O' Wise Ones, I Need Your Counsel
 

So...let's say you are a typical middle-aged ex hippie, living in the quiet suburban house you grew up in, a house you've lived in for over 30 years. Let's say that your kids, ages 12 and 16, are both suffering considerable harrassment and threats from various factions of multiple ethnicities on a nearly daily basis, both in, after and out of school. Let's even go so far as to say that the incidents have escalated over the past few weeks, to the point that one of the harassing youths had come to your house on the pretense of apologizing for incidents at school, reached out his hand to shake your youngest kid's hand to seal the apology, and then, when the kid opened the door to shake, the other kid yanked the door open and sucker punched your kid right in the snoot...with his older brother and mother standing right next to him when he got smacked.

Let's say that these kids have been chasing your kids down the street, both in cars, on foot and on bicycles, shouting obscenities and spitting on your kid or chasing them right up to your front door. Perhaps one day you came home and found a car full of these kids parked in front of your house laying in wait for your oldest to get home. Let's say that after one recent incident, you drove around and found a group of these kids and you talked with them, informing them that you would be making sure the law dealt with them, that you had more money, better lawyers and greater believeability, and one of them spit on your car and challenged you to do something about it..and the kid that spit on your car was about nine years old and wanted really, really badly to be a gangsta instead of a four foot honky. Maybe he even called you 'bitch' and 'asshole'.

Let's say that later that same evening, one of those same kids lurked behind your neatly manicured bushes at the side of your house and then threw a large stick at your oldest kid and then ran away, shouting obscenities as he ran.

Now, assume you are going away on vacation in a couple of days, and you were planning to leave the kids to walk home from school and be alone at home for a few hours before being picked up by their father (did I mention that your kids are your stepkids?). You've called the police some four times in the past month, you've been to the schools to discuss the situation and you've found that the kid who punched your kid had even been seen by the police and was being held back from moving on to high school because of the incidents, and now you find that he is actively seeking revenge.

Maybe an hour after you'd had the talk with that same kid and his posse, he'd ridden by your house and screamed 'You fucking faggots, you can't catch me!"

What do you do now? You can't beat the little bastards up because you're 46 and they're 9, 12, 14...they aren't afraid of you because they know that if you touch them, *you'll* be the one going to jail. The main gangsta's grandma has been informed, she knows the kid is running the streets, but she can't stop it.

How do you keep your kids safe? How do you stop the escalating harassment?

Two letters, two numbers, and an odd variety of other things
 

AK-47, when you absolutely, positively, gotta kill every little bastard on the street: accept no substitute.

Other than that, try Boric Acid.

Sounds like moving is not an option for you. I wouldn't recommend it anyway. Don't let the little bastards win.

Ever see Army of Darkness ... "This is my boomstick", oh, that won't work and will probably get you in more trouble than it will solve...

You've tried the conventional stuff, and even doing something like changing districts or homeschooling (yes, I understand that the time commitent makes this a not-option for you) doesn't really deal with the problem.

Keep up the contact with the local PD ... eventually they will be caught doing something that will land them in Juvie Jail.

Have you tried the 'painting arcane symbols' gambit?

The problem with kids today is that they have NO damn respect for authority. ooh .. but sometimes involving the CORRECT authority ... Children and Youth Services might have some info/services that could be useful.

Perhaps you could teach your kids how to fight so they can defend themselves?

Unfortunately that doesn't work anymore, but opens up a whole can of worms labelled "you chile touch my chile, I sue yo' ass" (nevermind what 'they chile' has been doing for the last three months.)

What about some passive resistance? Are these the kind of kids where a lack of reaction will get them bored enough to find new victims?

And while I know that your children are perfect angels, was there something other than "those kids are weird and their dad's a hippy" that brought them to the attention of the demonspawn?

Mercenaries.

I don't believe that violence is out of the question. Put up signs that say
<center>
No Tresspassing
Violators will be shot.
Survivors will be shot again.
</center>

and then act appropriately. :)

Lobby the police even more intensely. Use a camcorder and record the kids doing what they're doing, then use it against them. While you're doing it, tell them. Let them know that you're getting them on tape, to provide evidence of their crimes to the judge, and that if they don't want to spend their next couple birthdays in juvenile hall, they might want to think about ceasing their activities.

