Huh ?

tonyb

LIHUE, Hawaii – A judge sentenced a Hawaii man to one year of probation and a $200 fine for making his son walk a mile home from school as a form of discipline.

Judge Kathleen Watanabe called the punishment "old-school" and no longer appropriate, the Garden Island newspaper reported Thursday.

Robert Demond of Kilauea said he picked up his son from school and asked about a matter that had been brought to his attention. When the son didn't respond, Demond made him walk home to think about his actions.

The age of the boy is unclear. Demond's attorney and a prosecutor didn't immediately respond to a request seeking comment from The Associated Press.

Demond was also ordered to attend a parenting class after being convicted of endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor. Demond pleaded no contest and said he would handle the situation differently now after the case went through two courts.

Demond told Watanabe in court on Wednesday that he didn't think the punishment was morally wrong or criminal. He said it was a common form of punishment when he was growing up.

Watanabe said times are different today, given child predators and traffic.

Demond's attorney Margaret Hanson argued Demond had no criminal history and isn't a risk to the community.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Gary Nelson said the punishment was inappropriate but Demond did it to teach his son a lesson, not out of anger.



wtf ? You make the kid walk 1 mile and your the bad guy ? Then they want to know why kids are fat ? In Hawaii no less. Walking I guess is now a form of child abuse. Excessive punishment ? You haven't seen excessive punishment unless you grew up in my generation....or a few before.

muncybob

A good dose of excessive punishment is what today's society needs in general.
About the only way I would say this was inappropriate is if the kid had to walk along a busy road.

tonyb

muncybob wrote: »

A good dose of excessive punishment is what today's society needs in general.
About the only way I would say this was inappropriate is if the kid had to walk along a busy road.

or if the kid was 5 years old. Still, anyone who grew up in or near a major city knows how to deal with traffic on foot. Maybe they need to define a "busy road". I'm sure in Hawaii the dad wasn't asking the kid to walk along the Dan Ryan expressway.

nspindel

This is an example of everything that is wrong with our society today.

seabeerob213

so should all the schools across the country that let their track tems go for runs off campus during practice be in trouble? They have groups of girls and guys who will run without a coach, while wearing nothing but shorts, shoes, and sports bras on the girls, a large portion of who are minors.

tonyb

The point is, government telling you how to raise or discipline your child. Certainly there is a fine line between strict discipline and child abuse....but walking a mile is no concern in that regard....in my book anyway.

steveinaz

Get government out of our personal lives, period. I guess I was being punished everyday for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade, since I walked just over a mile every day--one way.

tonyb

steveinaz wrote: »

I guess I was being punished everyday for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade, since I walked just over a mile every day--one way.

Uphill ? No shoes ? In the snow ? LOL

It was 5 miles to my school, and guess what happened when you missed the bus ? You frickin' hoofed it....winter or not. How many times you think we missed that bus after walking those 5 miles ?

pitdogg2

I would of gladly walked a mile. My dad would strip us kids down and whoop our A$$e$$ with a 3" leather belt. My mom knew that all she had to say to us was "just wait until your dad gets home" when I tell him what just happened. Nothing like your dad walking in and giving you the look and knowing your about to be fried.


most would say abuse but I'm going on record saying that in my mind it made us better kids than the ones I see today. Most have no boundaries or respect for any elder let alone mom and dad.

mrbigbluelight

Maybe Kauai circuit court judge Kathleen Watanabe was afraid the student might walk off a cliff.

http://www.davislevin.com/in-the-news/personal-injury-kauai-judge-rules-state-at-fault-in-hikers-death/

"A sign at the entrance to the left read, “Danger. Keep out. Hazardous conditions”. The state put the sign up to keep visitors from climbing down to the well-known falls. But it didn’t put warning signs, fencing or barriers along the right trail. Family lawyers say the two women assumed the path to the falls went right. Instead, it went to the edge of a cliff – where they fell 300 feet to their deaths. Lawyers blame the state for misleading them."

