My heart just sinks as I write this post- as the mom?of two little guys, I hate that this happens at all, especially down the street from?our house.? We got this email this last night:
Just wanted to share with you a heartbreaking incident that happened today at my sons friends 13th birthday party. The scene was set for a awesome time! Swimming at the pool, riding bikes to the village, hanging out with friends old and new. Dinner and a sleepover. Summertime. There they were as they have been since pre k hanging out near Karen?s Place eating candy from Bartells. Passing the poprocks around, drinking sugar pop that is not allowed at home, having fun the way five 12 and 13 year olds do. One of the 12 year olds (my son) turned and saw someone had quietly grabbed his bike and was riding it around, trashing it. The group of younger boys then noticed about 8 older boys approaching them including the boy who had taken the bike. They accused the younger boys of calling them names. Our boys being overwhelmed and upset that the party was being ruined retreated home. The bike was retrieved discarded on the dusty playfield, but the bike was not rideable. They were not overly bothered by the situation but I know I am and as any parent would be. Our neighborhood is not without some danger. Let?s stick to making sure our windows are closed and cars are locked. I am sorry to have used our police force to report this in our park. It wasn’t a ball that some kid came and took from them and started tossing it between bullies, it was a expensive bike that meant a lot to my son. Thank you for listening.
Magnolia turf wars can be pretty hardcore.
Sounds like preteen antics to me. I heard somewhere that poprocks are a gateway drug…
It doesn’t sound like it was the preteens that were the problem. Let’s teach our kids to respect other people.
Shelly is correct. Twelve and thirteen year old kids should be able to ride through the community without being threatened by kids twice their size. High schoolers threatening to beat up younger kids is nothing to laugh at.
Magnolia lives in a kind of dream world. The “good old days?” Don’t you remember when kids older than your stole your things and made life h*ll for you in school when you were growing up? I heartily agree with the poster who says to just walk away from the stuff and keep yourself safe. Other neighborhoods’ kids already know to lock bikes up as soon as they are stationary, especially if hormone laden/personally insecure adolescents feel the need to exhibit their jealousy/dominance/ confused feelings about where they stand in society (we already know the answer to that one, especially if they were Magnolia teens themselves…not a stretch by any means). Magnolia kids are pampered…not because they have more things or income, but because they don’t live in the real world that they will meet as soon as they go down the hill. If they were Magnolia teen bullying the younger kids, its usually because they themselves are bullied at home or cannot figure out how to be an adult yet….or who have parents who bully others in their own way.
Eric, you have accepted “the real world” as YOUR world. The world can be any way that WE make it. Magnolia is an attempt by like-minded individuals to create a safe quiet neighborhood. For the most part it works. And when kids grow up in this “dream” world, guess what?….they try to recreate it as adults. Is that so bad?
No. But in our case, the world you describe, the world they try to create as adults, is a world that exists within financial privilege, hardly a character building endeavor. My personal experience with Magnolia teens is that they are bored and do mischief like that. But yes, many don’t. I am uncomfortable that money and privilege are the only ways to have a safe and quiet neighborhood. I am a hypocrite, because I live here too…but I see such snobbishness in many of the kids I come in contact with. I accept for each kid I see with a spoiled demeanor there is another kid heretrying to improve the world for others who cannot afford to live in Magnolia. Many have been lauded on this site.
It appears as if the next generation of Magnolia street toughs are out and about. Too bad they can’t be rounded up and dropped off on Rainier Ave and forced to act the same way they do on the mean streets of Mag. They would get a quick lesson in street etiquette. Sorry to hear about the bike.
Feel bad for your loss and disruption but can you please leave the fluff out of the story and get to the point next time. Dont care about history or happy times. Thanks.
Wow! You sure woke up on the wrong side of the bed. It’s rather sad that you “Don’t care about history or happy times”.
maybe this pampered little boys should learn to stick up for themselves. cant expect to run home to mommy everytime.
Agree. Seems like everything must be peaches and cream in that household. Why I bet mommy drives a big ole shiny new SUV that will never drive off road.
8 big jocks threatening to beat up younger kids is never cool. It doesn’t matter what their “mom” drives!
Bullying should not be allowed no matter what age/race/gender.
While I agree the timing was unfortunate,… this is nothing but a normal day in youth culture. And a rather mild one at that. The post also highlights our attachment to our “stuff.” One of the best things we can teach kids is that we can always replace your “stuff” (Air Jordans come to mind) but we can’t replace YOU. Let the stuff go!
Wow. I can’t believe how cruel people are on this site. Those of you who think it’s okay to push any child around are SICK in the head. It’s never okay to bully a child, teen, adult, or senior- NEVER. No doubt the obnoxious people on this site are also bullies and hide behind their computers to make people feel badly. How dare some of you call these kids pampered and assume their mother drives a big shiny SUV? How is that relevant, you brain dead jerks? The point is that some bigger kids took a bike and destroyed it. The point is that they interrupted a party and bullied a bunch of kids. The point is that there are people out there who think it’s okay to BREAK THE LAW and destroy someone else’s property. The point is that these bullies all have parents and families who needs to be made aware of this behavior. Why do you think there are thousands of action organizations out there against bullying? And why do you think bullying kids is okay? Because it’s NOT okay. Makes me sick to think about all the friggin idiots in this neighborhood.
WoW madman……chill out will you please? Nobody said bullying is okay. My gosh.
Ya, ya kind of did.
Sounds like you need to take an anger management class “madmagnoliadad.”
So you are upset at people who hide behind their computers yet you use an alias not your real name to post here? You live in a glass house…..I sure hope not Mr. mad dad. I agree with Jane you need to suppress your anger. What good is it to call people “brain dead jerks?”
“No doubt the obnoxious people on this site are also bullies and hide behind their computers to make people feel badly”
Sounds like you described yourself there bullying other posters who have the RIGHT to speak their mind. Who died and left YOU in charge?
I understand your frustration. No one questions (well the “behind the computer” jerks do, I guess) that a wrong was done. But the point is that given all the measures we put into place to inform people about bullying and measures we take to enforce the law, big kids have acted like that for centuries with or without those laws. It is common knowledge that the bigger kids will do things like that in most any neighborhood. Maybe you live in a utopia, or would like to, but it has nothing to do with a shiny SUV or kids being pampered. Mom and kids got a valuable lesson in the world. In the real world, adolescents act like jerks and you get yourself out of the situation as fast as you can. There is no idyllic Magnolia or any neighborhood. That is just the truth. In my mind, I think it is worse if it were a senior who couldn’t leave the area, or a homeless person set on fire. The little kids learned to exit those situations now. Good life lesson.
Bullying is wrong if it happened, but this whole story reeks. First the perfectly-behaved little victims spiel is going a bit far. And the “big kids” story sounds like some kid’s excuse for doing something stupid that resulting in him trashing his own bike. Regardless of what happened, Mommy Dearest sounds seriously delusional.
Totally agree! Sounds like mommy led a sheltered life behind the gates to her parents mansion and nobody ever ripped her lemonade stand off on the wide tree lined street of mansions growing up. I do not even believe the story to begin with. You know how 13 year old boys are…..they tell fibs, they kick cats, they litter, and they spit out their chewing gum on the sidewalk.
I am sure the 12 and 13 year old boys had just as much to do with altercation as the older boys.
Gosh can we put an end to this topic already. This is almost as ridiculous as the tennis topic from a couple weeks ago here where supposedly there is a creep hanging around our tennis courts waiting for women in short tennis skirts.