Look in to the laws regarding "citizen's arrest" in your area. In many jurisdictions, citizens are allowed to detain people caught committing a crime.

My favorite option for removing the problem is this: wait for one of them to breach your home. Then cap the fucker in the head, no questions asked. Nothing sends a message like "I will literally kill you if you keep it up. Look at your friend." Rationalize it by realizing that these kids are going to be even worse when they grow up.

Honestly, a camcorder and plenty of tape is probably your best defense. Video evidence can get things done.

I know it's probably distateful, but have you talked to a lawyer? It seems like what you need is to manipulate the system to get the desired results, and that's what lawyers are good at.

1. My kids aren't angels, and part of what started these incidents is that they *did* fight back. Unfortunately, all that does is cause the original perps to gather they homies and come after them in greater numbers.

2. Moving is not an option. Why would I let those little cocksuckers run me out of my neighborhood?

3. Arcane symbols? I have a four-foot lighted pentagram hanging on the outside of my house. None of the perps have cited philosophical differences as their reasons for being objectionable.

4. Video idea already considered. Problem here is that I can't be everywhere that these little fucks are. I have to work, and most of this takes place in or after school. Even the home incidents have occurred while I was elsewhere.

5. Current plan is to access the cops each and every time something happens...it will soon become easier for them to help solve the problem than to ignore it.

6. I will be identifying the residence of the main problem tonight, and going to speak to his grandmother, explaining to her that I have a lawyer and will sue.

I just want all this shit to end. I don't bother anyone, and I don't appreciate being screwed with. You haven't lived until you've stood down a nine or ten year old kid who has just hocked a huge loogie on your fender right after telling you to 'fuck off, bitch', and then having him tell you that you can't make him clean it off...and the fact of the matter is, you can, but you don't think it is worth a lawsuit and possible jail time to make him do it.

Having been through a deep and life-altering year of being relentlessly bullyed in my adolescence, I like dave's ultra-violence approach.

I would not be satisfied until the little asswipe's pants had a big urine stain down the leg from fear. If mom was an accessory I would make sure she had the fear too.

And there's another reason why I don't have kids. If this happened to my family, I'm not sure where I would stop.

If you want grandkids, take this whole thing as seriously as you can and use all the resources in your command to address it. Bring everything you got. Don't let up until your foot is on their neck. Find your inner Hulk.

You're not a hippie, you're a parent now. You are literally fighting for the survival of your children.

You might consider seeking restraining orders against the perps, then a call to the cops may actually result in some measure of useful action. I think they see a little more weight in "This guy is violating his restraining order" than in "This kid is picking on my kid." You might consider mounting a cheap security camera outside your house to capture the little shitheads in action... that way you don't have to actually be there to get it on tape. The sight of the cameras may help discourage them from starting trouble at your house, too.

The problem is that these little maggots feed on feeling like they're in charge, so as long as you deliver ineffective threats about lawyers and don't follow through on them, these guys will only get worse. They'll perceive that as a frightened, desperate response, which is <i>exactly</i> what they're looking for.

The next time some punk kid hocks a logie on your car, give him one right back, maybe in the face or on his shirt. If he's twelve years old, what the hell is he going to do about it? Wedgies work well, too... very humiliating in front of his friends. Or pull the gum out of your mouth and smear it into his hair. Make going after your kids a humiliating pursuit for them, and they should stop, at least for a while.

Unfortunately these things seldom end until contact between the kids is eliminated, or the picked-on manages to turn the tables by kicking some ass or getting some big friends. An option to consider is to send the kids to school with a couple of rolls of dimes in their pockets... if it comes to blows, they coil their fists around the dimes before throwing a punch, and the other guy will feel like he was hit with a baseball bat. Best $10 you'll ever spend.

Anyhow, good luck.

Because you don't think your kids are safe, and none of the other options are working? Seriously, is it just male pride that's keeping you from doing this? If none of the other options end up working, what's wrong with living in a safe environment? Is the future of your children's psyche really worth some juvenile contest of wills?

HP's PFA idea is VERY good. Not something I usually think about with respect to kids. Your son(s) should probably be the ones to file for it though, since they are the one being directly threatened. The PFA can include specific restrictions regarding contact while at school also.

