I got an email this morning on my neighborhood list and after asking permission from the author, I'm posting it here. I think you'll admit it's disturbing on a variety of levels. First, that adult would rob a kid, at a school bus stop and Second, that none of the other kids even so much as told the bus driver or a teacher.
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Dear Near North Side neighbors,
My son is in 7th grade, and was waiting for the bus with two other students at [bus stop address deleted] on Tuesday morning, and was approached by a man who appeared to be in his late teens or early 20's. The man asked them for money, asked them what was in their pockets, and then snatched a Nintendo DS from my son's pocket and started to walk away with it. The man was wearing jeans and a Harlem Globetrotters t-shirt, and had short wavy hair.
My son gave chase, which we've discussed was not the right decision to make, as he could have been seriously hurt by an oncoming car or by the man who stole the DS. He chased the man for over a block before he gave up and became distraught. In the meantime, the bus came to the stop and picked up the other two middle school students, who said nothing to the bus driver about the incident. The bus driver left the stop, though my son's backpack was sitting there on the sidewalk, another indicator that something was awry.
I am not writing only to let y'all know that there is a predator out there who has no qualms about robbing a kid, but also because it disturbs me that the other students did not speak up and tell an adult was had transpired.
The police, who were called by a good samaritan who happened upon my distraught son, said they attribute that silence to fear. I suppose the bus driver was distracted by his/her job of driving safely with a bunch of kids on board, and didn't think twice about my son's backpack sitting there on the sidewalk alone?
Nobody spoke up at school when they got off the bus either, at least not until the police interviewed them (my son obviously knew who they were, they are "friends"). So that makes three failings that day for my son - the failure of the students to speak up, the failure of the bus driver to notice my kid's backpack just sitting there alone, and the failure of our neighborhood to make it safe for our kids to wait at the bus stop. Not to mention my failure to recognize that we are the Forgotten North Side, the side of town where kids are afraid to speak up for fear of retribution, the side of town where you can't own anything of any value, because other "neighbors" will certainly rob you of it, where our kids (and us) just
simply cannot feel safe.
My son's stop has been moved to safer location, so just in case the mugger is reading this, he's not going to be back at that stop, and neither are the other kids who are apparently afraid of you, so you'll have to find some other prey.
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6 comments:
That's just plain mean, and beyond comprehension.
Political parties are registering felons to vote: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081004/ap_on_el_pr/felons_voting;_ylt=Aq_zlleYdogzjGuCiYNfwUSs0NUE.
I don't someone who has done harm to others or society should get the right to vote. Thinking about the fellow who shotgunned Mr. Marks as he sought to protect his wife, if convicted, should he be allowed to vote? I don't think so.
Bill, fortunately what you think does not matter.
Anonymous. Your parents named you that? Is that Greek?
Anonymous. I forgot to ask if you are in favor of felons getting to vote. You do, right?
Yes, I am in favor of it. I believe that if you do the crime and do the time than you shouldn't have to pay forever. I don't believe that all felons are bad people. Things change in peoples lives. I've know plenty of felons that are worthy of voting. By taking away a felons right to vote, you are removing the voice of literally millions of people in this country. There is no way that could be a good thing.
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