Why do some youth have to be so hurtful and destructive?
The reasons could take up every page of this newspaper because it’s a complex issue. But how many times do we have to harp on our youth before we see change?
Last Friday night a group of young people decided that trashing the new preschool playground at Oliver Elementary School would be a fun thing to do.
Pretending you’re a kid again and going down the slide would be fun, but ripping it from its foundation and turning it upside down is not only senseless but it’s a violent act against this community.
If you want to have fun and laugh with your friends, rent a Will Ferrell movie, or play a harmless prank on a buddy at home. Don’t ruin a playground where kids go to have fun and exercise.
Why hurt people when you can help them? We just don’t get it. Is it a cry for help or some bizarre right of passage?
The truth is helping others makes you feel so much better about yourself than destroying property. What is turning a slide upside down going to do – make you look tough in front of your friends? That only lasts a few minutes, while doing something good for someone lasts a long time in terms of respect and integrity.
We sincerely hope the perpetrators who were reportedly caught on Monday will pay meaningful restitution. If they don’t, something is seriously wrong with our accountability system.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Vernon, police continue to investigate another group of young people who committed atrocious crimes against the O’Keefe Ranch and its “Field of Screams” staff last Saturday.
I attended the corn maze event with my family the very night that a bunch of young adults entered and assaulted some of the actors and participants. One volunteer actor’s finger was broken after a lunatic with crutches purposely attacked her.
These volunteers did a fantastic job in the maze by dressing up as ghouls and monsters and scaring people as they walked by. My children shrieked and screamed as we made our way through the giant corn stalks where maniacs like Jason Voorhees waited. And the guy with the chainsaw was particularly frightening.
It was disturbingly ironic that some real maniacs were in there hurting people. Who knows, maybe one of them was the person chasing my kids and I as we ran desperately to escape.
People worry about evil spirits and the supernatural, but the real monsters walk among us every day.
Lyonel Doherty, editor