(Escalation is not the answer here. For a lot of kids today, particularly the type that you are describing, there's a fine line that separates driving by someone's house and a drive-by ON someone's house.)

Moving isn't any fuckin' fun, juju, and perhaps he likes it just fine where he is.

Are you serious?

How about this: if these kids realize they can get their way through bullying (by pushing 'spode and family out of the neighborhood), <b>they will continue to do that the rest of their lives</b>.

My children's psyches *are* important, and the most valuable lesson I can teach them through all of this is, when you are right, stand up for yourself and prove it via whatever means you have available.

I won't run and I won't hide. I have right on my side, and can muster might if so required...either financial, legal, moral, spiritual or...well, I have other alternatives, too.

Time to get the old biker buds over to sit on the front porch and drink beer and clean their guns, is it? ;)

Recently someone showed up at my mother's house looking for a shirt that my sister had borrowed. They (there was 3 of them) forced their way in, threatened my mother and my sister, and wouldn't leave even after my mother asked them to. They ended up going to jail.

[Edit]
My mother is a 60-year-old woman who has had a stroke and walks with a cane. The cops know her pretty well, and if she says that something happened, they believe her
[/Edit]

If they had been in MY house refusing to leave, their corpses would have been removed by the coroner. I don't think anyone should put up with that kind of shit.

Are these little shits comitting this stuff on your property? Have you asked them to leave? Depending on laws in your state, this may be all you have to do before you can use self-defence as an excuse to remove them from the gene pool.

Big friends are a temporary solution. The only way the situation is going to change is when one of your children kicks the living crap out of one the neighborhood monsters. I know this from experience as a picked on kid. After that, it should die down to nothing. Kids don't respect authority; they don't even understand the language. They do understand Morse code, as is in "Let me telegraph this punch to your cake-hole". Sometime you do have to fight.

As to the large pentagram on the side of your house: I bet the idiot neighbors think you're a satan worshipper. I understand the pointy end up means Wiccan--among other things, they probably don't.

I'd remove it til this blows over, unless the neighbors have huge, brightly-lit menorahs, crucifixes, or crescent moons at their places.

The kid who is the main problem has been escorted off of my property by my wife (I wasn't home at the time) and told never to return, so we've got that covered. The cop I talked to last night informed me that I could use reasonable force to restrain him the next time it happens, and I assure you that I will. Handcuffs formerly employed solely for entertainment purposes are now sitting by the front door awaiting the application of said reasonable force, in fact. Next time he sets foot in my yard, he isn't walking out of it, because his wrist will be chained to his ankle behind his back.

Interestingly, my wife has just learned from the middle school principal to whom she spoke about our ongoing travails with said youth that the kid did not return home last night, and apparently my kids are the last to have seen him (during the final ride-by shouting he committed at about 21:00 CDT), as far as they know. So not only did my heart-to-heart talk with the wanna-be little shit *not* intimidate him, it may have just pushed him over the line into walking the walk he was only talking.

I suppose it would be too much to hope that he crossed up someone who didn't have any compunction about kicking the shit out of a teenage kid, huh?

I appreciate the thought, but I'm not copping out...I've known most of my neighbors my whole life, and if they think I'm a satanist, then they're just hopeless anyway.

So the little bastards already know you're into "that occult stuff". let them know you're doing it. AT them. Be as dramatic as necessary. Of course, don't do anything that will get YOU bit by the rule of three.

It is not a violation of the Law of Three or The Rede to protect yourself... :D

And don't discount the possibility that if you scare them shitless with dramatics, they might retreat into brain-dead "Non-Christian BAD!" land and physically attack those that are different. Looking over your shoulder whenever you walk out to your car in fear of being jumped or shot is no way to live, either.

I had a conversation with a 15 year old when I was was a senior in high school [back in the Iron Age]. Why I even had to have the conversation, I'll never know; this kid was dense.

The conversation was basically:
"So what would you do if I were to pound the sausage out of you?" I asked with annoyance.
"I'd call the cops!" was the response. It was the wrong response to give in front of his friends, because he'd just shown weakness.
"Okay, fair enough. But what's keeping me from kicking your ass. Right. Now. At. This. Very. Moment", I said, puncuating the last phrase. Idiot thought about that for a minute, then his eyes widened, and he stared at me. He walked away, and I never had to have the conversation again.
The answer, of course, was nothing.

