Topic: My neighbour's son...

[johngenx]

About six years ago, my neighbour's son murdered another young man on his 18th birthday.  Thanks to his parents having tons of money, he had a high-caliber lawyer and served four years for manslaughter.

He's been out for a bit, and look at what he''s got himself involved in now...

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2008/10/23/7184786.html

His name is Micheal Gray.  They have five adult children, all royal f-ups.  He's quickly establishing himself as the worst.  Just an observation on my street, but the wealthy families all have adult children that have grown into criminals.  Yup, ignoring them while you make a bucket of money and then buying them stuff really works.  Of course, that's if you consider dismembering someone "success" for your kids...

[rrocket]

Nice neighbourhood...

[gottarondo]

The judge "chided" them??  I bet that upset the perps.

The outcome of this typical privileged upbringing has sometimes struck me as being like a long term income-equalization program.  The family money won't last long in those hands.

[ArticSteve]

Nice neighbourhood...

"will you be mine, will you be mine, ... my neighbour "   

[tpl]

Seems to me that a person like your neighbours son should have been given a longer sentence for the first offence and an even longer one for this one.

I have heard every single argument as to why murderers should not be immediately executed, all the crap about how they are good people really and so on and I remain convinced that a bullet in the head  within 15 minutes of conviction would be a good thing. Everybody dies sometimes and one mistake a decade is of no real importance.

Countries that send 19 year old kids out in uniforms to kill foreigners don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to arguing about the death penalty.

[Mitlov]

Just an observation on my street, but the wealthy families all have adult children that have grown into criminals.  Yup, ignoring them while you make a bucket of money and then buying them stuff really works. 

I'm really sorry to hear about your neighbor's son.

I absolutely agree that ignoring children = bad.  Where I absolutely positively disagree is that (1) wealthy parents are more likely to ignore their children than non-wealthy parents, and (2) kids who grow up in wealthy families are more likely to become criminals than those who don't. 

Got ANY sort of concrete backup for either of those two suggestions?

[wannabe4x4ing]

Just an observation on my street, but the wealthy families all have adult children that have grown into criminals.  Yup, ignoring them while you make a bucket of money and then buying them stuff really works. 

I'm really sorry to hear about your neighbor's son.

I absolutely agree that ignoring children = bad.  Where I absolutely positively disagree is that (1) wealthy parents are more likely to ignore their children than non-wealthy parents, and (2) kids who grow up in wealthy families are more likely to become criminals than those who don't. 

Got ANY sort of concrete backup for either of those two suggestions?

I'm pretty sure John's statement was merely an observation of the people in his neighbourhood and not a statement about privileged families in general.

I know plenty of people who grew up in wealthy homes and managed to stay out of trouble and many people who grew up in dirt poor homes who managed to get involved in crime.

[Schmengie]

 Everybody dies sometimes and one mistake a decade is of no real importance.

 No, not important at all unless the mistake is YOU or someone you love.  I'm pretty sure Corrections Canada makes more than one mistake a decade.    Just ask David Milgaard.

That said, once scumbags like these are convicted, throw them into the worst prison in Canada for LIFE with no chance of parole. A lonely 275 pound axe murderer would be a perfect roommate...

[ghost]

Watch that property line.

[johngenx]

Just an observation on my street,

We have quite a range of folks in the 25 houses that make up my two-pronged cul-de-sac.  There are a half dozen or so VERY wealthy households.  We're not talking about high income, but high net worth.  The parents of the Gray kid recently dropped $1.5M in renovations on the house.

The families with money mostly have adult kids, and none of them are worth a crap.  Several of them didn't manage to finish high school, most of them have criminal records, and I can't think of one of them from those half dozen households that, as adults, actually contributes to society in any positive way perhaps past the economic benefit of blowing mommy and daddy's dough.

This is MY observation, limited to my street.  Yes, rich kids can do well.  It's about parenting, and the folks on my street parent through buying crap, nothing more.

The lesson is that yes, SES (socio-economic-status) of the parents is the number one influence on the success of the children, don't take it for granted.

BTW, the family of that kid also has dogs, and yes, they're vicious.  Everything they come in contact with hurts things.  Hhhhmmm...

