Nothing would surprise me these days. Here in New Zealand we just had a 50 yr old father of three girls get sent to gaol for chasing down a pair of teens who had tagged his house. He had armed himself with a knife, and when the two teens turned and rushed him, one of them got stabbed in the heart and died.
Four years, three months in the pokey for manslaughter. The Bruce Emery case has turned New Zealand’s discussion on grafitti, crime and punishment up to hi-heat.
I just came across an editorial in the Manawatu Standard which offered some sentiments which seemed eminently sensible to me - sentiments I wish I'd see more of here in the States when tragedies such as this one (i.e., when an errant teen up to no good & gets more than he bargained for when victimizing others) occur.
While stipulating that the mother's anger at her son's death & the length of Emery's sentence cannot & shouldn't be discounted, the writer also calls her & the rest of her outraged family to task for their belated concern and insists that they, too, must take responsibility.
Where was this strong, committed mother the night her 15-year-old son was out in the middle of the night drinking, doing drugs and defacing other people's property? Where was Pihema's extended family when he dropped out of school, went off the rails and needed to be brought back into line?
They proudly stood up to be counted in front of the cameras yesterday, but were they accountable for Pihema when he was still alive and really needed them?
Ms Cameron said her son grew up in a loving, caring family but, like many teenagers, got into a bit of trouble. However, if she thinks 15-year-olds going out at night to drink, smoke drugs and vandalise property is normal teenage behaviour, it's little wonder Pihema found himself in that fateful situation.
His family are by no means culpable for how he died, but they are culpable for how he lived. Bruce Emery has taken responsibility for Pihema's death and paid the price; it's about time his family took responsibility for his life.