I was a picked-on kid myself in my younger years. The guy who was the worst was in junior high, and every day for months he'd push me around and talk shit to me. I got fed up one day and decided to settle it right there, and when it was done it was him lying on the floor. The problem is that two days later, he brought two of his friends with him. Now, I was lucky, and managed to convince his friends that it wasn't worth the shit they'd catch to beat up some kid they didn't even know... and I dropped a hint that if they followed through with this I'd find them alone some time and pound them into a fine paste. So they took off, and the original guy was too cowardly to face me alone, so after that the problem went away.

Just be cautious of advising your kids to retaliation in this matter, because it can settle things, or it can raise the bar, and have the other little shits bringing along friends/weapons/etc.

Are the perps THE bullies of the school?
Are they PART of the bullies of the school?
Are they ONE of the bullies of the school?
If it's the latter, then the others bullies could be used.
Mercenaries

I was tormented a lot as a kid...very few punches, mostly name-calling. Finally, during the early part of my sophomore year of high school, I finally realized what it would take to stop it. In general, I just ignored the b.s. But a few well placed borderline-insane remarks, intimidation tactics, and a massive shift in confidence that would be obvious to anyone seemed to stop the problems dead in their tracks. I have had few problems since.

Ep, I want to delve a bit more into all this. Grandview is a relatively middle-class suburb, right? Low crime? White collar or working class? And what about your kids? Well-liked? Nerdy? Fat?

Based on the sucker punch, that should be enough for an assault charge on the kid. Did you file a police report and charges? At the least, he'd have to spend a few nights in Juvi. And you're in Jackson County, right? If he's a little middle-class snotrag, that might scare the shit out of him.

Do you have a lawyer? Have a lawyer send a certified letter to the kids' parents/guardians insisting that they cease and desist. Equip your oldest with an emergency cell phone so that they can call 5-0 at the first sign of trouble.

And there's always strength in numbers. And I'm not talking about getting 5 big guys to go fuck those punks' worlds up. I'm talking about just having several friends around them when they're out, if possible.

I'll write more based on your responses to this.

(In Sycamore's Utopia, he would put bullets in the back of the kids' heads, then chop their bodies up and toss the pieces into the Missouri River. The parents, guardians, extended family, and even pets would not be safe. But this is reality, so I hope some of my legal suggestions help. :) )

[quote]Originally posted by sycamore
[b]Ep, I want to delve a bit more into all this. Grandview is a relatively middle-class suburb, right? Low crime? White collar or working class? And what about your kids? Well-liked? Nerdy? Fat?

***Very middle class. Mostly hard working people, blue collar and lower echelon white collar types. Crime is much lower here than in KC proper, but higher than, say, Lee's Summit or Overland Park, much higher average income areas. Grandview has undergone a tremendous racial balance change over the past twenty years, going from 90% Caucasian to about 50-50 Caucasian/African American. However, the income ranges and working class natures are roughly the same. Despite this, crime is much higher in Grandview now than it was when I was a kid. Mostly car thefts, burglary, nickel and dime stuff, but we have about one murder every couple of years anymore. There is plenty of Section 8 housing in the city limits, and we border on the north with Ruskin Heights, which is quite predominantly lower to lower-middle class these days. Where we have a lot of problems is in situations like the main perp...he lives with his grandma, probably doesn't even know his folks for the most part. I assume he probably ended up here after having lived his earlier years under much more grevious circumstances. We get a lot of kids shipped out of the inner city to come live with relatives who have moved into this 'safer' neighborhood, and they bring their 'hood ways with them. There's an amazing amount of Gangsta bullshit out here. My kids? The older one should have his picture next to the word "nerd" in the dictionary. Classic geek, but smart and a good kid. Neither are obese...a bit chubby, perhaps, but not "fat". The youngest one is a pistol...won't take shit off of anyone, and that's part of the problem. He doesn't know how to walk away, but he's learning. The harassment that these little hoods give my kids is unbelieveable...daily, intense, highly insulting, neverending.

Based on the sucker punch, that should be enough for an assault charge on the kid. Did you file a police report and charges? At the least, he'd have to spend a few nights in Juvi. And you're in Jackson County, right? If he's a little middle-class snotrag, that might scare the shit out of him.