.... or maybe she feared the student might work up a sweat or experience chaffing. That might make him feel bad about himself.

I wonder who turned the dad in. Whoever it was should receive an award for "Helping to Maintain Social Order Within the Hive".

F1nut

That judge needs to be removed from the bench for being a moron.

seabeerob213

Keiko wrote: »

And in other news:

http://www.greeleygazette.com/press/?p=11517

while i dont disagree that there may be those with a natural attraction to that, it's stilled beyond messed up. MESSED UP

PolkieMan

remember.....The Boston Bomber still lives.....but that's ok

badchad

I thought a separate article provides some backstory for why the father was charged.

He tells the 8 year old kid to walk home and the kid goes missing. Yup, he couldn't find his son. Apparently a stranger picked the kid up. Fortunately, the stranger took the kid back to school and called the cops.

cnh

badchad wrote: »

I thought a separate article provides some backstory for why the father was charged.

He tells the 8 year old kid to walk home and the kid goes missing. Yup, he couldn't find his son. Apparently a stranger picked the kid up. Fortunately, the stranger took the kid back to school and called the cops.

"Context" is always important before we start going black or white on something like this, I'm afraid. But I'm a laid back Dude.

You know when I get up in the morning I don't see the Gov't in my kitchen, sitting at my table, and eating my breakfast. lol

cnh

Toolfan66

nspindel wrote: »

This is an example of everything that is wrong with our society today.

This^^^

Why don't they publish a book on what we can and cannot do to ****ing punish our kids to avoid this bull****!!!

This is just wrong in everyway conceivable!!!

tonyb

In all fairness, I'm reading that the kid was 8.....maybe a tad young for that sort of punishment, but to fine the father and put him on probation ? Whatever happened to the days when a cop would simply bring you home, have a chat with the parents and be done with this ? No fines...no court....no lawyers....no probation. In my day, we called that a community service.

Btw CNH.

"You know when I get up in the morning I don't see the Gov't in my kitchen, sitting at my table, and eating my breakfast. lol"

Not yet, but soon. If you pay attention, refrigerators that scan the food that goes in are in development so that your food can be monitored by way of the internet by whoever. Internet connected appliances are already available. The idea is to monitor your food choices so they can charge you more for HC...or less depending.

Smart meters and internet connected thermostats are another form of soon to be taxable information. Have that heat too high according to government standards and you'll pay more.

Smart TV's are already hackable, able to see into your room. We live in an information technology world, but that information isn't always used for the right reasons. New and exciting ways to tax you will be forthcoming and while you may not see government at your breakfast table, rest assured they will soon be there...counting your calories for you because your too stupid to take care of yourself. They are already at the school lunch table, breakfast and dinner are just more possibilities to them. California already has working pilot programs to tax you per mile driven by monitors in your car. Is it no wonder the more information gathered, the more innovative ways they can create tax revenue ?

While this all sounds 1984-ish, it is going to happen be it slowly or fast and the red flags are right in front of our noses.

gudnoyez

Growing up in Northern Minnesota we lived on a lake shore property far of the beaten path the drive way was a good mile and a half we had a warm up hut at the end of where the driveway met the dirt road. We wore snowmobile suits and walked every morning no matter if it was -35 or not once the bus picked us up we had 15 minutes to get out of the snowmobile suit put them in the locker change from boots to shoes and straighten our hair from wearing stocking caps for the first hour and a half of our lengthy walk and bus ride.

If we were late for class my dad wouldn't let us use the Ice Shanty or the Snowmobiles that weekend you better believe we made it up that driveway not being able to use one of the Snowmobiles or hang out in the Ice Shanty all weekend was cruelty at the highest level, me and my brother had rather GOT the belt than miss out on our weekend fun. The only time he cut us slack is during deer season we would bring our rifles on the walk to the hut if either one of us shot a deer no school that day. Kids now days have it way to easy.

Moose68Bash

When I went to elementary school, only those pupils who lived more than a mile from school were allowed on the school bus. I lived almost exactly one mile, and I walked from the first grade up. We didn't have kindergarten.
As we got older, we were allowed to ride bicycles -- oops, no, we road bikes to a friend's house nearer school and left them there all day.

