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I'm not certain what to make of all this. The conflicting claims of what
works, what doesn't, what kills, what won't, have been batted around for
days.
We simply cannot constantly be overreacting to the irresponsible behavior of
teenagers and expecting to protect them all from themselves everywhere they
go.
We can't bring enjoyment of all the resources of the community to a
screeching halt because one kid - or two or three kids who knowingly defy
the signs and the information presented to them for their own protection and
enter the danger zone on their own hook found they didn't have the right
answer to their challenge.
This is not a hardened perspective of children. No one deserves to die -
especially in such stupid fashion, in such a preventable circumstance, if
only they stopped believing themselves immortal. But, then, young people
have ever believed thus: they cannot die: they're too young, too clever, too
hip, too cool, too hot, too tough. And they never learn from others'
mistakes. Others' deaths or injuries.
Do we shut sown access to the river because someone dared challenge its
current and dies by lack of good judgment? No. But the media sees the tragic
results of these stupid behaviors and starts querying politicians about what
they plan "to do about all this." The media ignores the real issues and
focuses on the spectacular method - the unusual method by which these
terrible life-shortening events happened - and the rest of us go apoplectic
trying to "fix it."
People will always be doing dumb things that get them hurt - or dead; we
simply cannot reconstruct a world that will prevent that, and the rest of
the world cannot suffer for the thoughtless acts of a few toward themselves.
Perhaps the caves should be opened completely - so they're properly vented
of the deadly accumulation of carbon monoxide. I don't know. I know this:
Children will defeat all attempts to shut them out of their adventures. It's
their nature. It's simply too tempting a challenge for them. They may
believe themselves invulnerable, superhuman, but our attempts at preventing
their stupidity from killing them had probably killed them. They will ferret
out their fun, their experimental sex, their drinking, their drugs - some
way, somehow.
We all went through these times in our lives. Why did we ever think we could
stop the young now that we're seniors?
We should know better - because we couldn't be stopped either.
Andy Driscoll
Crocus Hill
Ward 2 - Where the Caves and River Can Be Found.
------
on 4/29/04 8:20 PM, Pat Byrne wrote:>
>
>> [Tim] I'm a little confused about the discussion going on about the caves (in
>> the media, not here). You'll note a quotation from Mayor Kelley (see
>> below) that the city will spend whatever it takes to find and close up the
>> holes. Then, he goes on to say, that public works will tell you "if you
>> close the holes one day, they'll be open the next."
>
> Hi folks,
>
> I'd be surprised to see that Public Works has actually said that. It sounds
> like a rhetorical interpretation of what they might say (but I've been
> surprise before). I'd like to see an actual response from City folks as to
> whether or not there is an engineering solution to the problem. And a cost
> estimate. I suspect there is such a solution.
>
> As to the river, no you can't block access to the river. Nor do I think
> anyone should block access to the river. Its an asset that should be
> enjoyed by all explorers. And an engineering solution to blocking access to
> river caves may be slightly different because of the accelerated wear and
> tear at water level. But again I suspect a solution is possible.
>
> What bothers me is that that solution, if it exists, existed in 1993. Am I
> cynical enough to think that an answer from our experts may be tainted by
> the expected lawsuit from the families of the three youths? What do you think?
>
> Pat Byrne
> St. Clair and Lexington Parkway Neighborhood.
> "Not Everyone Can Live Upstream"
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