The names and neighborhood are not important here so for privacy sake they are left out but this story that has gone viral on a local neighborhood on-line thread sure is getting a diverse variety of responses. What do you think this man should have done, if anything, about the situation?
Here's the post that started it all.
FYI. On Friday, May 14th at approximately 3:45pm a group of approximately a dozen kids (male and female), ages 12 to 14 years-olds, were sitting in the wooded area behind the school baseball fields between ___ and___ vaping marijuana. We approached the kids and told them that we were going to call the police. The kids ran off.
The responses have poured in.
Gail F. "Don't you have anything better to do than harass someone elses kids and threaten to call the cops on them when they're minding their own business, and hurting nobody? Do you really think they are better off killed or beaten by cops or incarcerated as opposed to hanging out and smoking pot? I highly recommend looking into other hobbies and minding your own business."
Steve S. "Rather they smoke dope then break into cars or homes!"
Mira B. "I get it, but the only problem is, they probably break into cars and homes to get the money to smoke dope 😩"
Tom G. "More than half of American adults have tried cannabis at one point. Very few of them break into cars."
Billy " I applaud you for what you did and am aghast at the responses from other people. Too few people are willing or care enough to confront kids (or anyone), and it appears that too few even recognize harmful (and illegal) behavior. By confronting the kids, you communicated morality, that adults still have authority and the courage to exercise it, that we live in community, and that you care about the kids and the community. Pot is restricted because it is a drug that has long term effects on brain functioning and personality. I would also suggest that the next time you confront kids in this situation that you not start with a threat. Rather, talk with them about their behavior, why they are smoking and the threats to their wellbeing. Then tell them it isn't acceptable and that it won't be tolerated in our neighborhood."
Claudia "You are literally the reason kids hide stuff from their parents. You have also made the act of smoking marijuana more attractive to them by reacting this way. Has prohibition taught anyone ANYTHING? It’s also none of your business! I swear you people are so out of touch with reality, and you have no self awareness or interpersonal skills. People say millennials and gen z don’t know how to communicate but on the contrary! We are the ones with the emotional intelligence to not further screw up our children."
Here are my thoughts.
"So many people commenting on this thread are the reason we have kids smoking pot in the first place. Parents who are too lazy to take an active interest in what their kids are doing and then are blaming it on kids being kids or it’s only pot. Do you care at all what you’re kids are doing? Wouldn’t parents be thankful to find out their 12-14 year old was involved in something like this? I think it’s actionable information that anyone with a kid in that age group, living In the area should want to know about. Hopefully the people I’m reading on here who don’t care, aren’t parents and never become parents because the only way we make the world a better place than it is today, tomorrow is to actually give a damn. Take an interest In what your kids are going through and try your best to give them love and information so they can begin to consider the roads they can go down and the consequences that can come from various choices that we all have. It’s not about calling the cops, it’s about expressing actual love, concern, leadership, guidance and finding a way to actually communicate which is something seemingly very few adults are able to do. I guess it should be no surprise to see the dysfunction represented in these comments. Treat others as you would want to be treated is in my mind. When you were a lost teenager, think about how much you would have appreciated someone who actually cared about you. I challenge all of us parents to actually listen to our kids and ask some questions of them. Actually investigate what makes them happy and sad. Dig a little and discover their passions and help them find ways to express it and follow their dreams. All of this can provide a detour around all the nonsense that is puberty. That’s my two cents. Oh and thanks B- (Name removed). Don’t call the cops, give their parents a heads up. The good parents will actually be interested in knowing. Not much you can do about the others."- Michael J