THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 26, 1996 TAG: 9610260016
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 27 lines
Recently you ran an article about the maiming of ducks in a nearby neighborhood. We adults are quick to place the blame on teen-agers. When the unthinkable occurs, we too often assume teen-age children are responsible.
The truth is, adults are also capable of mean, sadistic acts. Teen-agers are not responsible for the bombing of the Oklahoma Federal Building or the recent acts of terrorism. I recently saw a school-bus driver run a red light, placing a bus full of teen-age lives at risk; the driver was an adult.
It is not a teen-ager who stops at a local bar at the end of a hard day to have a few drinks and then drives home. Usually it is not a child that purchases a weapon that ends up in the wrong hands.
We are placing harder restrictions and higher expectations on our teen-agers than we are on our adults with the new teen-age driving regulations, school drug testing and the 11 p.m. curfew, just to name a few. Personally, after 11 p.m., it is not teen-agers I fear in the night! Mean, sadistic acts are not just kid stuff. Just take a minute and look around at your so-called mature adults.
BRENDA LOCHER
Virginia Beach, Oct. 10, 1996 by CNB