Growing up, if you screwed up, your parents would figure it out – and address it pronto. There was never any question of it being the fault of something or someone else. If they didn't address it immediately, it was expected that another adult would.
There was a recent, and very overblown, discussion on a local DC blog about a cyclist “attacking” a child that threw rocks at him. The kid allegedly threw something at the cyclist (could’ve killed him) and the cyclist stopped and backed his ass against a wall. The thing is, rock throwing is an ongoing problem in DC – as well as brick throwing (someone broke an ankle, DCPD did nothing), cinderblock throwing (nearly killed someone), and potato throwing (WTF?).
Frankly, I’m of the ilk that believes that this is a pretty dangerous crime. Hit a cyclist in the head with a rock and they could very easily fall in front of a moving car and be killed (and for all of you that don’t think that’s a problem, IMAGINE THE TRAFFIC DELAYS). I support the cyclist for addressing this on the spot, since it has been regularly ignored by local law enforcement. If the parents won’t parent the children, society winds up doing it.
This, apparently, makes me guilty of PERPETUATING VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN. Even though, like, I wasn’t there.
So I did a little further research and discovered this little gem from The Hill is Home.
“Roger” refuses to address the children who are throwing the rocks and instead chooses to focus on the owner of a gravel driveway. He goes on and on, for lengthy paragraphs, about how this is, in fact, the fault of the homeowner. For having a gravel driveway. That has been there for years.
Molly- here on this Blog in your own post, you have admitted current ownership of the NW corner house at 17th & A Sts SE, one that seemingly has truckloads of stone in the public space. When the previous owner had placed the stone there during 2004(?), I thought what a dumb idea and knew that eventually someone would get hurt. It has now happened. Since you now have ownership, these stones are your responsibility with never-ending potential liability to public safety. The property was also identified on local TV News broadcast with no comment from the owner. You may already be on some attorney’s radar screen because of that broadcast. If you don’t like that either then go raise hell with the TV news too. It’s rather arrogant of you to ask of me, an innocent non affected 3rd party, to contribute financially to your dilemma. I don’t readily have the money to fix your property’s problem. You may not like nor appreciate what I post here, take it as economical advice versus being served a court summons from an attorney representing an injured party. I hope you have adequate Homeowner Insurance since everything you own is on the line while that stone exists there. Good Luck to you.
Molly – Please believe that I am not attacking you, but expressing a neighborly concern for everyone’s safety and wellbeing here including your own. I also wish people would not throw stones, it’s just impractical, but limit their quick and easy access to small stones.
I am all about SAFETY, PREVENTION and LIMIT of LIABILITY. Landscape stone is not in my yard or yards of my neighbors since it could contribute to much danger. I’ve expressed safety and prevention in person to my immediate neighbors and they respect me and equally share similar concerns. People who read this faceless blog, may or may not know me in person. HGTV and other home improvement channels have shows using Stone for landscaping all the time. In some instances it’s great, but in our urban neighborhood with plenty of foot traffic of all types of people, small stones are a continuous liability. Sure it’s way too easy to blame the disruptive kids, but when weapons are easily reachable to them or anyone, the blame easily becomes a shared issue.
The stones have already contributed to this one unfortunate heinous act. I am not an attorney, but do work in the field that supports public safety of millions of people every day. Don’t like what I have written, then by all means consult with a reputable attorney of your own choosing, get their professional opinions about what has transpired here and potential liability associated to similar future events. Their advice could be similar, reduce one’s liability by not having small stone in landscape easily reachable by transient pedestrians and thrown.
Roger is clearly on crack.
Let’s not blame the criminals for their crime, let’s blame rocks for being accessible.
The only problem is, Roger’s attitude has become prevalent around here. Blame everyone and everything except the person who has committed the crime. Then, when that person grows up and murders someone senselessly, hold a candlelit vigil, hold hands, and proclaim tearfully about how you’re “taking back the night!” and how, as a "member of this community," you feel so much safer when you’re in large groups clutching candles.
But by GOD, do NOT address the crime.
Is it any wonder that the nation is in shambles? These idiots are writing your public policy.