***Yep, Jackson County...Truman country. We even have a shopping center in Grandview called Truman Corners, built on the old Truman family farm lands. I don't think the kid is middle class himself, he's too low class for that. I assume his grandmother is like most folks, probably not a hell of a lot older than me, likely worked her ass off for nothing her whole life so she could get out of the ghetto and out to suburbia. I don't think a couple of nights in Juvi is gonna scare this kid, I think he's too far gone for that. Yes, cops were called after the punching incident, but I don't know the result of the legal stuff because I can't get the officer who dealt with it to call me back.

Do you have a lawyer? Have a lawyer send a certified letter to the kids' parents/guardians insisting that they cease and desist. Equip your oldest with an emergency cell phone so that they can call 5-0 at the first sign of trouble.

***Half the people I know are lawyers, so there's no problem there. I still haven't been able to find out where the kid lives, and as I said, last I heard, he's not come home since yesterday after school. Regarding the oldest kid's problems, I spoke with the school resource officer today and provided him with a license number and info on the harrassment and threats he's been dealing with on his walks home after school, and the fact those kids had even lurked outside our home.

And there's always strength in numbers. And I'm not talking about getting 5 big guys to go fuck those punks' worlds up. I'm talking about just having several friends around them when they're out, if possible.

***Right now, neither of them is allowed to go anywhere unescorted, and it will stay that way until we get some response from GVPD. My wife picked them up from school today, and their father will pick them up next week until we drive back into town to take them out to the Pagan Festival with us.

I'll write more based on your responses to this.

I want to say that I very much appreciate all your comments, folks...we've going to get a little break here over the next week, plus school will then be out, so that should ease some of it, although I'll still have to keep the kids pretty close to home for their own safety. Our place is sort of a refuge for a lot of the more disaffected and unaccepted kids around town anyway, and it is a safe and honest place to be. We don't mind that, because my own mother was kind of that way. We've always taken in strays, both human and animal. The energy is just that way here. We might be the biggest weirdos on the block, but we are intelligent, loving, concerned and willing to help. Hell, I'd even help the little bastard who is causing the biggest problem, but I don't think he's very receptive.

Anyway, I'll be offline until after Memorial Day as I'll be helping to run one of the biggest Pagan festivals in the country for the next week. Five days of naked women, dancing and drumming around the fire, swilling the best home-brewed mead you can imagine, listening to kickass bands, shopping for unique jewelry and groovy gimcracks, and otherwise wishing that I didn't have to work for a living. I'll try and take a few discreet digital pics and share them when I get back. If curious, check out our organization's web site at http://www.kchsa.org and the Gaea Retreat Center's site (where the Fest is held each year) at http://www.campgaea.org .

Thanks again to all of you. I thank my gods daily that I found such a great place to hang online.

It might be a good idea to enlist all the adults in your community. Maybe form an informal or formal neighborhood watch. If your kids are being harassed its only a matter of time before other people around you get hassled. If you were able to get a court order any neighbor seeing these kids hanging around could drop a dime. You've got to get everybody on the same page. You all want a safe neighborhood.

I grew up in the racialy charged south in the late 60's early 70's , i went to public schools , i got cought up in forced bussing , i have always had a live and let live pholopsy on life ,, but when these HOOD rats invaded our little local school i came up with an other pholopsy , i call it the CRASY ASS WHITE BOY scheem ,
once i was confronted in the hall by 4-5 rats saying they were going to cut me up after school one pulled out a long thin pocket knife , i reached out and bent the blade untill it was sticking in his hand , freaked him the hell out !!!!! then at lunch i ran home and got a machette , after school dude and his buddies cornered me , i wupped out that big ass machette and flailed it about , they ran off screaming and pissing their pants !!!!! never had any trouble at any of the schools i went to after that , word spread , he is a CARSY ASS WHITE BOY !!!

remind your kids of these 2 sayings ,
but have a can of pepper spray and a ball bat by the front door

"Never attribute to malice that which can
be adequately explained by stupidity."

Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level
then beat you with experience.

