Teen death at Whitman?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It could just as easily been one of the boy's friends. They were drunk.

It could be anybody's child. So sad, so freaking unfair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the kids weren't equipped to deal with the aftermath of an underage drinking party and losing track of a friend, they are certainly not equipped for the emotional upheaval experienced now.

Like you are? Is there anybody who nevrt made a careless or less thsn thourough decision?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They were all drinking and drunk. They are all responsible for making the decision to go out and drink that night without a plan for dealing with the potential consequences or a even a thought that any one of them could die. The alcohol didn't get into them forcibly. They made a choice. That choice had consequences. Now they will need help dealing with the consequences. It's a tragedy and someone's son and brother died. Yes. They are all to blame.

The kid is to blame for drinking. His "friends" are asses for not calling his dad/mom if their drunk friend refuses a safe ride home. But they're still not to blame.

Of course the other kids there carry some responsibility.
Sorry if your kid was one of them.

Just play the blame game like you are perfect. Karma is a bitch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The friends that were with him are likely extremely upset by all of this. I hope that the attention turns from questioning to helping them work through this and helping to change the way the kids approach these sorts of situations.

I think we need to lower the drinking age back to the age of 18 or 19 and say that HS drinking is not o.k. Ever.

You watch out for my kid, I'll watch out for your kid.

I agree with this actually. I think the fact that the drinking age is 21 (or the age most kids don't reach until junior/senior year of college) means it is seen as pretty much a joke and not taken seriously by most. Sure there are some kids who won't drink in college, but for those who make that choice it has NOTHING to do with the law. Everyone knows kids party in college, starting with the first weekend of freshman year - the schools know, parents know, kids know...it's not even a question, and the legality never really comes into the discussion. Trying to stop freshmen / sophomores / juniors from drinking at college is such a ridiculous premise that no one even tries; it's going to happen. Nobody takes the drinking age of 21 seriously, it's just preposterous. It should be pushed back to a realistic age (18.) and more aggressively enforced. Changes would not happen instantly, but I think we'd see a good trend over several decades.

You hear people who grew up in the 50s/60s all the time say how it just wasn't a big mystified deal back then

+1 This times a million.

+ 2,000,000. My 13 year old ds asked me last night what high school parties were like in "my day," and if cops ever broke up parties. It was so hard to explain what a different dynamic it is now. By the time I was a high school senior, half of my friends were of legal drinking age. By the time we were college freshmen, we all were. Alcohol was not the obsessive forbidden fruit

[Anonymous]

I think light beer should be legal st 18 and everything else at 21.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think light beer should be legal st 18 and everything else at 21.

I think that beer and wine should be legal at 18. Everything else at 21.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The friends that were with him are likely extremely upset by all of this. I hope that the attention turns from questioning to helping them work through this and helping to change the way the kids approach these sorts of situations.

I think we need to lower the drinking age back to the age of 18 or 19 and say that HS drinking is not o.k. Ever.

You watch out for my kid, I'll watch out for your kid.

I agree with this actually. I think the fact that the drinking age is 21 (or the age most kids don't reach until junior/senior year of college) means it is seen as pretty much a joke and not taken seriously by most. Sure there are some kids who won't drink in college, but for those who make that choice it has NOTHING to do with the law. Everyone knows kids party in college, starting with the first weekend of freshman year - the schools know, parents know, kids know...it's not even a question, and the legality never really comes into the discussion. Trying to stop freshmen / sophomores / juniors from drinking at college is such a ridiculous premise that no one even tries; it's going to happen. Nobody takes the drinking age of 21 seriously, it's just preposterous. It should be pushed back to a realistic age (18.) and more aggressively enforced. Changes would not happen instantly, but I think we'd see a good trend over several decades.

You hear people who grew up in the 50s/60s all the time say how it just wasn't a big mystified deal back then

+1 This times a million.

+ 2,000,000. My 13 year old ds asked me last night what high school parties were like in "my day," and if cops ever broke up parties. It was so hard to explain what a different dynamic it is now. By the time I was a high school senior, half of my friends were of legal drinking age. By the time we were college freshmen, we all were. Alcohol was not the obsessive forbidden fruit

What you think you remember and what was actually happening are two very different things. Hard to ignore the data. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20497803

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The friends that were with him are likely extremely upset by all of this. I hope that the attention turns from questioning to helping them work through this and helping to change the way the kids approach these sorts of situations.

I think we need to lower the drinking age back to the age of 18 or 19 and say that HS drinking is not o.k. Ever.

You watch out for my kid, I'll watch out for your kid.

