# Father, aged 16, killed in a vehicle hit and run **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 14, 2008, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901 "2008-06-14T08:39:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/61 "2008-06-15T17:58:07Z")
> [@MrSquishy](#): > > You must be new here. > > [Checks post count] > > Huh. No, I just took a brief hiatus. Clearly, I’d forgotten what it was that made us tick. My apologies to the high and the mighty. > [@eleanorigby](#): > > There is no vitriol (don’t conflate posts–I’m not “with” Argent Towers on this). No, there hasn’t been any vitriol in your case. I apologize. But the general feeling in this thread, to which you’ve contributed but by no means are solely responsible, is that the guy got what he had coming, and furthermore that this is an occasion to ridicule him for not having achieved, at _sixteen years of age_, the pinnacle of good judgement that we apparently require from all citizens of the earth if we are not to run them down on the highway. I won’t name names and attribute this moral crime and that to each particular person, but suffice it to say that I do consider you part of the crowd who wishes to bring him back to life just to stone him. The rudeness with which you have treated me in the recent past when I tried to help you is a major part of why I can’t buy into your backpedal. As for the rest of you, what ever happened to “There but for the grace of God go I”? Here at the Dope, we celebrate stories of youthful misadventure, and elevate their writers to godlike status; yet if their youthful indiscretions had led to a downward spiral that ended up with them staggering around on the highway in a drug-induced stupor, not a bunch of hilarious tales with which to regale their friends after finding their inner voice of reason, we would be circling the wagons and calling for their beheading for the good of the gene pool. How might we regard the venerated **Master Wang-Ka** if he had impregnated a young Texas bird on one of his drunken romps and spiraled into depression and madness? I implore all of you to chew on that for a good while. By the way, I don’t mean to impugn **Argent Towers** here (although **eleanorigby** has decided to pick him out as the sole source of the problem for some reason), or any other poster in particular, for that matter, because the majority of respondents to this thread have contributed to the general feeling I mentioned above. You’re all responsible for this callousness, and I only hope that you never have to walk a mile in the boy’s shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/62 "2008-06-15T21:32:14Z")
[QUOTE=Magiver] Where to begin. First, a 16 year old is not a father. At best he was a minor who molested another minor. [/QUOTE] OH FOR FUCK’S SAKE. My eyes rolled so far out of my head, and with such vigor, they knocked down the east wall of my house when I read this. My grandmother had my dad at 16 (10mos, 4days after marrying my grandfather) and stayed married until the day my grandpa died. She remains a good mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother to this day, and has never been molested or molested anybody else thank-you-very-fucking-much. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/63 "2008-06-15T21:37:34Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] OH FOR FUCK’S SAKE. My eyes rolled so far out of my head, and with such vigor, they knocked down the east wall of my house when I read this. [/QUOTE] Heh. You must have missed the thread (some years ago) where someone insisted that a teenage boy attracted to girls his own age was a pedophile. ---
**Author:** ![xcheopis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bc8723/32.png) [@xcheopis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xcheopis)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/64 "2008-06-15T21:42:18Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] How exactly would the world benefit from this guy? Like **Magiver** said - Darwin award. Worthless piece of shit. [/QUOTE] How, exactly, is the world benefiting from you? What contribution to you give that no other human could possibly do in your stead? ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/65 "2008-06-15T21:43:26Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] No, I just took a brief hiatus. Clearly, I’d forgotten what it was that made us tick. My apologies to the high and the mighty. No, there hasn’t been any vitriol in your case. I apologize. But the general feeling in this thread, to which you’ve contributed but by no means are solely responsible, is that the guy got what he had coming, and furthermore that this is an occasion to ridicule him for not having achieved, at _sixteen years of age_, the pinnacle of good judgement that we apparently require from all citizens of the earth if we are not to run them down on the highway. I won’t name names and attribute this moral crime and that to each particular person, but suffice it to say that I do consider you part of the crowd who wishes to bring him back to life just to stone him. The rudeness with which you have treated me in the recent past when I tried to help you is a major part of why I can’t buy into your backpedal. [/QUOTE] I haven’t backpedalled in the least. There is nothing to backpedal. His life was short and sad. Why on earth would anyone here want him to come back to life so that we could stone him? Wth? Where is this supposed foaming at the mouth vengeance coming from? Even **AT** has said that he now sees the kid in a more human light. What is so venerable about getting a girl pregnant at a young age, not abandoning her, then ending your life by running into traffic? His becoming a father and dying the way he did are unrelated except that they both happened to him. One did not cause the other (then again, he may have had some kind of freakish post-partum Couvade syndrome which made him suicidal. Or something–just kidding!). I don’t think anyone here claimed that he died because he was a young dad. And I certainly have no desire to run him down–or anyone. The driver that hit him will live with that horror the rest of his life. > [@](#): > > As for the rest of you, what ever happened to “There but for the grace of God go I”? Here at the Dope, we celebrate stories of youthful misadventure, and elevate their writers to godlike status; yet if their youthful indiscretions had led to a downward spiral that ended up with them staggering around on the highway in a drug-induced stupor, not a bunch of hilarious tales with which to regale their friends after finding their inner voice of reason, we would be circling the wagons and calling for their beheading for the good of the gene pool. How might we regard the venerated **Master Wang-Ka** if he had impregnated a young Texas bird on one of his drunken romps and spiraled into depression and madness? I implore all of you to chew on that for a good while. No clue who Master Wang-Ka is. Don’t care. It’s “youthful indiscretion” now to run out onto a highway full of cars? How, exactly, did you have fun as a teen? That is just bizarre as hell. I made my share of mistakes, but this boy took “youthful indiscretions” to a whole new level. You can’t have it both ways. Either he was suffering from some sort of mental illness or he was gamboling about with youthful hijinks. Which is it? > [@](#): > > … the majority of respondents to this thread have contributed to the general feeling I mentioned above. You’re all responsible for this callousness, and I only hope that you never have to walk a mile in the boy’s shoes. We shall walk at least a mile in this boy’s shoes because we will all die someday. I can guarantee that I will not die by running out onto a road with busy traffic. His is a stupid and unnecessary death–that doesn’t make him stupid or unnecessary. Comfort yourself as you may if you find this story disturbing. I refuse to deal in euphemism while exploring it. