How dumb can kids these days get?

[Grant Lamontagne]

So there I am in the park across the road from my house, playing frisbee with my very large, very powerful dog as I often do.  These kids, smoking dope and swearing loudly at each other are on my radar, but not my concern until one says loudly (from a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet away) "I don't like dogs."  My response was "I don't care" largely because my dog was no where near them.  I didn't say it loud so I know they must have been listening for a response because that opened up a dialogue in which I was apparently posturing for my woman- my wife was there too.

Working the bar for many years I remained calm as three of them came over and stopped about fifteen feet away.  It's a good thing I did, as my large, powerful dog would have ripped into them had there been any anxiety in my voice or demeanor.  Even my old, fat body could have taken one, and probably two of them out.  In my younger days I probably could have taken all three, but I'm no where near as tough as I used to be....

But even so, it's very hard to ignore the large, powerful dog that is obviously well trained enough that she's still happily playing with her frisbee.  So, how could they be stupid enough to to try and approach me with an intent to stir crap up?  Even if they succeed in beating me to a bloody pulp, and even if they did manage to beat Daisy, they would have giant holes in their flesh meaning they'd be pretty easy to find after the fact. 

Anyways, I calmly dealt with them and they eventually walked away.  I stayed where I was for a bit, throwing the frisbee since I wasn't scared, then when Daisy started showing she was getting tired we walked around the block and home- I'd prefer the idiots didn't see where I lives as I'd really rather not have my tires slashed, rocks through my windows or my garage burned down.

But seriously, even taking me out of the equation, how dumb do you have to be to try and act threatening to someone when they have a very large dog with them?   

Def

[theonew]

Funny, my dog isn't large and powerful, just a medium-sized, athletic 50 pounder, but to the troublemaker kids in my neighborhood he apparently looks like a Rottweiler They usually get out of his way quickly, especially because he is almost never on a leash

[Grant Lamontagne]

Daisy is rarely ever on a leash and neither are Otis, the pitbull downstairs nor Callie, the pitbull that lives upstairs.  This is actually a pretty safe house...

Def

[derekmac]

Some people really are dumb!  I hate people like that, that want to stir up Crap just because they think they're cool and tough.

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[theonew]

This is actually a pretty safe house...

Unless you're delivering a package or trying to read the meters

[ironraven]

Kids are terminally stupid these days.

Couple weeks ago, my brother was telling me about one who he threw out of the bar he works at. A few hours later, after closing, he stops to get gas. Skippy the wonderstump is there, starts screaming at him, throws a bottle at my brother's truck, threatens to kill him and burn the bar.

In front of a state trooper who was also getting gas and is a friend of my brother.

On a security camera with a mic.

College kids, can't teach them nothing. *grins and shrugs*

[MultiMat]

Yep , idiots the universal club  .

'Daisy drop the toe-rag's ball sack ...... good dog' I say give them a 'real' reason too not like dogs Def 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Well, the way it probably would have gone down if they'd have started something would be with me snapping the knee of one (they were downhill so I could have at least gotten the drop on one) while taking a couple of shots from #2 while #3 tried to circle me.  He would have likely been ripped into by Daisy who would have closed the distance very quickly.  Kim would have hopefully had the sense to run across the street and into the house to call 911.  The other two guys from the car would have likely run across the street to help their friends beat me to a pulp while Daisy bobbed in and out taking chunks out of some of them.  She would have likely gotten kicked in the ribs at some point and backed off.  I'd likely have been beaten pretty badly and Daisy may have gotten a few broken ribs.  I doubt they'd get more than one shot at her.

Several of them would have ended up in the hospital and if I survived I'd have probably been charged with assault since they are minorities (it happens that way here) and Daisy may have been classed as a dangerous dog, uncontrolled because she was off leash.  The ones that weren't injured would probably come by my house, put rocks through my windows, slash the tires of all the cars at the house (mine and tenant's) and burned my garage down, but since there were no witnesses, they would be chalked up as unrelated events.  Never mind that I am a hard working business and property owner in my late 30's with a history of remaining calm when faced with violent offenders and no trace of illicit drugs in my system.   

Def

[frugalscotty]

But seriously, even taking me out of the equation, how dumb do you have to be to try and act threatening to someone when they have a very large dog with them?   

Def

It's pack mentality. Any of these fools by themselves probably never would have had the balls to approach you but together in a pack they feed off of each other to build up their bravado.

[Lynn LeFey]

Kids aren't any more stupid these days than they've ever been. You're just in a position in life where you can SEE it now.

My opinion.

Our neighbors have herds of idiot teens wander through on occasion. A bunch of them were doing dumb crap out front one night, including on our property. I went out and gave them a 'get off my lawn!' kind of speech. One of them (emboldened by his other idiot friends, no doubt) called me something unseemly, at which I returned to military speech patterns, and told him I would, in no uncertain terms, tear off his smurf, shove it up his smurf, and he'd look pretty smurfing stupid trying to explain that to the people in the emergency room. If I'm not actually capable of such an act, I'm certainly more than willing to give it my best shot.

