Can the US get any shittier?

[JimC]

Or better still, punishing parents for the appalling, neglectful parenting that is usually at the root of crime by children...

I agree that bad parenting is usually at the root of child crime, but to punish one person for another's crime would be downright crazy...

It's merely a matter of holding them accountable for the fruits of their loins, until some reasonable cut-off point...

Their genes, and (more importantly, in context) their home environment produced the results.

Suck it up, parents...

[Warren Dew]

Or better still, punishing parents for the appalling, neglectful parenting that is usually at the root of crime by children...

I agree that bad parenting is usually at the root of child crime, but to punish one person for another's crime would be downright crazy...

It's merely a matter of holding them accountable for the fruits of their loins, until some reasonable cut-off point...

Their genes, and (more importantly, in context) their home environment produced the results.

Suck it up, parents...

As a parent, I tend to agree with this, with the caveat that I get to make all the decisions about parenting, without any interference from "society".

[MrJonno]

You'd have to do both, really, to prevent criminal recidivism. And to prevent "recidivism" by the parents, you'd have to punish them in a way that prevented them from having further children.

Parents need to be shown to show reasonable efforts to ensure their kids do not commit crimes, but they can hardly guarantee it

[JimC]

Or better still, punishing parents for the appalling, neglectful parenting that is usually at the root of crime by children...

I agree that bad parenting is usually at the root of child crime, but to punish one person for another's crime would be downright crazy...

It's merely a matter of holding them accountable for the fruits of their loins, until some reasonable cut-off point...

Their genes, and (more importantly, in context) their home environment produced the results.

Suck it up, parents...

As a parent, I tend to agree with this, with the caveat that I get to make all the decisions about parenting, without any interference from "society".

Advice, at least, from reputable, evidence-based sources...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Society is telling us what to do all the time. Has anyone ever gone to church naked with a shotgun over their shoulder while dragging a dead hooker? I think not.

[Babel]

Yeah, but they kicked me out because i refused to leave her at the door.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Yeah, but they kicked me out because i refused to leave her at the door.

Told you to trim off the stinky bits.

[Tyrannical]

Criminals should be tried as criminals and age shouldn't matter when it comes to serious felonies. If children are to be treated differently, it should be for minor offenses like stealing candy.

[Rum]

Parents are legally responsible for the actions of their children up to a certain age ( age depending on the country). That is as it should be. As ever you predictable veer crazily to the furthest right you an on an issue that required just a bit of thought.

[mistermack]

Parents are legally responsible for the actions of their children up to a certain age ( age depending on the country). That is as it should be. As ever you predictable veer crazily to the furthest right you an on an issue that required just a bit of thought.

I didn't know that. I thought that they were responsible for providing parenting, but I haven't heard of anyone being held responsible for any action of a child. ( I'm not disputing it, but it must be a rare thing ).

I would like to see people being held directly responsible for the actions of their dogs, though.
Having kids is a basic human right. Having a dog is different, it's a lifestyle choice, and if a dog assaults someone, the owner should be guilty of that assault.

[Warren Dew]

Or better still, punishing parents for the appalling, neglectful parenting that is usually at the root of crime by children...

I agree that bad parenting is usually at the root of child crime, but to punish one person for another's crime would be downright crazy...

It's merely a matter of holding them accountable for the fruits of their loins, until some reasonable cut-off point...

Their genes, and (more importantly, in context) their home environment produced the results.

Suck it up, parents...

As a parent, I tend to agree with this, with the caveat that I get to make all the decisions about parenting, without any interference from "society".

Advice, at least, from reputable, evidence-based sources...

When I want society's advice, I'll beat it out of them with Google.

Seriously, if society - which is to say government - is going to enforce particular aspects of raising children, then parents can't be expected to take responsibility for the results of those aspects. The parents can only be expected to take responsibility for their children to the extent they have the authority to shape those children's actions.

[Sean Hayden]

I don't believe children are blank slates.

Having said that I do wonder if the correlation between horrible environments and future criminal behavior isn't a significant challenge to that view.

Those who wish to punish parents for the actions of their children must contend with the many criminals from families that should not have produced them (according to those who believe families produce criminals) and also with the cases of homes that "produce" one criminal but not others.

It's all very complicated. I wouldn't want to say anything as general as children that are criminals are such because of their parents/family.

[laklak]

It is certainly complex. I used to work at a gas station with this guy and his brother:



It's Gerald "Jerry" Stano, electrocuted by the State of Florida in 1998 for killing 22 hookers, though he eventually confessed to 41. He and his brother, Roger, were adopted as infants and raised in exactly the same home environment. I lost track of Roger, but he was a pretty normal dude. His brother was, to put it charitably, completely fucked. I met his adopted parents a couple of times, they seemed like nice, ordinary people. So - nature or nurture?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

It is certainly complex. I used to work at a gas station with this guy and his brother:



It's Gerald "Jerry" Stano, electrocuted by the State of Florida in 1998 for killing 22 hookers, though he eventually confessed to 41. He and his brother, Roger, were adopted as infants and raised in exactly the same home environment. I lost track of Roger, but he was a pretty normal dude. His brother was, to put it charitably, completely fucked. I met his adopted parents a couple of times, they seemed like nice, ordinary people. So - nature or nurture?

I suspect the impulse has to land on fertile ground.

[Sean Hayden]

It is certainly complex. I used to work at a gas station with this guy and his brother:

It's Gerald "Jerry" Stano, electrocuted by the State of Florida in 1998 for killing 22 hookers, though he eventually confessed to 41. He and his brother, Roger, were adopted as infants and raised in exactly the same home environment. I lost track of Roger, but he was a pretty normal dude. His brother was, to put it charitably, completely fucked. I met his adopted parents a couple of times, they seemed like nice, ordinary people. So - nature or nurture?

Wow, did you pick up on anything that might have given him away during the time you spent interacting with him?