Yet another 'i was bullied in school story' here, personally one day i jsut got so fucking pissed off i grabbed the front guy by the hair and repretedly smashed his face into a metal pole before he had a chance to react (at the time i was short, wore pretty thick glasses and had one seriously dorky haircut, i don't think he really saw is coming), blowing out both his front teeth until a teacher or two dragged me off, i think the sight of thier badassed dreadlocked freind howling like a little girl and dripping blood all over the palce might have put them off after that.... On the other hand you've gota know when to stop, my last high school had a number of people with links to serious Azn gangs - don't fuck with those people.

Considering the situation i'd say a two-angle appraoch is needed, pepper spray and a tazer and legal fucking hell. Give the kids enough weaponary to protect themselves in case the little fucker descides to get serious and wage legal war on anyone and everyone involved - the school(neglicange, failure to provde a safe environment....), parents, kids, cousins 3 times removed etc until you get don't-fuck-with-able status. Make sure you either have every possible authority either empathising enough with you to do something or sick of listening to you enough to do something.

Ep, next to their safety, I'd say the kids' self-esteem is next important. How are they feeling about the situation?

I would imagine that the kids don't want to feel like their ol' man is fighting their battles for them. At the same time, if they've tried to handle the situation as best as possible non-violently, it could be wearing them down.

I wouldn't advocate a good ass-whipping these days. There's too much of a risk for "more firepower." But if the ignoring isn't working (which I'm assuming it doesn't), and if this kid was bold enough to pull off an assault, then legal means are the best recourse.

It sounds to me like these kids are a combination of "me generation" and semi-thug life. A dangerous mix.

This whole thing sorta sounds like an incident that happened here in Philadelphia: an Iraqi kid was beat up by some other kids a few weeks ago. One of the instigators has apparently caused quite a bit of property damage in the area as well. And it's in a middle to upper-middle class suburb, on the border with the city (about 10 minutes from where we live).

Hi Jag.
Elspode,Since you've already gone public with this, too late to take them down. You'll have to work within the system unless they attack.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's not to late, I'm willing to testify that Ep said he wouldn't hurt the kids. If they happen to get run down or beaten to a fine paste I'm sure we all recognize that all of his dealings with us show him to be a calm and eventempered man.

OK.
Elspode who?;)

In California, Arizona and Nevada, there is a policy of "safe passage" in the school districts, meaning that the school is still responsible for providing a safe environment until they walk in your door.


And if ANYone (regardless of age) sucker punched my kid while I was standing there, they wouldn't have left the doorway without a stretcher and a crowd of onlookers.

Unfortunately, I wasn't there when the sucker punching occurred, and my wife was unsure of our rights in the matter.

We now know that, the next time the kid comes onto our property, we are within our legal rights to use "reasonable force" to detain him for trespassing, or for whatever other infractions which may have been perpetrated during his presence. To this end, I now have a pair of handcuffs near my front door, awaiting his inevitable brash, but misguided, return.

I think the "safe passage" concept holds here, as well...the perp has gotten some fairly severe consequences in school from all of this, including being held back in his grade for some period of time.

Yep, the school may help out. They should help out. Sounds like the miscreant has a long history-there will be his social worker as a resource, If nothing else he or she has child welfare/detention's ear. I'm sure hes had some court experience. He may have already been in juvi- Grandma is legally responsible, and if she cant handle him the law must. Send her legal notice.The idea to keep in constant contact with the cops, documenting the little shit, is good. A restraining order would be great. Squeeky wheel and all.

Of course the kid wont care about that from you, or any warnings. That kid is fucked up. The only thing that may get to him is Grandma or the Cops.

Letting your neighbors know, asking for their eyes, is good advice too.

I would give your kids mace if you feel they may get jumped. And make sure they know to go with their fear instincts, not feel silly, and report anything to the cops/ school authorities immediately, especially if youre not around.

But other than in direct defense, dont escalate the violence. (Handcuffs are good!) Dont let your reaction charge the demon up. There is no more to say to the kid. All goes to adults now. Calm and in control. Bring the hammer.

You'll get him stopped.

And yes, working in schools, I have had an 8 year old spit and throw chairs at me as I intervened while he was beat the living crap out of another 2nd grader. This child knew if he had the other kids hair, his punches would land harder. Fucking experienced shit for 2nd grade, man. I didnt last long at that school. Nobody did.

'Mmmm... how 'bout this:

Next time you see 'Lil Homey, say the following in a very calm, matter-of-fact tone of voice: "If you ever bother any of my kids again, I will arrange to have you accidentally shot and killed by a police officer. And I can get away with it, once, because I'm white."

