Seniors, ARE YOU OUTRAGED? ARE YOU DISGUSTED? What's YOUR OPINION of those teen-age girls, in Florida ?

A good friend of mine was recently had the misfortune of having to deal with the parents of teens who had been caught by the police for underage drinking. My friend immediately took her son's driver's license and car, grounded him, and in general ended the boy's social life. The other parents did nothing. Their children continued to drive, go as they pleased, and party. One family even gave their kid a brand new car for his birthday a month later.

When the court date was fast approaching the other parents came to her and offered their lawyer's services. They said that they had found a loophole to get their kids off without punishment. Of course, my friend refused and said that her son would have to face the judge and tell the truth.

This was a very difficult thing for her to do. Her son hated her for this because he would see his friends at school and realize that he was the only one who was being punished at all. She stuck to her guns, and her kid stopped drinking, is in college now and doing well, and finally has realized that what a strong woman of character his mother is.

Too bad there aren't more parents like her!!

First off all here is my disclaimer. I graduated high school in Lakeland and know two of the girls charged. A close family member who attends high school with them states alcohol may also have been involved but they will never be able to prove it. Also, what the media has not released is that after beating the girl up they tossed her out of the car on a busy highway in the grass far from home. Yes, they should be tried as adults. The situation was premeditated. Also, as far as the myspace comments go they where spreading rumors that some of the girls involved where pregnant. I think those rumors do not ever justify that type of attack. The girls and boys involved have no remorse and need to learn the difference between right and wrong the hard way.

I agree with most of what you say, I am not so angry as sad. The children in my family are so happy and active in everything, from music to sports. They have loving parents, loving family around them. Something goes wrong somewhere, in these children's lives. Somebody has said the wrong thing, done the wrong thing, not given enough love or care --------who is to know? We do not know where things went wrong, but it is happening a lot, all over North America and all over the world. If you look at riots in other countries, children are right there in the front, throwing stones.

What can we do? Just be examples to the younger folk, by not hating, not judging and seeing that everyone is connected to each other. I couldn't watch the video, it upset me so, but It hurt me to watch what they are doing to themselves. I am sure they are not smiling - now and we can only hope that they are learning lessons that will make their future happier, and will change their lives for the better..

It really makes me sick. I don't know what has happened that makes so many young girls so mean these days. Some of it may be horror and or violent movies and video games that desensitize our youth. Many parents are allowing their children to watch and play these movies and games at young ages. So they are a very large part of the problem.

I don't like the daycare environment that a lot of children grow up in either. It is a ''take care of yourself'' hard environment with extremely very little if any emotions being demonstrated.

Many of these teens have also been spoiled since birth

The following are NOT videos of the beating. We have seen enough of that. But here on these clips they don't look so tough anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3nX1NmAec0&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFLoeZSmGDo

If anyone has a video of the parents of the 8 teens defending their kids I would like to see it.

If they were my kids I would be so angry and ashamed I don't know what I would do. But it wouldn't be good.

Like you & others, I am disgusted & outraged at what happened in Florida recently. Can you believe it? One of the girls who was in on the beating, upon being placed in a "holding tank" at the local jail, asked if she'd be able to make it to "cheerleader" practice the next day. Duh!!!! Does this girl not think that what she participated in, was wrong? Do these kids have no sense of right & wrong? I feel so badly for the girl. She pleaded with her attackers to talk it out, but they wouldn't hear of it. One of the mothers was on Good Morning America recently, & had the nerve to condone her daughter's actions. Now, do we need to look any further when asking why this happens, when a mother can sit there, on national television, & condone that beating? What has happened within the family unit? Where do we begin to point the finger of blame? Do we blame the parents? Are these kids subjected to so much violence via televison, video games, news, music, or poor parenting?

