The story is simple. The man went skating with his 5 year old son. A 10 year old boy shot hockey pucks at them and taunted him, asking what was he going to do. After looking and finding no authorities… no parents. He grabbed the kid and dragged him off the ring. It was just then the mother actually showed up and tried to do something. She called the police and had the father arrested.
Now at this point I’d be pissed. But I’d also just want it over with. Well Charles is made of sterner stuff and he’s stepping up.
He has gone from accused minor criminal to community symbol. Let there be no mistake. As was confirmed after Tuesday’s court hearing, this is not just another harassment case. Charles Schmidl stands as a crusader for a cause.
The cause is the right of an adult to defend himself — and his 5-year-old son — against the alleged abuse of an out-ofcontrol 10-year-old. It is a line in the sand against lax parenting and the obnoxious offspring that it produces. It is a voice for the rights of those wronged by every spoiled brat spawned by absent or permissive parents.
I hope that some good come out of it. Lax parenting has grown and we’re starting to see more kids who are abusing the fact that kids are no longer are allowed to be punished, and also playing the “but I’m just a kid gambit.” And with a lot of the kids that are this way also of parents who expect the schools to do the parenting… who expect television, a video game system to do the parenting; sooner or later someone needed to stand up. And start making the parents accountable.
Tags: Interesting, Legal, News, Society
