# RO: Somebody sends letter to neighbours telling them to kill their son **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 20, 2013, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699 "2013-08-20T07:28:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/161 "2013-08-25T14:34:46Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > I firmly believe that elderly retired women generally make the absolute worst neighbors in the world. They often hate the world, hate younger people, and have all day, EVERY day, to dream up ways and reasons to complain about their neighbors. Almost without fail, their noses are far, far too up in everyone else’s business. The results are almost never enjoyable. My worst neighbors were a young couple which was always screaming at each other, although I do agree that people with a lot of time on their hands can be annoying as neighbors. In this case, the letter writer claims to be a mother of normal children. Assuming the letter is not a complete hoax, I would probably take her at her word. It’s consistent with my experience that mothers of young children tend to get pretty wound up over anything which bothers or disturbs their children. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/162 "2013-08-25T14:50:28Z")
> [@get\_lives](#): > > They used the word “vamose”, which is something I only heard from Colonel Potter on episodes of MASH, growing up. I doubt a young person would ever have heard that word, which is a corruption of the Spanish “vamos”, which means “let’s go”. > In addition, the words “dreadful” and “scram” are similarly unlikely from a younger person. > > I actually imagine this to be a woman somewhere between ages 40 and 60, without a college degree, who is very angry, difficult, and slightly mentally ill. > > Of course, it could be some teenagers with a thesaurus. Eh, we used “vamoos” when I was growing up, which was before the M_A_S\*H TV series. We also used “andelay”, which is a corruption of the Spanish “andele”, which means “MOVE IT SLOWPOKE”. We used other Spanish or Mexican words, as well. That’s what happens when you live in Texas or other states that border Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/163 "2013-08-25T15:30:21Z")
I’m not saying I know this to be a fact, or that it’s even particularly likely - maybe, just a 1% possibility - but has anyone considered the possibility, just the REMOTEST possibility, that nobody sent them this letter at all and it was made up by a member of the child’s own family to get attention and, as is so often the case, start an Internet rush to send them free money? I’m not accusing anyone of anything, it’s just that there’s something about the letter that seems, well, just so outrageously silly it might be made up. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/164 "2013-08-25T16:18:41Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’m not saying I know this to be a fact, or that it’s even particularly likely - maybe, just a 1% possibility - but has anyone considered the possibility, just the REMOTEST possibility, that nobody sent them this letter at all Yes, if you look back up the thread you will see that idea has been kicked around. I do think there is a decent chance the letter is a hoax by the family but if I had to guess I would guess it is real. The reason for my guess is that it must be extremely painful for the child’s parents to think about their son’s prospects of future marriage and/or independence. So if they were creating a hoax letter, I think they would leave that part out. Of the hoax hate I have seen, I don’t recall seeing anything which was super-personal and twist-the-knife vicious like this letter. ---
**Author:** ![happycamper\_5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cab0a1/32.png) [@happycamper\_5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happycamper_5)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/165 "2013-08-25T17:08:50Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’m not saying I know this to be a fact, or that it’s even particularly likely - maybe, just a 1% possibility - but has anyone considered the possibility, just the REMOTEST possibility, that nobody sent them this letter at all and it was made up by a member of the child’s own family to get attention and, as is so often the case, start an Internet rush to send them free money? > > I’m not accusing anyone of anything, it’s just that there’s something about the letter that seems, well, just so outrageously silly it might be made up. Yep. Was my first thought. Is still my only thought. And if that turns out to be the case, I find it incredibly sad. