a prayer then a rousing righteous rant

Upon arriving at work today, shooing away the boys and sitting down with Angi, we had our morning coffee and "catch up "time.  We went through the work for the day, a couple sweet new acquisitions she picked up, the recent trials and teenage tribulations, then she told me of an incident that happened Tuesday afternoon that sent chills down my spine.  In the afternoon rain, just in front of Dodges Country Store, right next to us, her quite was pierced by the loud squealing of tires, and desperate screams.
A little girl was struck by a van while riding her bike across the street.
My heart sank, almost to tears.  A parents worse nightmare, and regardless of the fact it was not my child, i still feel the icy sting.
I don't know the poor girls fate, nor the circumstances beyond what I was told, however, the driver was released from the scene.  Where the girl was crossing has no crosswalk, just a section of the road, and were she not paying attentuon?  It would not be the drivers fault.  That being said, PLEASE say a prayer for the young girl, her family who undoubtedly are going through hell, but also say a prayer for the driver.  I can only imagine what that poor soul must be enduring.  To know you may have killed an innocent by merely going about your daily routine?  I cannot fathom how painful THAT must be!
God bless.
Before i get to maudlin, though, on to a topical healthy release of negative energy!!
If you're online or listening to the news you'll know all about ANOTHER case of "police brutality " in South Carolina  in regards to a campus cop and a high school kid. Okay folks, hold on to your jibes here till I'm through....
I'm with the cop.
Yea, i know i can feel the boos and hisses as i type!  Got REAL cold all of a sudden!
Let me 'splain!
Once again, youtube junkies have YET AGAIN snipped the footage down to the very height of the confrontation, when violence ensues, thereby making it appear as if the officer just walked in and yanked her out of her seat for no good reason, and of course go NO further than that.  Of course, in comes all the rhetoric about police brutailty, weaponized police state, facism...etc, etc,
Sheesh!
You really need to WATCH the whole thing.  Check it out and you'll see the girl jerk her hands away from the officer.  Lets check the facts!  This kid was in class texting on her phone.  The teacher told her to put it away. She "bruskly" refused.  An administer than came in, told her to put it away and leave the class she STILL refused...RUDELY.  then the officer was called in, ASKED HER, "give me your hands "repeatedly, she REFUSED, than, well you see the video.  He lost his temper, and frankly...I don't blame him.
See, the problem is, as I've said in the past, we have given kids WAY to much power.  And NOW, there's talk that they may launch a civil rights case!?
Come on!  He didnt march in with a white robe and hood shouting hate spewing racial epithets, he was just doing his JOB by trying to remove a disruptive little foul mouthed punk!
Most "politically correct" folks out there are going to raise a stink, but I'll tell you what, BEFIRE you chastise me, I DARE you to take a day, go down to your local juvinille court, bring a lunch, because its the BUSIEST docket in your town and just LISTEN to the charges!  Arson, rape, breaking and entering, attempted murder,  possession of firearms (yes...thats plural)and LOTS of drug possession with intent to distribute.  That was on the ticket one day i was there viewing.   The youngest defendant that day was eight, and the oldest was fourteen.
This is due to the increasing emphasis on giving children all the control, greatly limiting and controlling a schools rights and parental  rights all for people not yet mature enough to make sound choices, still caught in the sway of the "all about ME" Phase of growing up.  Than, the courts of course give them a tap on the wrist and send them home with mommy and daddy?
BULL$#!+!!!
I say, bring corporal punishment back to schools, and furthermore...institute publuc CANING!!
I'll tell you, if they hadn't made such a big stink about it, those othet kids in the class, after seeing het dragged out bodily, may have thought twice about wising off and disrespecting the teacher!!  Now, they're probably hoping it happens to them so they can sue!
I'll tell you a story.
When I was in seventh grade, i had to go to summer school.  There were about thirty kids in the class.  Lets just say, they weren't honor roll students.  Our teacher was mister Parks.  Mister parks was a body builder.  A BIG body builder!  Think Arnold....on steroids...HORSE. steroids!  Now, when i went to school, we all sat in the desks with the chairs attached.  On the first day, he layed down the law.  One rule was, ""NO talking unless called on".  Simple enough, but one unruly smartass two seats up from me just didn't get it.  About twenty minutes into the day, this punk starts talking to his friend sitting next to him.  Mr Parks calmly got up from his desk, strode purposefully down the isle and effortlessly picked the boy AND the desk up to waist height, stared at the startled thug than SLAMMED him down.  Getting his face two inches away he snarled "I said NO talking!"
For the remaindr of the summer class it was the BEST behaved class i have EVER been in!
There are boundaries and sometimes some  kids HAVE to be taught there is a line NOT to cross!
I had this discussion earlier and was chastised for my view point, and snidely questioned "what if this happened to YOUR child?"
Easy answer;  if the circumstances were the same I'd just look at them and say "you should have put away your f@$#ing cell phone when they asked you the FIRST time!!!"
Case.....cah-losed!