What type of sick fucks would ever do something as horrible as this? It’s so utterly horrible. How could any rational or at least relatively normal person harbor the morbid audacity to beat to death a quiet, humble mentally retarded gentleman? He was shy. He was aloof. He was handicapped. Yet three young teenagers beat him to death with their feet and the bottles of soda the victim had just purchased.
These pukes are the shit on the shoes of the human race. :mad:
I need to stop opening things with “depressing” or “sad” in the subject. That is tragic.
You should read less news.
(And yes, those turds are a stain on the underpants of mankind)
That’s really sick. I wish the death penalty wasn’t so humane. I’d like to see them hanged.
Whoa, bannings are a happaning. I spy two very recently.
If it is about wishing death on someone, maybe these teenage turdbags should be an exception.
Maybe those little fucks can get put in an adult prison, with a 300 lb. mean SOB looking to get his “freak on.”
LIke lightingtool, I too need to think twice about opening threads with such warnings.
Bloody Hell! Did Joe_Cool just get banned for wishing death?
(‘just’ expressing both imediacy, and insignificance)
I read about this on the wire today (i work at a paper). What a sad story. I was especially saddened to read the part about how he would dress up sometimes and say he was fighting crime, because that reminds me of some mentally handicapped people I’ve met before who are just a little confused and out of touch, but kind and harmless. That type of person always made me feel offering a helping hand to them so nothing bad would happen to them. I can’t understand the mindset of someone who would see someone like that and want to hurt them. sigh
I have to say that was both sick, and sad. On the ‘bad place for an ad’ side though, who’s idea was it to put an ad window in the middle of that?
I was rading it and looked over to see the video professor holding up a CD. Of course I was thinking ‘That’s just what I want to do right now.’ 
I think he was banned for this.
To which I can only add 
To the OP, I can only add
And a little :mad:
Makes sense.
I misinterpreted this…
as “I thinksome bannings are about to happen”.
And then I saw BANNED,
And then put 5 and 9 together and got ‘banana’.
Wonder who’s the retard?
I wouldn’t be surprised if the murder had something to do with his condemnation of the local drug dealers.
It’s a fucking shame. The world needs more superheroes.
I wonder if Ricky is looking down on his murderers from on high, wondering why they hated him so much that they had to kill him.
If he is, I would also bet that he’s worried about not being able to don his cape and protect the people in his building from bad people like this anymore.
I bet he doesn’t hate them.
I do.
I read about this earlier, so when I saw your thread, Daoloth, I had a hunch it would be about this.
It is sad on so many levels. For one thing, some agency placed Ricky in a neighborhood described as one of the most crime-ridden in the city. What were they thinking? Cases like this are sure to reignite debates about wharehousing the mentally handicapped. But then again, I’m sure he was put into a high-crime neighborhood because people in better neighborhoods had enough clout to say “not in my back yard.”
I believe his mother was also questioning his placement there. I might be wrong about this. But if she was, and if she had been worried about him, why did she let him live there? Maybe she has health problems and couldn’t take care of him. But if he was deemed capable of living entirely on his own, how much trouble to take care of could he have been?
I’m thinking that an “Ask the Rehab Practitioner” thread would actually be a good idea…
Andy - What the agency may have been dealing with was economics in that funding for the handicapped is woefully inadequate and finding affordable housing is extremely difficult when you are on a limited income. If an individual is able to function with very little support then the funding for that individual will most likely be cut to the minimum. The support that got him/her there in the first place may not be available.
I know this because I am in the process of integrating several individuals into a home of their own and one of the problems I am encountering is being able to find a suitable residence with affordable rent in a decent area. I have an advantage in that the respective idividuals have supportive families who are willing to supplement their incomes so that a nice home can be secured and I have secured funding so that adequate staffing supports will be provided.
For me, there is no debate as to whether or not handicapped individuals should be institutionalized.
The institutions here have been closed for several decades and the mentally handicapped individuals who once called these places home are now members of the community.
Many still suffer the effects and exhibit behaviours that are typical of forced intitutionalization and the damage caused by this type of living may never be reversed for some people.
I work with individuals who, after spending relatively short periods in institutions, exhibit behaviours that are directly related to institutional living that are not evident in similar people that were never institutionalized.
If anyone were to suggest that re-institutionalizing handicapped individuals was a possibility I would fight them until I breathed my last breath.
The people in those “better” neighbourhoods who feel that living next to people with handicaps will somehow devalue their homes or cause them grief are the one’s who are disabled. Their fear is based on nothing but ignorance and a lack of compassion for their fellow man.
The guys I work with are the best neighbours you could ever hope to have; they’re quiet, respectful, and are always willing to be good neighbours… like volunteering to shovel our elderly neighbour’s walkways when it was -25C.
If Ricky was living on his own perhaps that was because that’s what he wanted.
People with handicaps have the same hopes and dreams many of us do and being able to live independently is a goal I help people attain. For many, that independence is akin to achieving something we take for granted… that is to be treated like normal people.
I think they should introduce the 3 boys to Armin M (from this thread: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=174724)
and leave them alone in a room (one with trough drains and meat hooks), but then that is just my opinion.
I will never understand what would possess anybody to think that pelting a handicapped person with soda bottles is acceptable behavior.
Margo
Thanks for an informative reply, Feynn.
I’m sure there is a lot more to this story than could be contained in brief news items. I’m withholding judgment on everyone except the thugs until the story is clearer. But it does raise several questions.
He was described as having the mentality of a 10-year-old. We would not send a 10-year-old to live alone in a dangerous neighborhood, so I wonder why it was done with Ricky? Surely a lack of resources figured into this, but still …
I wholeheartedly agree.
Satisfying Andy Licious, why have you seen fit to rail on rich people because of this incident? The article didn’t say the guy was “placed” in that neighborhood by anyone; maybe he chose to live there himself.
And if a public or private agency that houses mentally retarded people chooses to put them in areas of town that aren’t the most crime-free, the reason for this probably isn’t any sort of lobbying on the part of homeowners worried about property values, but simple economics. More mentally retarded people can be housed in areas with lower rent and property values than in areas where those things are higher.
So, in the grand tradition of the SDMB offenderati, I’d like to announce my offense at your statement since I am a homeowner in a decent area of my town.
Andy - The news story doesn’t really give much in the way of information so I have no idea about what agency handled the placement and what their processes and criteria are to decide if an individual is ready to live independently.
Our requirements are extremely strict and unless individuals can consistently demonstrate that they are able to function independently with or without minimal supports they would not be placed into the community on their own.
This means that individuals must be able to; take care of their home, their personal care, have the ability to address emergencies, and not pose a risk to themselves or others. they must also be aware of what risks there are when you are living on your own or travelling in the community and exercise precautions when dealing with strangers who may not have your best interests at heart.
I would never consider placing someone in a neighbourhood where there could be additional risks due to high levels of criminal activity. They already have enough to deal with without having to live in fear.
moves next door to TaxMan and starts a halfway house