Articles

Having had a very close family member go to jail for this, I do know what it is like. I felt my brother's punishment was far too light the first time. I told him so. House arrest and a fine? No. That did nothing to stop him from doing it again. And neither did my mother's coddling of him. It took his father being straight and brutally honest with him and demanding that the SECOND time he be punished more severely before he did hurt someone. A DA is much more willing to prosecute when a family is supportive. He did his time. he starting listening to people who told him it WAS his fault and he needed to grow up and think of other people and consequences he and he is now a responsible adult. I really hope someday my mother can be the same. Babying my little brother and trying to get him out of all of the trouble he got into never did him any good. Letting him take the consequences for his actions did. If he had killed someone I would have thought it was a terrible tragedy for the victim and their family, but not for him or myself because he continually made decisions he knew could hurt others without caring and nothing I ever did could change that except to tell him I didn't approve and he couldn't be near my family until he straightened up. I'm glad he has changed.

People always assume that if someone has a differing opinion, it must mean they just haven't had the experience. Not true. I just am not so caught up in my own center of reality that I don't consider the rest of society.