[tpl]

I have to ask.  Why do you live there? 

I spent 30 years nearly in TO living across the street from the famous Regents Park public housing, home to 1/2 the drug dealers in TO.   My house had rooming houses on either side.  Some of the people around were seriously poor. At least one of them burgled us twice and was never caught.

We moved when I retired not because of the "neighbours" but to take some money out of the house and for mrs tpl to get a bigger garden.

What keeps you in your little version of hell.

[barrie1]

As usual our courts are a laughing stock as 4.5 years for murder is virtually just a slap on the wrist. To do it a 2nd time only shows he leaned absolutely 000 the 1st time and has beaten the system again. I wonder with the good behavior and 2 for 1 deals just how long these cretins will actually serve before they are back out in the community again. They all should be doing at least 25 years for this sick crime. 

[Wolverine]

That's why I agree with Russel Peters, "Parents, beat your kids."

At least in Canada, even with loads of money they still go to prison. I remember a few years back when the city mayor's nephew crossed a red light and hit a car, killing both occupants. According to a witness report he was under heavy influence of alcohol. Some minutes after the accident the mayor arrived, put the boy on his car and went away. Nothing happened to the idiot after that. On another occasion a group of adolescent put fire on a beggar who was sleeping on the street. Their parents where influent people, nothing happened to them.

[safristi]

wouldn't beating yer Peters be more rewarding......................................... ..in tha short term...........

[johngenx]

I have to ask.  Why do you live there?

When we moved in, it was a nice little bit of middle-class-ness.  The cache of our street rose suddenly, so did property values, and the complexion changed in terms of income/wealth.

But, I'm stubborn.  My daughter's school is about 100M from the house (or less) and it's a super-quiet cul-de-sac location backing onto greenbelt.  Behind my house are km's and km's of trails for running/biking/etc.  It's an amazing location, hence the rise in desirability!  So, as long as we're living in the Edmonton area, we'll hang out here.  But, recent extensive renos/repairs to my house are in anticipation of selling.  If not summer 09, then summer 2010 for sure.  Even if we don't have employment in a small mountain town by summer 2010, we're going to just sell and move and let the chips fall where they may...

[tpl]

Your reasons for staying are obviously not the same as ours were for staying in TO but at least as persuasive if not more so. I understand indeed.

[safristi]

...Hmm small mountain town???......chips fallin' where they may....I may be out onna LIMB here but Summerland /Peachyland sounds like a FIT.......

[johngenx]

#1 choice is Castlegar B.C.  It has...

Rock climbing right in town.
Ski hills in Trail and Nelson
Backcountry downhill skiing all around
Alpine climbing in the Valhallas, just north of the town

Yup, four seasons of superb outdoor activities all less than an hour from town.  Oh, and housing prices $150-200K less than here for comparable properties...

(that $150K will help a little if we have to make a jobless transition...)

[ovr50]

#1 choice is Castlegar B.C.  It has...

Rock climbing right in town.
Ski hills in Trail and Nelson
Backcountry downhill skiing all around
Alpine climbing in the Valhallas, just north of the town

Yup, four seasons of superb outdoor activities all less than an hour from town.  Oh, and housing prices $150-200K less than here for comparable properties...

(that $150K will help a little if we have to make a jobless transition...)

Not a bad choice at all, John, particularily for someone with the interests you have. Additionally, it has the Kootenay's only decent airport, is a decent drive to Spokane (should you so desire), and it likely about equi-distant to both Calgary and Vancouver.

[ktm525]

#1 choice is Castlegar B.C.  It has...

Rock climbing right in town.
Ski hills in Trail and Nelson
Backcountry downhill skiing all around
Alpine climbing in the Valhallas, just north of the town

Yup, four seasons of superb outdoor activities all less than an hour from town.  Oh, and housing prices $150-200K less than here for comparable properties...

(that $150K will help a little if we have to make a jobless transition...)

Not a bad choice at all, John, particularily for someone with the interests you have. Additionally, it has the Kootenay's only decent airport, is a decent drive to Spokane (should you so desire), and it likely about equi-distant to both Calgary and Vancouver.

That approach into Castlegar always seems a little dicey.