Did these bullies always get a slap on the wrist and that is why they felt they could set another kid on fire?

People always say stuff like this and it makes no sense to me. They set someone on fire. That isn’t something that can be fixed with a “good ol’ spankin’”. The kids who did that are fucked up. They have more serious issues than saying the “f-word” or something like that. I remember there was a question here about a kid who hit his own mother and people were saying “he needs a spanking!”. Yeah, that’s really going to fix a kid with serious issues who would beat up his own mother or light a kid on here.

In other words, it’s more than just a lack of corporal punishment that leads someone to do something horrendous like that. It’s a combination of all different kinds of things strongly including ineffective parenting (not just in the discipline department) and it is most likely a product of the environment (the other kids or the general attitudes of the people in the area).

It just seems way too simplistic to think that kids would set someone on fire because they didn’t get enough corporal punishment. There’s a lot more to the story than that. All I know is, if my teenager were hitting me or setting people on fire, I wouldn’t be thinking “wow, I should’ve hit him more”, I’d be thinking “wow, I seriously fucked my kid up and I hope it’s not too late to fix this.”

What happened to the deviants who did it? If you listen all the way to the end, the report says they are being tried as adults and can get 25 to life.

Odd are that won’t happen. Too bad. I’ll bet they get a year in juvi and they are out.

The problem today is that kids/teenagers have no fear factor in them anymore of anything. You didn’t hear of this stuff happening back in the 50’s, 60’s and even 70’s. At least on the level that you hear about this stuff today. This is why juvenile laws regarding violent crime should be more severe. Parents are way too liberal with their kids these days, (more like their own kids friends than parents). I think alot of this garbage music and “do not snitch” peer mentality has alot to do with this as well.

I still believe in “spare the rod spoil the child” as being very true. I got a good whipping when I was younger and it didn’t turn me into a monster. I also think many kids are spoiled today, they do not have to work for anything. We have become a spiritually bankrupt society today with no sense of morals.

@DominicX Unfortunately these acts are becoming way too common today. There must be some truth in what I am saying. I am not saying I condone beating kids but parents need to be more active in their childrens lives. I have a nephew that is 9. I am more like his real father however since his dad does not bother with him and my nephew knows not to cross the line with me. I have never hit him but when he does act aggressive against other kids he knows he will be punished. He has mellowed out alot more since I’ve been involved in his life more. Just the sound of my voice reassures him of how serious I am and you know what? He loves and respects me. I will do the same when I have my own kid as well. Parents need to be involved in their kids lives and know what they are doing. I believe both parents should be involved in their kids lives as well. They need both a mother and father figure.

Wow, that literally makes me want to cry. What is happening to society? We’re losing morals and a stable foundation fast. Kids like that do not deserve 25-life. They deserve the damn good ol’ death penalty. Yep, I said it. The DEATH Penalty. They are a menace to society and people need to actually punish these idiots. 25-life is a slap on the wrist to me. You set a kid on effing fire! What is wrong here is way beyond any punishment someone can edure through life. They have no sense of self-worth. They are animals! No more excuses for those stupid, cruel, worthless idiots. When I was in school the worst thing someone could do to someone was get into a fight. The kids watching even knew when to break the fight up. They knew when enough was enough. This is why society is becoming so messed up. We’re not punishing the aggressor/aggresors, but instead we’re making excuses for them. :/

There is supposed to be a difference between a human and an animal. Those boys are animals! I would honestly compare them to a rabid dog. People have no problem putting a rabid dog down, we’ll those boys are your rabid dogs that need the goodbye needle!

Shanda Sharer

It is appalling what human beings can do to other human beings.

@BarnacleBill I thought of her, too, when I read this post. That was really horrific.

@Jabe73

You didn’t hear about it because the Internet didn’t exist yet, and there was a war going on.
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Gang violence rocked schools in the 1960s and 1970s. Schools were considered gang turf and the violence resulted from issues of crime as well as control. Vandalism and schoolboy fights gave way to assault, armed robbery, rape, and murder.

These kids didn’t set a kid on fire because they didn’t get beaten with a belt or a wooden spoon – they set a kid on fire because they have emotional detachment issues, probably related to not having enough attention in the formative years of their lives.

Whilst I do not have a problem with parents smacking their children under certain circumstances to discipline them (note: I said smacking and not beating the shit out of) and whilst I also believe that their doesn’t seem to be as much discipline or consequences to peoples actions any more which does probably make people (adults and children) less likely to worry about their actions, in this instance I have to agree with @DominicX. These are seriously messed up kids and the issues here wouldn’t be solved by a good smack.

@Seek_Kolinahr Either way the laws for serious juvenile offenses need to be more severe. You can argue about emotional detachment issues all you want but if kids know they have nothing to fear at an early age when they are young this will turn into a domino effect. Another thing you left out is that I have read about several cases similar to this one where the kids actually were well loved and cared for by their parents. I still believe both parents need to be involved in their childrens lives as well.

@Jabe73

And there’s a big difference between “being involved in their children’s lives” and “corporal punishment”. One can be very involved in their kids’ lives without the use of corporal punishment. I never got a “good whupping” as a kid, yet you don’t see me lighting people on fire. Neglect in discipline is just one of the characteristics of overall neglect. But without knowing much about the parents of the kids in this story, there’s little I can say on what they were and weren’t doing…it does seem to indicate that the parents were not very involved in their kids’ lives, however.

I think everyone agrees that parents need to be more involved in their kids’ lives and most kids who participate in these awful acts probably have relatively uninvolved parents. But it’s the “spare the rod spoil the child” bullshit that I don’t agree with…

And some people are just going to be born sociopaths, without the mechanism for empathy and concern for their fellow human beings that most of us have. And such people will act out, no matter if they’re beaten, spanked or otherwise disciplined. That fact has to be accepted.