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/166 "2013-08-26T03:33:53Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’m not saying I know this to be a fact, or that it’s even particularly likely - maybe, just a 1% possibility - but has anyone considered the possibility, just the REMOTEST possibility, that nobody sent them this letter at all and it was made up by a member of the child’s own family to get attention and, as is so often the case, start an Internet rush to send them free money? > > I’m not accusing anyone of anything, it’s just that there’s something about the letter that seems, well, just so outrageously silly it might be made up. Well sure, but then you would run the risk of writing something _so_ outrageous that everyone would think it’s a hoax. I’m trying to imagine the letter I would write to generate internet sympathy, and it would probably be less overtly insane and would certainly contain nonspecific threats. As for neighbors making trouble, well, my son is having a very bad night. We already had one neighbor ring us at 11PM “asking if everything was all right, because, you know, we could hear him downstairs.” Of course, a ringing buzzer did not exactly help calm him down. I wonder what other concern trolls will darken our door tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/167 "2013-08-26T04:26:02Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Eh, we used “vamoos” when I was growing up, which was before the M_A_S\*H TV series. We also used “andelay”, which is a corruption of the Spanish “andele”, which means “MOVE IT SLOWPOKE”. We used other Spanish or Mexican words, as well. That’s what happens when you live in Texas or other states that border Mexico. [Speedy Gonzalez](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDZBzvTDhGU) “Arriba! Andele!” It ain’t just Texas. I learned those words in NY more than 40 years ago, watching cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2013, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/168 "2013-08-26T12:11:15Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > As for neighbors making trouble, well, my son is having a very bad night. We already had one neighbor ring us at 11PM “asking if everything was all right, because, you know, we could hear him downstairs.” Of course, a ringing buzzer did not exactly help calm him down. I wonder what other concern trolls will darken our door tonight. Any chance you can change the doorbell sound to something less obnoxious, or is that hard-wired in? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/169 "2013-08-26T12:30:21Z")
**Ferret Herder** , any bell is obnoxious if someone rings it enough times. In the last four weeks I had seven different people ring mine from the ground level (my flat is a third-floor walk in, the gate is always wide open); not a single one rang it less than three times. Hey guys, even if I had to open the gate for you, leaning on the bell will not make the hallway shorter! ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/170 "2013-08-26T14:05:00Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Any chance you can change the doorbell sound to something less obnoxious, or is that hard-wired in? The doorbell is part of the intercom system for the entire building. We ended up being up with him almost the entire night. Can’t wait to see what they say today. No one else rang last night, thankfully. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2013, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/171 "2013-08-26T14:18:51Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > The doorbell is part of the intercom system for the entire building. > > We ended up being up with him almost the entire night. Can’t wait to see what they say today. No one else rang last night, thankfully. When I last lived in an apartment (late 80s) through a complicated series of events I wound up with a baby yellow-naped amazon parrot. The building was “no pets”, but I thought I could get away with it. Once the bird was weaned, he became a bit noisy and demanding of attention. He screamed my name in a cartoonish voice. A couple of my neighbors knew and liked the bird, but everyone else didn’t know I had a pet. I got a visit by Child Protective Services. They had a report of a child, mentally disabled, who was never allowed outdoors. The woman found my situation hilarious and told the reporting party, “no violations found”. When my lease was up, I moved. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/172 "2013-08-27T01:06:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I got a visit by Child Protective Services. They had a report of a child, mentally disabled, who was never allowed outdoors. The woman found my situation hilarious and told the reporting party, “no violations found”. When my lease was up, I moved. Hopefully the parrot started letting you outdoors. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/173 "2013-08-28T18:20:41Z")
I haven’t seen any updates to the original case. Did anyone ever find out who sent the letter? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699/174 "2013-08-28T19:14:00Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > When I last lived in an apartment (late 80s) through a complicated series of events I wound up with a baby yellow-naped amazon parrot. The building was “no pets”, but I thought I could get away with it. > > Once the bird was weaned, he became a bit noisy and demanding of attention. He screamed my name in a cartoonish voice. A couple of my neighbors knew and liked the bird, but everyone else didn’t know I had a pet. > > I got a visit by Child Protective Services. They had a report of a child, mentally disabled, who was never allowed outdoors. The woman found my situation hilarious and told the reporting party, “no violations found”. When my lease was up, I moved. \NEVER shake a baby bird! What’s the profficer?\ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-somebody-sends-letter-to-neighbours-telling-them-to-kill-their-son/666699.md?page=8)