Punishment to have to walk a mile? Unless it was through some particularly dangerous area, I don't think so. It's just good exercise.

PolkieMan

When I was in 1st grade I walked home every day, 1.3 miles, with a friend that lived next door. We had traffic captains (older kids) that got us across the large traffic area, there was a freeway

txcoastal1

PolkieMan wrote: »

When I was in 1st grade I walked home every day, 1.3 miles, with a friend that lived next door. We had traffic captains (older kids) that got us across the large traffic area, there was a freeway

Same 1.48 miles every couple blocks another kid joined the group, 8 of us would arrive to school together.

I've noticed there are no longer children "patrol' in schools. The were like you said older kids (4th&5th graders) that would show up to school early and they were actually the crossing guards. There were ranks Capt, Lt., and Sgt's. showed discipline, leadership, and responsibility with youth, something not really taught much any more to the young.

We have been weakened as a civilization by mamby pamby BS and it shows today as the young adults seem lost and spoiled

Geoff4rfc

pitdogg2 wrote: »

most would say abuse but I'm going on record saying that in my mind it made us better kids than the ones I see today. Most have no boundaries or respect for any elder let alone mom and dad.

You nailed it, most parents of today (so it would seem), have no idea what discipline is, the kids face no consequences and have nothing to fear. Spanking may not be the choice of proper discipline of today, but when a counselor asked me if I wanted my step kids to be afraid of me, I said "No, I want them to be afraid of the consequence", Ha, that made her stop in her tracks and wait for a long pause before she came back with her from of P.C. response.

Spanking may have been the preferred weapon of my day and I have no problem with exploring methods outside of that, but the "consequence" must be that of a fear factor to make the kid think twice before acting.

deronb1

The parent didnt think it through. You are going to leave your 8 yr old alone on a public road for 30 min or so? Idiot. I dont agree with the fine or probation but cmon man!

NJPOLKER

DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA

The dumbasses today want the government to run then so they do not have to think for themselves. Thinking for oneself takes too much effort.

Geoff4rfc

deronb1 wrote: »

The parent didnt think it through. You are going to leave your 8 yr old alone on a public road for 30 min or so? Idiot. I dont agree with the fine or probation but cmon man!

Well, it's difficult to assume anything here, on one side, it could have been dangerous, on the other side, the parent may have known it would have been safe, we're here in our nice little bubble, who's to say what was what so many miles away?

deronb1

Geoff4rfc wrote: »

Well, it's difficult to assume anything here, on one side, it could have been dangerous, on the other side, the parent may have known it would have been safe, we're here in our nice little bubble, who's to say what was what so many miles away?

This is true. We rarely get the whole story nowadays.

F1nut

deronb1 wrote: »

The parent didnt think it through. You are going to leave your 8 yr old alone on a public road for 30 min or so? Idiot. I dont agree with the fine or probation but cmon man!

We use to "disappear" for the entire day. No one ever worried about it, called the cops or had their parents hauled into court.

deronb1

F1nut wrote: »

We use to "disappear" for the entire day. No one ever worried about it, called the cops or had their parents hauled into court.

Right! Days gone by. If i read the thread right, this kid didn't make it home. Some stranger picked him up and called the cops.

F1nut

Yep, days gone by and none of us would have ever gone with a stranger anywhere. The kid seems to be a dumbass.

EndersShadow

Once I "ran away" from home with 2 friends... we had a bunch of food, etc...

We were gone for about 8 hours and then ran out of food (we were like 8 at the time and no real concept of how much food we needed, etc)..

We all went back home and expected our parents to be excited to see us and scared...

Instead they were like... you ran away???????

When?

deronb1

Oh

F1nut wrote: »

Yep, days gone by and none of us would have ever gone with a stranger anywhere. The kid seems to be a dumbass.

I wasnt going to reply, but by definition, most 8 yr olds are dumbasses. Its our job to look out for em