I agree with this actually. I think the fact that the drinking age is 21 (or the age most kids don't reach until junior/senior year of college) means it is seen as pretty much a joke and not taken seriously by most. Sure there are some kids who won't drink in college, but for those who make that choice it has NOTHING to do with the law. Everyone knows kids party in college, starting with the first weekend of freshman year - the schools know, parents know, kids know...it's not even a question, and the legality never really comes into the discussion. Trying to stop freshmen / sophomores / juniors from drinking at college is such a ridiculous premise that no one even tries; it's going to happen. Nobody takes the drinking age of 21 seriously, it's just preposterous. It should be pushed back to a realistic age (18.) and more aggressively enforced. Changes would not happen instantly, but I think we'd see a good trend over several decades.

You hear people who grew up in the 50s/60s all the time say how it just wasn't a big mystified deal back then

+1 This times a million.

+ 2,000,000. My 13 year old ds asked me last night what high school parties were like in "my day," and if cops ever broke up parties. It was so hard to explain what a different dynamic it is now. By the time I was a high school senior, half of my friends were of legal drinking age. By the time we were college freshmen, we all were. Alcohol was not the obsessive forbidden fruit

What you think you remember and what was actually happening are two very different things. Hard to ignore the data. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20497803

What? The study you linked is about DRIVING. That's not what we're talking about at all.

[Anonymous]

^ to add to that, I don't think anyone would disputes that there's less drinking & driving, and it's seen as more serious / less socially acceptable than it once was. This change has to do with awareness, education, and enforcement crackdown (similar to littering!) and not with the drinking age

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ to add to that, I don't think anyone would disputes that there's less drinking & driving, and it's seen as more serious / less socially acceptable than it once was. This change has to do with awareness, education, and enforcement crackdown (similar to littering!) and not with the drinking age

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think light beer should be legal st 18 and everything else at 21.

I think that beer and wine should be legal at 18. Everything else at 21.

Some beer is really strong and there is fortified wine.

I think it should be by alcohol content. Back in the 80's it was called 3.2 beer when I was in Colorado.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think light beer should be legal st 18 and everything else at 21.

I think that beer and wine should be legal at 18. Everything else at 21.

Some beer is really strong and there is fortified wine.

I think it should be by alcohol content. Back in the 80's it was called 3.2 beer when I was in Colorado.

Stuff like regular Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors, Miller Light - normal beer. And normal wine.

I agree that the stronger wine and beer should wait until 21. As should liquor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The part that does not add up is him declining an Uber ride with friends to presumably walk home from the 7-11, which is a 45 minute walk on a freezing cold Saturday night.

I'm confused. Now his friends are saying that they left him in the 7-11 parking lot and took an Uber home which the boy declined? From there he presumably walked alone to the woods near the swimming club, fell in the little pond and drowned face up?

Thanks, Sherlock, but there is actually a private liquar store on River in MoCo; in fact, it was where we bought our liquor underage 30 years ago. I'll not name it because there are probably other places to buy as well. I can think of several non-ABC stores in the Bethesda area.

I bet you there's no. I've lived in MoCo all my life. The only stores which may sell _liquor_ (as opposed to wine and beer) are the MoCo official stores run by the DLC. You may be referring to Talbert's on River Road, but they can only sell beer and wine but not liquor.

There is no private retail establishment selling liquor in MoCo. I challenge you to name one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The part that does not add up is him declining an Uber ride with friends to presumably walk home from the 7-11, which is a 45 minute walk on a freezing cold Saturday night.

I'm confused. Now his friends are saying that they left him in the 7-11 parking lot and took an Uber home which the boy declined? From there he presumably walked alone to the woods near the swimming club, fell in the little pond and drowned face up?

Thanks, Sherlock, but there is actually a private liquar store on River in MoCo; in fact, it was where we bought our liquor underage 30 years ago. I'll not name it because there are probably other places to buy as well. I can think of several non-ABC stores in the Bethesda area.

I bet you there's no. I've lived in MoCo all my life. The only stores which may sell _liquor_ (as opposed to wine and beer) are the MoCo official stores run by the DLC. You may be referring to Talbert's on River Road, but they can only sell beer and wine but not liquor.

There is no private retail establishment selling liquor in MoCo. I challenge you to name one.

These kids are not walking they can drive anywhere that has s reputation for selling liquor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They were all drinking and drunk. They are all responsible for making the decision to go out and drink that night without a plan for dealing with the potential consequences or a even a thought that any one of them could die. The alcohol didn't get into them forcibly. They made a choice. That choice had consequences. Now they will need help dealing with the consequences. It's a tragedy and someone's son and brother died. Yes. They are all to blame.

The kid is to blame for drinking. His "friends" are asses for not calling his dad/mom if their drunk friend refuses a safe ride home. But they're still not to blame.

Of course the other kids there carry some responsibility.
Sorry if your kid was one of them.

Just play the blame game like you are perfect. Karma is a bitch.

None of us is perfect, my friend. But at least some of us can admit (and learn from!) our mistakes.