I was even more outraged when I turned the news on yesterday, only to see another sickening video of a girl beating the crap out of her teacher because the teacher reprimanded her. This took place at a school in Maryland. As the girl pummeled the teacher with her fists, the other classmates just stood there & cheered the girl on. Finally, a student reported it & the girl was stopped by school personnel. To add insult to injury, no police report was filed, which would have caused the girl to have been suspended & jailed. Why you ask? The school had problems in the past with violence in the classrooms & they feared that if they reported the beating incident to the police, that parents would withdraw their students from the school. Great reason huh? The principal condoned the beating, telling the teacher that she provoked the girl. Excuse me? The girl was in the "teacher's space" when she approached the teacher nose to nose, while the teacher was sitting at her desk. She never saw the girl coming & next thing you know, wham!!!!! The teacher had bleeding in her eye, plus numerous other injuries. Once again, the onlookers cheered as the whole thing, like the beating that took place in Florida, was being videotaped & put on, yah, you guessed it, "My Space." Is this the latest craze now? Let's beat someone up, video tape it, then put it on My Space? Does that type of thing make these kids popular among their peers? I listened to the teacher's interview, & she will never step foot in that school again. I don't blame her & I smell a lawsuit in the air. I rest my case.

**If any of you want to report me for ranting, go right ahead. I don't really care. I just wanted to voice my opinion**

We must be on the same wave length this morning Geezer as your question posted 10 minutes after mine. The problem I see with many parents of children today is that there is no accountability for their actions or the child's. How do you teach morals and values to children when you have none yourself? It's the same in the workplace of today. Many people will go to great length to avoid taking responsibility for a bad decision or mistake instead of just saying "my bad" and trying to correct the mistake/decision.

I will quote Buddha..."ALL THAT WE ARE IS THE RESULT OF WHAT WE HAVE THOUGHT."

Mountain girl is absolutely right. I also work in the school system and it is unreal most days. For anyone that say we don't deserve the pay or don't do our jobs.....come on down and take mine any day of the week.....just get ready to duck and dodge at a moments notice.

I'm very upset by it, but not surprised. This is my thirtieth year of teaching public school, and I cannot begin to describe how drastically things have changed. Many of my students are so incredibly disrespectful and belligerent, and my hands are tied. The parents truly don't understand that there is anything unusual about their behavior - and I'm referring to stomping feet, yelling at me, throwing things at me, refusing to do anything they're told, and so on. One of the fifth grade boys in our school grabbed a girl's breasts and squeezed. He has said truly disgusting things to the girls. If it were my daughter being harrassed in such a way, I would press charges. I have third graders playing the video game, "Grand Theft Auto" and watching the worst movies ever made. They live in a culture of violence and entitlement. I love my students and work very hard to provide them with exciting, interesting, relevant lessons, but it's meaningless to most. They are living lives of no personal responsibility. If they don't learn and pass their tests, my job is on the line. In response to the third graders who plotted to harm their teacher (they had duct tape, handcuffs, and a knife), a psychologist says that if these kids don't get positive attention, they will see negative attention. I have a student this year that I have been very positive with, I chat with him, I've gotten to know him, I show him utmost respect, I encourage him - and as soon as something doesn't go perfectly his way, he goes into a rage. He hit another boy on the head with a baseball bat and his father laughed. I'm glad you're praying; we're in a crisis situation in this country!!!

In my opinion, it's the parents that have failed. They don't teach ethics, or manners, or teach right from wrong. They have the tv as a baby sitter or the computer where you can watch youtube and see all kinds of horrible things that the young think is cool. Parents need to start paying attention to their kids, at home, at school and every other place. They need to get involved with their lives and stop buying them cars, and electronics just to make up for things.

The video scared me. The attack was planned, cameras and lights were in place, the poor girl was lured into an ambush. It was no school girl dust up, it was a brutal, merciless act. I hope the justice system spares nothing to prosecute them.

I don't know what can be done to help the girl who was attacked, but my prayers go out to her. She will probably be in therapy the rest of her life. I hope a jury will see to it that she is compensated in some way.

I just don't understand the kids of today. In my youth, it was our PARENTS who did those same types of beatings on us & when we ganged up on someone, it sure didn't look like a crappy catfight. I agree, throw the book at those POSERS! Seriously, it's sad, but then so is HAZING for Soroities. The public just never gets to see it. I blame the parents most of all, but no one will be putting them in jail. Give the kids counseling FIRST before you end their lives with a prison sentence.