Court order for bad kid
no fix for bad parenting
■ OUR OPINION: Mothers
had other options than
going to Court over !h<?«r
lighting children
After 3-yea; old Jonathan
allegedly kicked Antonin*
Pevnev'* 3-year old daogh
ter St*cy in the tu*ad while
the two were playing In the
Charles River Park play
ground in Massachusetts,
the frustrated mother decid
ed to take the advice of
fudge Wopner and The /Vo
plr * Court. She didn't take
the law into her own hands:
the took fonathan and hit
mother to court
Apparently, little
fonathan had boat up on lit
tle Stacy Mom, but the
kicking incident was the last
•traw tor Pevnev She went
to the police, who said they
couldn’t do anything about
the assault, but they did tel)
her the could get a restrain
ing order.
So the did
Hut we re not sure who
the judge should rule in
favor ol — the little kids or
the grown-up kids
A Superior Court fudge
granted Pevnev the restrain
ing order and handed down
tome guideline* that
instructed the mothers to
supervise their children and
keep them apart from each
other while at the play
ground.
This cate is just another
sad example of parents who
do not know how to raise
their children. It also high
lights the tendency of many
Americans who run to the
nearest courtroom any time
they trip on some legality
and fall-down-go-bnom
The problem Is, they usu
ally land on someone elte’s
wallet.
Our courts are packed full
of lawsuits and cases that
could be solver! in other
way* — if only people were
more responsible for their
action* |or for the actions of
their children)
If Jonathan’* mommy
couldn’t (or wouldn't) con
trol him. M could he because
he'* a strong-willed child.
*h«‘* an ineffective parent,
or both Regard)***. Pevnev
should have just taken her
daughter to a different part
of the playground If doing
that hadn’t solved the prob
lem. *he could have taken
Stacy out of the jrark and
away from the habits of
mean little Jonathan
However, kids will be
kids, and there are no guar
antees that Stacy won’t get
mistreated somewhere else
as well
Mean kids can be found
on most playgrounds, so
Pevnev should probably try
to train Stacy to walk away
from children who play too
rough or get physically abu
sive.
In her complaint. Pevnev
wrote that she believed
lonathan and his mother
were violent people and that
the mother actually amour
aged her son to “fight and
kick and to behave in a
manner not becoming to a
responsible child"
Pevnev even filed an
additional assault and bat
tery complaint against
lonathan. just in case there
is future trouble.
There it trouble — an
insidious parenting crisis
brewing in the land. And it
can only be solved by par
ent* becoming more respon
sibl*.
lonathan obviously needs
some behavior modification,
and Stacy needs a safe place
to play, but the courtroom
isn’t the place to make those
change*
_
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Sweet strcasm
I w#» delighted to tee that
your April Pool'# Day editorial
escaped early and appeared
Tuesday (Oul, March 12).
Absolutely hilarious, and much
more in the tradition of the hoi
tday's witty nonsense than the
sort of thing you usually come
up with
Refusal to leach creation sci
ence as an example of educe
lions) tyranny — what a hoot!
But no matter April l is Hill
more than two weeks sway, so
that leaves you plenty of time lo
do something involving Holo
caust denial or the flat Earth
hypothesis
Better get busy, though, in
today's relatively enlightened
intellectual climate — and on a
univarsity campus, vet! — it
takes time to give such foolish
ness the illusion of legitimacy
and believability. With Tues
day's work as an example,
though. I'm confident that you'll
do a ferri/lc Job
Keep up the good work
IftcfeMf E Stamm
Graduate Secretary
Engftah Department
Not science
I eras surprised that the Etmr
aid editorial staff recommends
teaching creationism In parallel
with evolution (fJOfc*. March 12}
The most charitable assumption
is that this editorial resulted
from profound ignorance about
the raid motives behind the effort
to promote creationism in the
public schools
'Creation science,' as inven
tors want it to be known, it a
deliberate attempt to disguise the
fundamentalist Christian ere
ation myth as a scientific theo
2 in order to make it more petal
le to public school teachers.
All references to the Christian
god and the Bible were removed
However, the story it the same
It requires the student to accept
that everything era* recently cre
ated. essentially as it is today, by
a Creator
It denies evolution, in spite of
the overwhelming evidence in
support of It. and also that near
ly *H scientist*, and many
devout Christians, accept evo
lution
Creationism is not a scientif
ic theory; there is no scientific
evident* for it. and to advance
it a* science is intellectual din
honesty The courts hav« con
sistently ruled that it is religion,
end thus may not legally be
taught using public funds
if there are any doubts about
the motives of "creelion scien
tists." simply suggest that the
Native American or Hindu ere
alum myth* also be tatg(h* a* the
ories, and watch them go into
orbit!
There is a great deal of Intel
ligeot (and some not to) discus
sion or creationism on the Inter
net. which can be turned by a
search for the keyword "cre
at ion ism “
Jim Rsfntnyton
institute ot Motecutar EUotogy
Jt»e don’t preach
Just a few quick comments
regarding Jesse BohmOam y'«
column {ODE. March 12).
Jesse, before you grab your
roommate's handy dandy copy
of the Bible and find anymore
“goodies" for us. why don't you
actually read it?
If you don't read it. and you
don't have your own copy to
read, you should educate your
self a little hit before tackling
another masterpiece on Bible
thumpers Unfortunately, you
have developed all of your infor
mation from your own littla
world view and haven't dona
any thinking or studying un your
own: we call that being close
minded.
Yes. misinterpretation of the
Bible does lead to many mis
takes. your article is an excellent
example of this Is Leviticus the
only spot in the Bible where
homosexuality Is mentioned?
Wes it written to you or to God's
chosen people in 1445 BC.T
These are some examples of
questions that need to be asked,
so you don't embarrass yourself
again
Just because I'm a follower of
Jesus Christ doesn't mean that
I check my mind at the door.
Christian morality comes as a
result of following Jesus Christ,
not from a list of doe and don't*.
The moat influential man to
ever step foot on the face of the
Earth. Jesus Christ, and the hook
that has been circulated more
than any other In the history of
man, the Bible, deserve more
than a slap in the face by Bohrw
Clancy
Da us all a favor, Jesse Reed
the Bible And the nest time it's
your turn to write for the Enter
aid opinion page, leave it alone
I'd rather have the doodle space.
Aaron James
Sociology
Serious and sad
Looking at the Associated
hoto of conservative
can Pat Buchanan, ail
smile* while holding a rifle
above his head during a cam
peign in Artsona, I find myself
wondering if this guy can actu
ally be serious. I can only aay
one thing in regard* to the sup
pari he's obviously received for
this type of public display: flow
sad
Oougel T. WMMame
Eccnonuaa'Spaniaft
Tree-free
Deforestation for the contin
ued use of paper products is
even more archaic then the
slaughter of the buffalo With
nearly half of ail the harvested
trees in the United States being
beaten to e pulp (for paper! one
only has to wonder how king our
forests will survive.
I urge everyone to minimise
their paper consumption and to
use tree free alternatives. Why
not save the leal remaining
stands for our recreational, med
icinal and spiritual enfoytnani?
Papers made from
Kenaf, hemp and agricultural
wastes are becoming more avail
able. and although they may cost
more "out of pocket." the true
cost to our environment makes
them the best deal for our forests,
our future, our children and our
selves
Robert Rom
Eugene