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/66 "2008-06-16T02:33:07Z")
[QUOTE=xcheopis] How, exactly, is the world benefiting from you? What contribution to you give that no other human could possibly do in your stead? [/QUOTE] In his defense, **Argent Towers** has dialed his response to this waaaaaaaaaay back. The driver is the real piece of shit here. 21 different aliases? A metric fuck-ton of arrests for pretty damned bad behavior? Lock this one up before HE breeds. _Please_. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/67 "2008-06-16T03:34:54Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] I find it difficult to call anyone a meteorologic term [/QUOTE] And that’s so different than calling them by a botanical term, such as the name of a flower? ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/68 "2008-06-16T16:21:07Z")
[QUOTE=Shayna] We don’t have _nearly_ enough information about this young man to make any kind of judgment about him, let alone cast dispersions. Really, what’s the matter with you people? [/QUOTE] I agree and the phrase you’re looking for is “cast aspersions” as in throw slander at someone. The article also says that the accident threw him 45 meters in the air and resulted in multiple fatal injuries. Which would seem to me that he wasn’t laying down in the road when it happened. Could you be thrown in the air being run over? Seems unlikely. The world really sucks sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/69 "2008-06-17T01:51:29Z")
Love the picture - the kid is immortalized in idiocy. Is that the best pic his family could come up with? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/70 "2008-06-17T02:02:29Z")
[QUOTE=Ghanima] Love the picture - the kid is immortalized in idiocy. Is that the best pic his family could come up with? [/QUOTE] Considering his circumstances, that may very well be the _only_ pic the family has of him. Shallow bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/71 "2008-06-17T03:27:23Z")
[QUOTE=Lust4Life] Knives have always been alien to English culture,indeed anyone who carried one was considered a coward but that has all changed. [/QUOTE] Seriously? That just sounds so bizarre to me. I never go anywhere without a knife if I can help it. (Not even as a weapon, since I often carry a gun anyway) A knife is just a really useful tool for many purposes, and you never know when you might need one. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/72 "2008-06-17T03:56:22Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > It’s “youthful indiscretion” now to run out onto a highway full of cars? No, knocking someone up is youthful indiscretion, and I think it’s safe to say that either (a) the fallout from that event or (b) the circumstances that led to that event probably sent him into a downward spiral that ended on that highway. Hence this part, with the important parts bolded so that you’ll have to try even harder to miss them: > [@me](#): > > Here at the Dope, we celebrate stories of youthful misadventure, and elevate their writers to godlike status; yet if their youthful indiscretions had **led to** a downward spiral that **ended up with** them staggering around on the highway in a drug-induced stupor, not **a bunch of hilarious tales with which to regale their friends after finding their inner voice of reason** , we would be circling the wagons and calling for their beheading for the good of the gene pool. How can staggering around on the highway in a drug-induced stupor **lead to** staggering around on the highway in a drug-induced stupor? That’s one single event that ends a spiral, not the start of a spiral that…ends in the same event? Use yer head. I know you’re not stupid. > [@eleanorigby](#): > > How, exactly, did you have fun as a teen? No, it’s “youthful indiscretion” to get a girl knocked up. How did _I_ have fun as a teen? I did drugs and slept with every girl that showed the slightest interest in me. Presumably, this kid started with the same thing. There but for the grace of [insert deity here] go I. > [@eleanorigby](#): > > Either he was suffering from some sort of mental illness or he was gamboling about with youthful hijinks. Which is it? Both, although I wouldn’t classify the highway thing as “youthful hijinks.” But getting a girl knocked up was surely a result of youthful hijinks, and lying down on the highway was, by definition, a result of some sort of mental illness. So, at the very least, first one and then the other. > [@eleanorigby](#): > > I can guarantee that I will not die by running out onto a road with busy traffic. You can? You’re 100% certain that you’ll never lose it? It’s simply not possible at all that you’ll lose it at some point, maybe as a result of some unforeseen series of catastrophes? No? Not even a tiny chance? The rest of the human race envies you, then. > [@EJsGirl](#): > > In his defense, Argent Towers has dialed his response to this waaaaaaaaaay back. > > The driver is the real piece of shit here. 21 different aliases? A metric fuck-ton of arrests for pretty damned bad behavior? Lock this one up before HE breeds. Please. Agreed and agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/73 "2008-06-17T03:57:16Z")
I don’t know what he’s talking about but if I had to guess, I’d say that swords were considered noble because knights carried swords, and daggers were something that were used to kill in a sneak attack, dishonorably. **L4L** am I close to the truth there? ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901/74 "2008-06-17T18:48:07Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] Considering his circumstances, that may very well be the _only_ pic the family has of him. Shallow bitch. [/QUOTE] Oh, bullshit. You have got to be kidding me. **Ghanima** didn’t deserve that- she is right. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-aged-16-killed-in-a-vehicle-hit-and-run/452901.md?page=3)