Dang whippersnappers! GET OFF MY LAWN!!

 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Stupid does seem to be getting more prolific these days

[GNandGS]

Not everybody is nervous around dogs... they might have a bigger one.   That said, the earlier post was right: pack mentality with something to prove.

[AimlessWanderer]

I agree with Lynn. I was a good kid, but occasionally I did get it all very wrong and get caught up in the moment Thankfully I never did anything too bad, but I can remember the stupidity, the bravado, and the pack mentality. However, I also remember waking up the next day and giving myself a severe talking to, which most of those scroats never will 

I just think as we get older and wiser we just become more sensitive to the level of stupidity that has actually always been there. I think the thing that has changed is how that stupidity is ... managed, for want of a better term. The framework of society (globally) appears to be changing in a way that means that certain people have less repercussions to fear, and those that do face consequences, face softer consequences than several years ago. I don't want this to sound "political", just my observation 

Same level of stupidity - less effective controls.
We've just turned them into "free range" idiots 

Main thing is you didn't get mauled, beaten, arrested, or otherwise inconvenienced by anything other than your own wisdom and morals 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Actually Lynn, I disagree... at least in part. 

In my day, overly aggressive people eventually got their asses handed to them and they learned a bit of humility and respect for others.  Kids today (and I have witnessed this over years of observation working in bars) are not getting their asses handed to them all that often, and people by and large tend to back away from confrontation.  Those that don't are generally swarmed, because stupidity is safe in numbers.

When I worked the bar I was reasonably safe from prosecution- not only was I known for being extremely even tempered, but I was also a guy in a uniform doing a job, and the cops knew that when they arrived.  When I am on my own, the attending police don't know who I am, other than some fat, middle aged white guy who probably just shot his mouth off to the wrong people because he's in some kind of mid life crisis.  If I try to explain who I am (or at least was), then I'm some kind of washed up has been, which to be honest is a fair assessment, since that's what I am...

The fact is, there is no one to actually teach them a lesson- their posturing gets results and they are emboldened.  They continue on with more and more posturing to get their way and more and more people back down. I'm not one of those people, and especially not in my own neighborhood.  I play with Daisy in that park every day, often a few times a day.  In fact, I was just there minutes before posting this. 

Not everybody is nervous around dogs... they might have a bigger one.   That said, the earlier post was right: pack mentality with something to prove.

If they were smart and had a bigger dog (and there aren't many bigger than Daisy!) then they would have a certain amount of respect for what a dog that size could do.  Either that or they are dumber than previously thought.

Def

[dks]

From my experience it is not the children's fault; it is actually the parents, who allow their children to get away with murder nowadays and then complain if anybody tells them off...

Then when they get seriously hurt/go off the track they blame everybody but themselves... Ned Flanders parents' quote "We've tried nothing and we're fresh out of ideas!"

I also believe that dogs should be on a leash, unless they are allowed to be free (special area in the park/beach). If their owner feels threatened he can allways release them..
 (Release the hounds, Smithers..)

[Syph007]

Ya if only there were afters school programs for these troubled youth eh, I'm sure they'd be doing charity work instead of bothering people... ya...  When I was in school they used to beat the bad kids with a leather strap... I think it worked better then but thats cruel I guess.

[MadPlumbarian]

I have something simular, my wife(girlfriend at the time) my cousin and I were out shooting pool and these kids (19-20) were across the room, now my cousin just came back from basic training, he's all decked out, got his marine field pants, boots, and hat on, my wife is big boned, and I'm norm size, but i have a marine hat on and hunting shirt, so she bends over the table to make a shot and they said something, she got pissed, I had a hunting shirt on so bright orange, and theny said its freaking bright in here, when I went to make my shot, she said to me we leaving when they do, and neither of you get in my way! Were like ok, so they left and we were right behind them, my wife went right up to the one, and got right in he's face, like what's your prob, huh? (shes from philly) So the other kid came over to me got all up in my face, I laughed, both me and my cousin were sitting on our hands on the hood of the car, he couldn't get in trouble since he was just releiced from basic training, so he said he's all yours, but I wouldnt start it, I took five yrs of martial arts, and could handle myself, was all chilled out, and both of us had a mouthful of chew, so I spit the whole thing out, and he's yelling, I'm the #2 boxer in the state!! Gee well you must suck cause your not #1, my cuz laughed, he got pissed and wondered off, the other kid was backing down every time my wife kept getting in front of him, and he kept turning and looking at me dude I'm sorry, now get her off me, I kept shaking my head, all you got to do is apologize to her! And he wouldn't, so they take off, three min later they came back and the one kid got all up in my face again, said he was #2, ripped his shirt off threw it on the ground, oh this should be fun, he kept trying to get me to throw the first punch, but I wouldn't, so the next day my wife goes to work and tells the storie to her friend and guess who walks in,, both of them come to find out they also worked there, lol, her work you worked in groups, so her friend(the one in charge) put them together, he he, and she kept putting him down, needless to say he didn't for fill his job, and I came to pick her up, I was using my cousins truck, a 86 Chevy, bored out 350, with large tires lifted, loud duel exhaust, so I roared into the parking lot, right up to the door, and almost hit both of them, as the walked in from of the truck I pushed the gas and watched them eye to eye, she came running out, you won't believe who works here, um twettle dee and mr 1-2, yeah how'd you know? Um I almost hit them cause they walked in front of the truck, then they took off in there little hatch back, no way yeah way she said you should have ran them over and said the brakes failed, lol, so she told me about her day and how she put him down in every way, yet all he had to do was apologize, but he wouldn't since it was a girl, neither one of them showed up the next day, nor the next nor next, lol! Stupidity! Of course this was 13-14 yrs ago, things have changed, I was only 19 myself, I asked my wife if she remembered it, she said omg wow, I wish I was young again, lol JR

