Well, Ray, as I said, I just skimmed, because the subject was too unbearable.
So this comment may not apply, and your feeling that Gene was giving something
of a pass to the parents may be applicable - but I often find that presenting
terrible facts in a quiet 'objective' way can be more effective than
opinionating and emotionalizing. And the parents in these cases hardly need
more punishment - plus it wouldn't serve to deter them or others.
Julie - I think you're right re dogs vs kids. A sleeping kid I can (I guess)
see forgetting, but dogs in the car never let you forget about them, so leaving
them is deliberate if ignorant ("it'll be okay...")
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:47:43 +0000
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: [wc] Digest Number 1202
Weingarten Chatters
Weingarten Chatters
Messages In This Digest (2
Messages)
1a.
Re: FW: [wc] Digest Number 1199
From:
Ray Bradley
1b.
Re: FW: [wc] Digest Number 1199
From:
Julie
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Messages
1a.
Re: FW: [wc] Digest Number 1199
Posted by: "Ray Bradley"
[email protected]
clavenia
Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:25 am (PDT)
--- In [email protected], Gina Ellis
<gina_el...@...> wrote:
>
> I couldn't read it, just skimmed, and still distraught. Wow. Going for a
> pulitzer I think. Great writing, but I like my tears when reading Weingarten
> to be of laughter...
>
I generally like Gene's serious stuff, but I didn't think this was quite as
good as his other long pieces. He definitely did a fine job connecting with the
folks who had committed these acts and who don't think these are criminal acts.
And I definitely got hooked when he told the story of the suicide attempts by
the guilty parents. At no point did I feel like he presented much more than a
passing fancy to the DAs who prosecute these folks. He admitted his story about
Molly, and I think he was TOO emotionally involved to adequately present the
mindset of those who think these are criminal acts. He dismissed the comments
on the original story with disdain, and that makes sense - why further beat
himself up over an otherwise careless, tragic mistake?
The story did well to bring up how the frantic pace of life can be distracting,
and how otherwise well-intentioned parents can make horrible errors. Also, he
excelled in showing the ease of which such mistakes can be prevented, either
through technology or car warning systems or even simple things like a
well-placed teddy bear.
To me, the most insane segment is the Chattanooga man. That's the best impact
of the column - he wrote it as casually as the man dismissed the car alarm
while his child broiled inside.
However, while reading the story, one moral inconsistency kept screaming in my
brain - dogs. It's illegal to leave a dog in a hot car. That's a crime in many
places now, especially here in the DC area, and it's happened to all types of
folks on the socio-economic ladder as well, from harried moms at a shopping
mall to former U.N. ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick. I'm writing this while
sitting in bed with my two dogs, Bubby and Kramer, and though they're two of my
best friends on the planet, at no point do I value their lives equal to a
human's. I'm willfully playing Devil's Advocate here, and by no means am I
standing on any moral authority, but we prosecute those who accidentally kill
their dogs, but not their children? When did a pet outweigh the life of a
child?
So while I know what Gene was going for in this piece - to portray these folks
as making a simple mistake and no criminal malice - I'm personally not quite
ready to say there still shouldn't be some other state sanction.
- Ray
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1b.
Re: FW: [wc] Digest Number 1199
Posted by: "Julie"
[email protected]
juliep99
Thu Mar 12, 2009 7:57 am (PDT)
Wow, nice to see some action here.
Interesing point, Ray. I think the difference between people being
prosecuted for leaving a dog in a hot car versus a baby, however, is
intent. People often leave dogs in cars on purpose, i.e., they know the dog
is in the car and didn't just forget it was back there. Perhaps they
believe the dog will be ok for the amount of time it will be in the car and
don't realize how quickly a car heats up in the sun. In those cases, they
should be prosecuted. With babies, at least in Gene's story, it was always
accidental. People forgot the baby was there. If someone leaves a baby (or
a dog) in a hot car on purpose, they also should be prosecuted. If someone
goes through the mind blip Gene described and completely forgets there's a
living creature in the car (either a baby or a dog), I agree with Gene that
they should not be prosecuted.
I would never leave my dog in a hot car, and since he's so big, he's hard to
miss standing there in the back seat. But I could totally see forgetting a
sleeping kid, especially if I didn't usually have the kid in the car with
me. Good think I have a dog and not kids.
On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 9:25 AM, Ray Bradley <[email protected]> wrote:
> --- In
> [email protected]<weingartenchatters%40yahoogroups.com>,
> Gina Ellis <gina_el...@...> wrote:
>>
>
>> I couldn't read it, just skimmed, and still distraught. Wow. Going for a
> pulitzer I think. Great writing, but I like my tears when reading Weingarten
> to be of laughter...
>>
>
> I generally like Gene's serious stuff, but I didn't think this was quite as
> good as his other long pieces. He definitely did a fine job connecting with
> the folks who had committed these acts and who don't think these are
> criminal acts. And I definitely got hooked when he told the story of the
> suicide attempts by the guilty parents. At no point did I feel like he
> presented much more than a passing fancy to the DAs who prosecute these
> folks. He admitted his story about Molly, and I think he was TOO emotionally
> involved to adequately present the mindset of those who think these are
> criminal acts. He dismissed the comments on the original story with disdain,
> and that makes sense - why further beat himself up over an otherwise
> careless, tragic mistake?
>
> The story did well to bring up how the frantic pace of life can be
> distracting, and how otherwise well-intentioned parents can make horrible
> errors. Also, he excelled in showing the ease of which such mistakes can be
> prevented, either through technology or car warning systems or even simple
> things like a well-placed teddy bear.
>
> To me, the most insane segment is the Chattanooga man. That's the best
> impact of the column - he wrote it as casually as the man dismissed the car
> alarm while his child broiled inside.
>
> However, while reading the story, one moral inconsistency kept screaming in
> my brain - dogs. It's illegal to leave a dog in a hot car. That's a crime in
> many places now, especially here in the DC area, and it's happened to all
> types of folks on the socio-economic ladder as well, from harried moms at a
> shopping mall to former U.N. ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick. I'm writing this
> while sitting in bed with my two dogs, Bubby and Kramer, and though they're
> two of my best friends on the planet, at no point do I value their lives
> equal to a human's. I'm willfully playing Devil's Advocate here, and by no
> means am I standing on any moral authority, but we prosecute those who
> accidentally kill their dogs, but not their children? When did a pet
> outweigh the life of a child?
>
> So while I know what Gene was going for in this piece - to portray these
> folks as making a simple mistake and no criminal malice - I'm personally not
> quite ready to say there still shouldn't be some other state sanction.
>
> - Ray
>
>
>
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