehicle?
husband gets very nervous when I get stirred up by this sort of thing. But I really hate racism, I really hate injustice, and I really, really hate this attitude of "I can do what I like because I said so" and nobody is game to speak up for fear of reprisals.
Right now I'm wondering what I can do with the screen shot I have. Pint it to the village noticeboard? It has the culprits' names on it as well as the very unsavoury things they were saying, as well as their admissions of guilt.
Tempting...
And yes, at least one of these kids, probably two or three, were in the group that physically attacked difficult child 3, unprovoked, two years ago. That's of the ones who wrote on FB. There would have been a lot more of them who did not post. So it seems no lessons learned there.
What would you guys do?
Marg
Meanwhile, it is ice cream truck night tonight (once a fortnight). The driver is from India and is a very nice man. He sells bulk boxes of ice creams once a fortnight.
Tonight I saw him pick off a water bomb from his truck. He said he got egged as well and would have to clean the truck. Not impressed but he was not going to go to the police about it. I can understand this - he does not want to antagonise customers by being oversensitive.
Then tonight a young friend of difficult child 3's, another spectrum kid who friended me on FB, has bragged on FB about how they waterbombed the ice cream truck. Then ensued 'charming' (not) exchange between him and his cronies which I got all of (because everything going to my friend, goes to me). When one of these kids (whose names were all there for me to see and identify, I know where they live!) talked about his regret at missing "the curry-muncher" I had to respond. Told the kids they had done a bad thing and I was very disappointed in them.
These kids, by the way, are all a lot younger than difficult child 3, they would be no more than 12, 14 at the most. Of course, their age on FB is stated as 20. Not true, I know.
Some of these kids are serious problems in the making. Some of them are decent kids in with the wrong crowd. And some are in between.
I have taken a screen shot of the thread in entirety and plan to drop in on their parents tomorrow. Or at least drop in a copy along with my own note about the possible dangers their kids could have been involved in. I did call the cops, but well - it's Halloween. I did say to the cop that if there are ANY other complaints of vandalism of tis sort from the street I named, that I have them admitting to it in writing on FB.
I really, really hate Halloween...
My current plan is to write a note, from me, reminding the parents that it is NOT harmless fun to throw projectiles at a moving vehicle. Also to remind at least one of the parents, a tradesman, that if kids like this pick on one businessman's vehicle they will pick on another's. They say they don't care - would the parents care if it was THEIR work vehicle?
husband gets very nervous when I get stirred up by this sort of thing. But I really hate racism, I really hate injustice, and I really, really hate this attitude of "I can do what I like because I said so" and nobody is game to speak up for fear of reprisals.
Right now I'm wondering what I can do with the screen shot I have. Pint it to the village noticeboard? It has the culprits' names on it as well as the very unsavoury things they were saying, as well as their admissions of guilt.
Tempting...
And yes, at least one of these kids, probably two or three, were in the group that physically attacked difficult child 3, unprovoked, two years ago. That's of the ones who wrote on FB. There would have been a lot more of them who did not post. So it seems no lessons learned there.
What would you guys do?
Marg