McClure Shooting in Charlotte (Star: attorney, transfer, minimum wage)
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You know I love your posts because they make me think.
I haven't read through everyone's comments so I'll speak for my self.
As I said, I feel badly for the victim. But I feel he crossed line when he followed the criminals. He and his wife were safe. He endangered himself and everyone else when he went chsing after them with his gun. Me, you, his neighborbors. He put himself at risk for being killed and leaving his wife a widow. We just can't live that way. I get it... I understand the fear and adrenilin that was going at the moment. That's a natural instinct, but it impairs judgement.
My only point is that his actions were wrong. They were not justifiable. Understandable? Sure. Justified? No. He made a poor choice.
Maybe it would sit better with me if folks were acknowleding that while understandable, it was a poor decision. Vigilante justice isn't ok.
Lastly, I don't think anyone is taking the side of the criminal. On the basic level, absolutely, his mother should feel terribly. She raised an awful young man who appears to have been on his way to becoming a menance to society. She'll have to live with that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by anifani821
This situation has upset me so much that I literally could not get it off my mind last nite. My husband and I discussed it for a long time.
My father is only a few years older than Mr. McClure, and as a former Marine (and a proficient marksman) I could picture this being my father in Mr. McClure's place. Heck, I can picture it being ME in his place.
And here is why.
First of all, we do not know what the McClure family may have been dealing with as far as harassment or theft on their property prior to this incident.
Secondly, we do not know what was said to the McClures while these juvenile delinquent thugs (and yes, that is what they are - let's stop being PC and start being accurate) were beating and tying these elderly folks up in their own home. For all we know, they said things that made McClure fear that they would return. We don't have the whole story!!!!!
And thirdly, we don't know what state of mind Mr. McClure was in when he picked up that gun and went to hunt down these thugs. We don't know if he served in Korea, for example, and had a flashback b/c of PTSD, do we? Yet we judge his actions.
And meanwhile, we hear the mother of the deceased delinquent excusing her son's behavior while castigating an old man who her son beat up, terrorized and robbed - and wanting justice. HUH? If her son hadn't been engaged in illegal behavior, he would still be alive, now wouldn't he?
Here we all are . . pointing to the letter of the law like referees arguing over a baseball game technicality . . . and the verdict seems to be . . . Dang, if the old man had just killed that POS kid while he and his wife were being brutalized, no foul. But <sigh> since he went after those antisocial cretins post being brutalized in his own home, "that changes everything."
The minute those marauding thieves decided to invade the McClure home, they put their lives on the line. They just didn't think these senior citizens would be able to DO A DAMN THING against four young, healthy gun-wielding miscreants. They figured this was a "sure thing" - terrorize the old man and his wife, slap 'em around, rip off the goods . . . and walk away laughing.
As far as I am concerned, a victim who responds to being victimized is engaged in self-preservation and reacting out of physical, mental and emotional trauma.
As for the kid's mother . . . she ought to be put on trial for being a totally irresponsible parent. Maybe if we started demanding that parents are held liable for the actions of their kids . . . we would all be safer in our own homes.
Until then . . . I guess we are all supposed to just take the abuse from these anti-social, out of control thugs. Oh, and we are to worry about their "rights" . . .
I bet Mr. McClure wasn't anybody to play with back in his day, LOL. If he can do all that at age 76, I can only imagine was he was like at 36.
I thought the same thing. I definitely related my father to Mr. McClure - cause my dad is The Man - a physically active guy who is also very reasonable to deal with - but who is not going to be bullied. He has always taken pride in being able to not only provide for his family, but also protect his family's welfare. Any man who has successfully provided for his family and is proud of being Head of Household would surely be devastated that his life partner was attacked in their home . . . and he had been rendered totally helpless to defend his wife - especially at their ages.
I would suspect a jury would relate to Mr. McClure in much the same way . . . wh/ means the DA would do well to consider every aspect of judicial prudence in re: to any charges that are brought.
There is a home in a nice middle class neighborhood on Providence Rd (near Alexander) where something similar happened a year or so ago.
The family was pistol whipped and crammed in a closet while a few thugs robbed their home.
Being unarmed and an easy target, the thugs came back with some additional friends a few days later to amuse themselves.
They stole more items, sexually abused the women, and then proceeded to tear up the place.
I choose not to be an easy target - it is up to you.
That pretty much sums it up for me too as far as having a gun in my home. I WILL NOT be a victim if I can help it. Those who want to wait on the police to get there and be terrorized are free to do so - as for me, I lock and load.
On the basic level, absolutely, his mother should feel terribly. She raised an awful young man who appears to have been on his way to becoming a menance to society. She'll have to live with that.
What happened to parents being responsible for the actions of their children?
Seriously? What can a 5-2 mom do with a 6-2 15-year-old who says he wants to be a thug? Cast judgment all you want, but you can't hold a parent entirely responsible for a kid doing something like this. It's the kid's fault. Not the parents'.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mullman
What happened to parents being responsible for the actions of their children?
Forget the "what ifs." If a hoppy toad could fly, he wouldn't bump his butt.
Coped, I am not attacking you (b/c I fully realize you are looking at the public safety side of this situation) but the "what ifs" are irrelevant. This is not a philosophy class - this is real life.
The Facts:
1. No one else did get hit by a volley of bullets
2. He followed the thugs b/c he knew damn well that these miscreants were gonna get away w/ beating him and his wife up and stealing their goods. So he did not shoot at some "mis-identified" uninvolved innocent bystanders.
OMYGOSH Ani, THAT WAS FUNNY
Let's take the facts one step further, I know the problem some people are having is that Mr. McClure followed the thugs out of his house and down the street - something all law-abiding gun owners know is against the law technically.
But here's the thing - the man's adrenaline must have been off the charts. He had just been brutalized and terrorized - he was in fear for not just his life, but the life of his beloved wife. I believe that fear and adrenaline literally propelled him down the street after these guys. I don't think he had a second to think about the law - he was only thinking of his survivial because he was in COMPLETE SURVIVAL MODE.
And the truth is, any human being stressed to the level he was stressed to may have reacted in the same exact way - he CANNOT be held responsible for the overload of adrenaline those thugs put him into - THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE for how Mr. McClure reacted.
Last edited by lovesMountains; 08-25-2009 at 10:44 AM..
Reason: misspelling!
Seriously? What can a 5-2 mom do with a 6-2 15-year-old who says he wants to be a thug? Cast judgment all you want, but you can't hold a parent entirely responsible for a kid doing something like this. It's the kid's fault. Not the parents'.
On the surface this is true.
But this did not start last Friday afternoon...
There is no discipline in the schools, and kids are not taught to respect authority, others, or themselves.
And here we are.
What do we do with the really bad kids in school?
Suspend them for a few days - I bet they really hate that.
Besides, where is the father?
Married or not, it took two people to birth this young man.
They need to be held responsible for him until he is an adult.
Seriously? What can a 5-2 mom do with a 6-2 15-year-old who says he wants to be a thug? Cast judgment all you want, but you can't hold a parent entirely responsible for a kid doing something like this. It's the kid's fault. Not the parents'.
ohmyGod coped, you know I love ya, but this attitude is EXACTLY why we have the issues we do with these teenage thugs
Seriously? What can a 5-2 mom do with a 6-2 15-year-old who says he wants to be a thug? Cast judgment all you want, but you can't hold a parent entirely responsible for a kid doing something like this. It's the kid's fault. Not the parents'.
Pick up the telephone.
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