Posted on 09/30/2006 7:10:02 PM PDT by bwteim
CHARLESTON, S.C. - A City Council member, reacting to a video store holdup believed to have been carried out by children, says parents who can't properly care for their kids should be sterilized.
"We pick up stray animals and spay them," Larry Shirley said in a story published Saturday by The Post and Courier of Charleston. "These mothers need to be spayed if they can't take care of theirs. Once they have a child and it's running the street, to let them continue to have children is totally unacceptable."
Shirley's comments come after police say a video store was held up by a group of children, including a 14-year-old girl suspected of wielding a BB gun that looked like a pistol.
The holdup happened about 9 p.m. Wednesday at a Hollywood Video store. A 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy were charged as juveniles with armed robbery. A 9-year-old boy was not charged because police said he was too young. He was released to his mother.
"What we've got is a failure in society, whether it's in Mount Pleasant with yuppie parents or whether it's on the East Side with poor crackhead parents," he said, referring to areas in and around Charleston.
State Sen. Robert Ford, a Charleston Democrat, agreed that the crime highlights a societal problem but dismissed Shirley's suggestion to sterilize people as "crazy."
"What Larry Shirley needs to talk about is getting City Council to provide some recreational facilities and activities for these kids and creating an atmosphere conducive to a normal society," said Ford, also a former councilman.
Sorry, not a good idea. Margaret Sanger might think so, but not me.
Agree to an even greater degree than what is proposed.
Oh yeah, he may be on to something, but more likely he is ON something.
Good grief, what is wrong with people?
ping
No but you could arrest and fine the parents under neglect of supervision or discipline. We don't need more play ground babysitters. Hold the parents accountable.
I totally disagree with this concept. Each and every person has the same choices before them. The path to good and the path for evil. To use the government to rob people of their ability to reproduce because of the chance of their children choosing the path to evil, IS evil in my opinion.
The idea of this isn't much different than the government forced abortions in China.
Three generations of imbeciles are enough.
- Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in Buck v. Bell
You might find this interesting.
I don't like it either. Unfortunately there are plenty of people who should never have children.
I know a girl who was mildly retarded and married to a child molester (repeat offender). They had 5 children and every single one was taken away immediately after birth.
Make poverty a crime.
Bingo!...another winner!!
Hey, since were just a "product of evil-ution", we should be treated no differently than any other animal. Spading should be encouraged, after all, there are too many Homo Sapiens on the planet anyway according to some "scientists". Especially now since humans are becoming more homo than sapien....if you get my drift
When I was a youngster the government was not concerning itself with providing programs for our entertainment and the behavior described in this article was absolutely unheard of. The 'norms' of today's society are completely different and that is a large part of the problem.
I appreciate your quick responses.
Let me give you my two cents, as I'm signing off soon for the night:
Mr. Larry Shirley is saying what many think - some people aren't fit to be parents in any shape or form, just as some people aren't fit to be in touch with young people.
His solution is melodramatic, perhaps more of an attention getter - and will get some conversation going in Charleston. Most, me included, would not want to live in a society that could do that to your body, based on some arbritary standard.
But parental accountability is sorely lacking, as we have all seen, where they throw up their hands and expect others to should their burden and offspring.
The state can't just remove kids because they might be in trouble. Sadly, only after the damage is done, can child protective services move in.
You (and Councilman Shirley) seem to agree with Supreme Court Justice Holmes who said: "Three generations of imbeciles is enough" in a case known as Buck vs. Bell. Critics of Holmes' idea may have strong personal reasons to oppose the sterilization of imbeciles and idiots. :)
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South Carolina Ping