Really?????

Sometimes at work I get bored. So I look at cincinow.com to look at local news. I have to say a lot of times I come across really silly news stories and wonder why they report certain things. Today I came across the most ridiculous news story I have ever seen in my life. I'll be watching it to see how it plays out as well.

Here is what the news is reporting so far:

"PRICE HILL -- An 11-year-old Price Hill boy is facing an aggravated robbery charge for allegedly holding up a young girl with a plastic gun in order to steal her scooter.The victim is also 11 years-old, according to authorities.The alleged crime happened around 6 p.m. Monday on the 4400 block of Rapid Run Road. Cincinnati Police reportedly found the young boy minutes later with both the scooter and the gun, which they say was very believable.Officials say his crime constitutes aggravated robbery because he wanted the girl to think the gun was real."

OK now I'm no rocket scientist but I think 11 is still considered a CHILD. A child that still may play cops and robbers or whatever children play these days. I know my cousins and I had fake guns growing up. I was a tomboy. We'd play hide and go seek with fake guns and play dead if we got shot; we all turned out fine. Whatever this child's intentions are he obviously doesn't know any better, he just reached double digits for shit's sake. Take him home, give his ass a spanking and be on your way. Charges?? Court system?? Really?!?!?! Who the hell comes up with this crap? Because I would like to have a talk with him see if he every played cowboys and Indians growing up. I guess that's ok though because this is different.

People are on sites talking about how he should be ripped from his home and the parents should be thrown in jail. The child should be given to foster care. WHAT?! It was a scooter, a toy gun, and he's 11. Anyone of these people saying these ridiculous things could have the same thing happen to them. Mom could have bought him a toy gun and he could have seen a car jacking on TV. Same damn thing. I absolutely despise people who act "holier than thou." Drives me batty!!!

This is where tax dollars are going, though? To keep toy guns off the street? The kid might be bad but foster care is going to make him worse. He'd be put in a home with no mom and dad and a bunch of other kids who are bad. All for playing cops and robbers, with a water gun. Sounds like no child left behind to me. Sounds like he's going to be our next Harvard law graduate. Our system sucks, way worse than some kids being kids on a Monday evening.

I'm not excusing what the kid did and I'm not denying that he was out of line. I just don't understand how this world got so far gone. When I was a kid if this would have happened they would have returned the scooter and Billy would have gotten a bad ass spanking and would have been sent to bed. Billy would have known from the look on his mamma's face that he better not never ever ever do nothin' like that ever again in his life. End of story. Now we want to throw Billy in foster care, where most likely he'll never have a chance in hell at making anything out of himself. Then you'll wonder why Billy is climbing through your window with a real gun asking for all your valuables.