ECONOMICS |
EDUCATION |
ENVIRONMENT |
FOREIGN POLICY |
POLITICS |
OPINION |
TRADE
U.S. CITIES:
Teens and Spring Break A Sometimes Lethal Combination
Mitch Albom
It's more tragic because it is not.
James was not the first underage kid to die during spring break this year. He wasn't the first in
The reason James' story got huge attention over the past week was that he had been a top recruit for
Nobody spoke about how much alcohol it takes to intoxicate a 6-foot-8, 290-pound body. Nobody spoke about how preposterous it is to be having an argument with people in a room next door by leaning over the balcony and shaking your finger.
Nobody spoke about how a 17-year-old, on a trip with 40 other kids and six adults, manages to drink enough to be in such a state -- at 6:30 in the evening, not exactly the wee hours -- with nobody stopping him.
In fact, when James' high school football coach was asked by the media about the intoxication element, he said: "I think you trivialize the situation if you start focusing on that. A young man, a 17-year-old young man, lost his life."
Yes. And alcohol may be the reason.
There is nothing trivial about that.
No place for teenagers
If anything, alcohol is the real story here. Between
Which raises the question, especially with James, a 12th-grader: What are these kids doing down there? Since when did spring break become a high school thing? Since when is 40 kids with six adults -- who, according to the football coach, weren't even there as official chaperones -- a good ratio?
How much more evidence do you need that
And sometimes they have no idea how precarious their posture is.
In any and all cases, it is no place to send your high school kid. I don't care how much they beg. I don't care how hard they work in school. And I really don't care how much they promise not to drink. Come on. We were all that age. Between the pressure from your friends, the ease of acquisition and the teenage ability to stay up longer and later than any adult chaperone, booze is always going to be a threat.
How do you avoid a threat?
How about staying away.
Yes, kids will be kids
Now, of course, your prayers go out to James' family and friends. Any death of a young, healthy man is heartbreaking.
But dying in war is one thing. Dying on spring break is another. There is no kind way to say this. But you cannot, in good conscience, paint
At worst, he is an example of the brazen fearlessness that young men exude, sometimes with deadly results. What, one imagines, could possibly have been so important to have an argument over across a balcony five stories high?
Probably something that would make you say, "Ah, you know kids." And that's the point. If you know kids, you don't allow them in those situations. Then, hopefully, you don't have to mourn them.
Available at Amazon.com:
Willful Neglect: The Dangerous Illusion of Homeland Security
The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the CIA's War on Terror
The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
Read the latest political news.
Al-Qaeda has Lost the Battle. But has it Won the War?
Chris Thomas
In retrospect, 9/11 seems to have become an even more iconic day then we thought. Tactically, it was of course the most catastrophic attack ever on US soil. On the surface we have viewed 9/11 as a geopolitical event. But in longer range terms, and with the benefit of hindsight, it may be fair to ask: Has al-Qaeda achieved its strategic aim of bringing down the United States as a world power?
- United States - 5 Ways to Keep America Great
- Guantanamo Detainees Released Amid Debate Over Closing the Prison
- Debating the Morality of Torture
- Restorative Justice: Crime and Healing
- Wanted: Calm Credible Voice to Soothe Americans' Fear of Islam
- If We Europeanize Europe Is in Trouble
- Mass Transit: Move America to Work
- Teens and Spring Break A Sometimes Lethal Combination
- Teen Violence: Senseless Rage Sparks Inexplicable Tragedy
United States - Teens and Spring Break A Sometimes Lethal Combination | Mitch Albom
(c) 2010 Mitch Albom