[nuphoria]

I have a name for all this nonsense - Testiculating


It's not exclusive to boys/men of course, but it is a load of verbal tripe from the cerebrally challenged and it's hard to ignore all of it when it comes at you thick and fast. Lots of it round it here, especially from groups of young boys, who like to play the BS minority card too even though they are insidiously racist... stupid comes in every colour as far as I can tell.

The ignorance of dogs and their behaviour also really pisses me off too. Had several idiots try and rile me up whilst out with Ruby (who as many of you know is a teddy who might lean on you hard for a cuddle). As I know and trust her behaviour 100% I will not pander to other people's stupidity and I will not put her on the lead unless near traffic. I'm not in the habit of borrowing other people's problems and I'm more than capable of flattening most people who get up in my face should stopping to their level be required.

To answer your question Grant... a LOT dumber!

[Lynn LeFey]

Grant... a counter to your points. You DO realize your life experience is severely colored from working in bars, right? I mean, I don't go to bars because I know an awful lot of stupid happens in and around them. Well... that and the absurd prices.

In my day... which I assume was pretty much in the same time period as YOUR day... loudmouth a-holes were common and often got what they wanted. They also were the type (in my home town) that went on to become LEOs, which just legitimized their bullying.

I think Mark Twain's 'The Story of the Bad Little Boy' gives us ample evidence that jerks have been around long before us, and will be here long after us...
http://www.washburn.edu/sobu/broach/badboy.html

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'm certainly not suggesting that there weren't idiots in our day, but I'm pretty certain there weren't swarming when I was a kid.  Whoey and I also lived in pretty crappy neighborhoods, both in Halifax and later in Toronto and I don't recall any incidents in which we ganged up on individuals.

The sad fact is that it's evolution. Look at James Dean- he was the baddest of the bad in his day.  Now look at the kids in almost every neighborhood- they make ol'Jimmy look like a choir boy.

As for the bar thing, I am simply comparing experiences from ten years ago until now.  Kids have become dumber and more inclined to use violence because even the threat of violence has gotten them the results they want.  Frankly I think that's why street violence (especially in the bar scene) has gotten so much worse.  In the old days a couple guys would have issues, they'd pound on eachother then be friends again the next day.  Then someone broke a bottle, someone else bright a knife, then someone else brought a gun etc.

Evolution isn't always a good thing...

Def

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[Lynn LeFey]

The sad fact is that it's evolution. Look at James Dean- he was the baddest of the bad in his day.  Now look at the kids in almost every neighborhood- they make ol'Jimmy look like a choir boy.

No... the baddest of the bad of that era would have been someone more like Ed Gein.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein

Hollywood didn't reflect anything like reality at that time. Maybe a more honest comparison would have been Perry Smith.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Smith_%28murderer%29

And, I'm sorry, but I saw people pulling guns before I was out of High School. Good life lesson: besides bars, places where there is drug dealing going on is not a good hang out.

I can't speak to how commonplace gangs of kids are. In high school, I ran with a pack of maybe 10 to 15, and WE were the troublemakers, but we mostly hung out in the stripmines and abandoned clay mines and left everyone alone. But a number of my friends had done B&E, and we were all carrying knives at the least.

Maybe I just came from a crappier 'neighborhood'. Then again, my husband keeps telling me I'm going to get shot some day, standing up to the wrong person. He's probably right.

In any event, I agree that a few kids mouthing off to an adult with a big dog is just dumb. Just don't assume one encounter to be a trend. And, maybe next time, open the conversation with 'Hey, have you guys seen the great new SOG Powerduo with one-hand-open blade?' Then demonstrate the great tool. See? Open a dialogue about multitools AND intimidate them. 

[landwomble]

Man in park has dog. Kids in park remark don't like dog. Man in park unhappy. Did I miss anything?

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[Grant Lamontagne]

One thing.... man in park not unhappy. Man in park enjoying playing with dog, unfazed by multiple potential assailants....

Def

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