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Sparing the rod...


Bri

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The police tazed her because she was running into traffic, not because she was drinking and smoking. The point was to stop each child, not to punish them for what they were doing.

I think there are two issues here: did the police have a choice (maybe not, at least they saved lives), and is it cool to taze or otherwise physically punish misbehaving children, or laugh when children are hurt? My post was directed at the second issue rather than the first.

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No it's not cool to laugh when children are hurt. I was callous. Thanks to Evaine and Elfheart for reminding everyone that real people were put into pain here - something I didn't really think about.

I'm sure you're not callous :rolleyes:

Mainly, I was shocked, because I have a soft spot for kids.

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Humour is an odd thing.  I don’t think anyone here was laughing at, or making fun of the child’s pain but rather the absurdity of the situation.

Point taken. I guess I shouldn't have been so harsh.

IMO, reacting strongly to children getting injured, and to people laughing about the situation, is not something to apologize for. I'm glad if they were laughing at something other than the children's pain, but being protective of children is nothing to apologize for.

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At 12, a child is intellectually developed, but not emotionally developed. The frontal lobes, the seat of our judgement, are not fully formed. 12 year olds are no more capable of adult judgement than they are of flying. It is sick, wrong and horrible to torture a child (you ever been tazed?), no matter what the circumstances.

 

The police tazed her because she was running into traffic, not because she was drinking and smoking. The point was to stop each child, not to punish them for what they were doing.

 

It's the same idea as reaching out and yanking a child away from an oncoming bus, except this time the child was actually out of reach. And if you've ever tried to stop a child who's panicked and running when you're perceived as a threatening stranger, reasonable talking doesn't actually work.

its like accidentally dislocating a child's shoulders while yanking them away from an on coming bus...the tazer was the quickest way to save the child's life, and the officer should be applauded for his moral courage to take an act which was bound to get him basted and roasted by the media.

 

as for the other child, the officers were probably too afraid he/she would genuinely hurt themselves. :rolleyes:

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At 12, a child is intellectually developed, but not emotionally developed. The frontal lobes, the seat of our judgement, are not fully formed. 12 year olds are no more capable of adult judgement than they are of flying. It is sick, wrong and horrible to torture a child (you ever been tazed?), no matter what the circumstances.

I'm sorry, and this is by no means an attack on anyone here, but I must say that I strongly disagree with this view. As a 13 year old who has never touched smokes, alcohol, or any form of drugs (excluding medical, of course), I must protest against this stereotype. We 'children' can't always be covered in a single term. While I must agree some people around my age are still lacking in Frontal Lobe development, I also know that some of my friends who are also near my age understand more and are more intelligent than some adults. Generalities don't often apply to everyone.

[/end rant and sounding like a presumptuous idiot.]

 

Anyway, I fully agree with those who think that this was wrong. In the case of the six year old, tasering him was certainly wrong. I can understand that in the sheer panic of the moment, the policeman made the wrong decision and tasered the 12 year old girl, but the six year old? Stupid. Wrong.

 

Okay... I'm going now... :rolleyes:

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I in no way mean to disparage the intelligence of anyone. I know I was a brilliant 13-year old myself :thumbsup:. However, I also know that my reasoning then and my reasoning now are quite different. My memory was better then, though.

 

Perhaps there is some disparity in how quickly frontal lobes develop, or perhaps different parts of the brain can take up the "slack", so to speak. On average, however, it's a simple physical characteristic. 13-year olds are generally smaller than adults, and their bodies are not as developed, nor are their brains.

 

Here's an interesting article I found on the subject:

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/teenbrain.cfm

And an interesting quote:

"Young teens, who characteristically perform poorly on the task, activated the amygdala, a brain center that mediates fear and other "gut" reactions, more than the frontal lobe. As teens grow older, their brain activity during this task tends to shift to the frontal lobe, leading to more reasoned perceptions and improved performance."

 

Note "characteristically" and "tends to". These are averages, not absolutes.

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Guest Tee hee!

'Tis almost funny how I often became quite irate towards those who would dare infer youth = definite idiocy/ignorance/etc. Now several years later (and consequently no longer regarded as a minor), I'd be lying to say I cared. I don't agree as such, yet nor can I be stuffed alleviating their potential ignorance on the matter. Their loss. To the topic at arms length: I applaud the use of tasers against humans. Ageism does not become me. Equal opportunity injury I say! :thumbsup:

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