I don't know if it'll work, but it might at least make him pause and reflect.

I actually gave him a similar speech, without the killing part, and leaving out the whole white/black thing. I pushed the socio-economic angle. Didn't seem to faze him much since he rode by on his bike about an hour later and shouted obscenities, then a little while later, sneaked into my side yard and heaved a large stick at my oldest stepson.

Nah, it is going to take some sort of actual physical and legal ramifications to stop this kid. It will happen sooner or later, I'm sure.

From my impossible vantage: Seems to me the kid doesnt care. He wouldnt mind getting wacked, cause he's got no hope or worth. Not gonna live that long anyway. He'd go out in a blaze, cause a stir, and hey that's something. Its residential treatment time.

Okay. I'll bring the rope. :p

But those are the best threats to use. Just say some shit like, "Yeah, my cousin heads up the Klan chapter in Neosho" or something like that, then throw in a "Boy, do they hate niggers!" for good measure. Maybe make a cross out of popsicle sticks, set it on fire, and put it on his stoop for added effect. A noose might work too.

I have a difficult time stooping to that level, I guess...I am not a prejudiced person, and have only noted the ethnicity of this particular individual as it seems to be pertinent to his behavior, which is what I would loosely categorize as "gangsta-oriented", as it is a resonably widely disseminated stereotype at this point.

I don't think being an asshole is a racial issue. I think being an asshole means just that, and race really doesn't enter into it. And yes, Syc, I know you are being over the top on purpose, and it is okay. I just don't want anyone to think that I'm some sort of a toothless throwback to the days of Jim Crow.

I didn't mind throwing in the threats I did the first time, though...I mean, I am older, I do have more money than he or his family has and can pay more and better lawyers, and it is highly likely that a court of law would take the word of a thirty year resident of Grandview over some punk kid who just moved in with his Grandma a year or so ago.

It isn't the kid's fault that he comes from scum, but it is damn sure his fault that he chooses to perpetuate the lineage.

Oh, yeah...one more thing. If I burned a popsicle stick cross on his porch, made KKK threats or showed a noose, you can bet I'd find my ass up on federal civil rights violation charges a hell of lot faster than that kid would find himself in trouble for duking my boy.

That's already obvious...at least to the people that read the Cellar and your posts on a regular.

The popsicle stick cross or a noose, perhaps...but as far as any KKK reference, you're pretty much covered. First amendment grounds. If I just wanted to call some black guy on the street a "dumb nigger," I can. However, if I call some black on the street a "dumb nigger" and then throw a punch, that could be considered a Federal hate crime.

SO Esplode has there been any change in the situation? Has the Punk done anything new? last i heard, you said he had dissapeared. Do you know what happened to him?

He's around...I've seen him, and the kids have seen him, but no interaction. We're being pretty stringent about not letting the kids out on their own. Only in groups, and we have to know where they are going and all.

I don't want them to be prisoners of this kid's attitudes, but at the same time, they need to be safe, and there's safety in numbers.

It is only a matter of time before someone pulls the punk's chain, and he'll feel the urge to pull someone else's. Wish he'd read Animal Farm; maybe he'd learn something about the futility of all that shit.

Kids are evil fuckers
 

Awesome, I love it!

Lobby the police even more intensely. Use a camcorder and record the kids doing what they're doing, then use it against them. While you're doing it, tell them. Let them know that you're getting them on tape, to provide evidence of their crimes to the judge, and that if they don't want to spend their next couple birthdays in juvenile hall, they might want to think about ceasing their activities.

Brilliant! I like this scenario too. Like they say, "the camera does not lie". Best of luck with the little turdmonger and his minions. :mad:

Thanks, Rho...it has been a relatively quiet summer so far, but we are prepared to kick ass and take names.

What are the laws on electric fencing in your are a of the country?

Also, use pink, fluffy handcuffs. ;)

As luck would have it, those are exactly the kind we've kept in the drawer next to the bed all these years!

My current financial situation won't allow the installation of electric fencing. Bullets are a lot cheaper, anyway.

then you can dress him up like a girl and take photos. Print about 200 of them and post them arround the neibor-hood- Public humiliation Galores.