Silly games, dangerous games
By Patrick Kelley
Originally published 01:06 p.m., November 1, 2007
Updated 01:06 p.m., November 1, 2007
What is it about smashing pumpkins — the activity, not the musical group — that is so attractive to some people?
Smash a pumpkin and what is the result? Pieces of slippery, rotting pumpkin on the street or the sidewalk, presenting a nuisance — and perhaps a hazard — to drivers and pedestrians.
Playing with pumpkins is even more dangerous when they are dropped off highway overpasses. People who do that might as well be dropping rocks or cement blocks — the result can be the same if they hit a car or truck passing below.
The three teens who were arrested Sunday on the turnpike overpass are accused of dropping pumpkins. The law they face is the same law they would face if bowling balls had been dropped off the bridge, and that is as it should be.
If the boys are indeed the ones who were dropping the pumpkins, they might benefit from reading some of the comments on emporiagazette.com from people who read the report of their arrest:
They need to be charged and held responsible for their actions.
I hope they realize that someone could have been killed. When I was living in Chicago, kids would throw quarters over the side of the overpass. If the coin would hit the car windshield in the right place at the right time, the windshield would explode. Some people died because of that one stupid act.
What a stupid and dangerous thing to do. Throw the book at them.
Make them walk up and down Sixth Avenue with a billboard saying, “I am a loser” or “I committed a crime because I’m stupid.” Something along those lines and also give them a trash bag so they can collect trash while they are walking.
That is what people think.
Nobody wrote, “They were only having fun; don’t go hard on them.”
Nobody said, “Aw, it was only a Halloween prank.”
The responses indicate a community united in thinking that dropping pumpkins off an overpass is not only silly, it is destructive and dangerous and people who do it deserve serious punishment.
Still think smashing pumpkins sounds like fun?
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor
TruthRising (anonymous) says...
I feel exactly the same way about people who blow up tall buildings, airliners, and cafes. Throw the book at them! Patrick, you the man! You should be heading up the war on terror and we would be way ahead. You think, throwing dynamite is funny? Patrick Kelley will show you that it certainly is not! He will throw the book at you, make you walk around with a billboard saying, "I'm a terrorist loser!", and lock you up in Gitmo! Go Patrick!
November 1, 2007 at 4:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TruthRising (anonymous) says...
Hey, in all honesty, Patrick is not like that at all. He will lynch the pumpkin smashers and free the terrorists.
November 1, 2007 at 4:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
I hope TEG will let us know when they are sentenced. It better be a tough one, and not some stupid misdemeanor just because they are "juveniles."
November 1, 2007 at 5:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I shuddered when I saw the remains of pumpkins on I-35 east of town under the overpass. Don't think I wasn't nervous as I drove my toddler home each night wondering if some stupid punk was going to drop a pumpkin on my car. I hope they get some really unpleasant community service for like a month. On the weekend when they want to go out and party. I wonder what their parents thought their kids were out doing?
November 2, 2007 at 10:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CAFEmporia (anonymous) says...
It is my hope that these (really stupid) kids get punished, but not by tossing them into jail for any period of time. Yeah, a weekend or two would be good, perhaps, but some kind of public humiliation would be better if a legal one can be found. Kids often do really stupid things. It is what "kids" means. We just wish they'd all grow up. But most of the kids who do stupid things like this do, in fact, grow up to be responsible and hopefully embarrassed adults. Jail can ruin a kid. I don' t think that should be the point.
Unless they already have serious records, let's make them wear signs.
November 2, 2007 at 4:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weltha (anonymous) says...
These "kids" according to the report were 19, 18 and 15. The 18 and 19 year olds should have "known better" they are "legally" adults. Notice I said legally not mentally. For that matter so should the 15 year old. Peer pressure goes along way at age though. I agree with the writer of the article and treb. Make the mwalk around in public with a sign stating how stupid they acted all the while cleaning up the city streets.
November 5, 2007 at 3:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )