What A Waste Of A Life
July 4th 2009 20:01
He was a good boy when I first met him. He was five years of age at the time, full of fun and a bit michievous; just a healthy, normal, happy five year old.
He was born into a loving family with two caring parents, a doting grandmother and three aunts and two uncles who all adored him.
As he went through life's stages of learning how to read, write and count, he continued in the same mode of happy contentment and joyous fun. He wasn't the brightest spark in any class but neither was he the dimmest bulb. Most of his grades were either As' or 'Bs'. He never broke the law and very rarely got into any trouble, other than the odd mischevious schoolboy prank.
This continued until about six months after leaving school and joining the 'real' world. He soon learned that honesty was not the best policy. How did he learn this? He was, like most honest citizens, punished for telling the truth.
One evening, he and a couple of his mates were returning from wherever they'd been. It was an evening when a boisterous bit of fun got out of hand. I'm not sure of the specific details so will say no more otherwise it would be conjecture. All I know is that a little bit of tomfoolery got out of hand. A house window was broken by a stray stone thrown by one of the group.
The group ran off; all except the boy, who knocked on the lady's door and offered to pay for the damage. The lady, evidently believing the boy was using this honest approach as a means of getting into her house, refused the offer and called the police.
When he appeared in the local juvenile court, his "mates" lied to the court and stated they were nowhere in the vicinity of the incident that evening. The boy, having told the truth, was sentenced to ninety days community service and ordered to pay for the window to be replaced and to pay the lady £250 for the distress caused. His "mates" escaped scot free.
During his community service he was subjected to the influence of a few unsavioury characters such as habitual drunkards and, unfortunately, a couple of drug abusers. They all scoffed at the idea of actually working for a living, insisting they were better off unemployed and letting the state i.e. the hardworking taxpayers, pick up the tab for their way of life.
After being subjected to this propaganda for the full ninety days (this was in the time when community service was administered in days and not hours) he eventually believed what he was hearing. To make matters worse, he also lost his job because he now had a "criminal record."
It took less than six months for him to become hooked on heroin. The last time I heard about him, he was living in "cardboard city" in the centre of London, badgering passers-by for "fifty pence for a cuppa". His family have tried to entice him back home, as have the social services, but to no avail.
This waste of a life could, and should have been avoided quite easily.
If his "mates" had been honest enough to admit their part in what took place that evening and the barrister had pleaded the fact it was nothing more than a boyish prank then perhaps he may not have had to do community service, with the result he would never have come into contact with the people who led him down the wrong path. If the authorities had used a little common sense, they could have placed him in a group devoid of hardened no-hopers who should have been sentenced to imprisonment in the first place.
This little tale has a knock-on effect. Other youngsters have heard of what happened to this boy and have come to the conclusion that it will be better to cheat and lie their way through life rather than be honest and true. No doubt they will pass their beliefs onto their children in due course, thereby strengthening the ever increasing numbers of people prepared to live a life of crime and dishonesty.
He was born into a loving family with two caring parents, a doting grandmother and three aunts and two uncles who all adored him.
As he went through life's stages of learning how to read, write and count, he continued in the same mode of happy contentment and joyous fun. He wasn't the brightest spark in any class but neither was he the dimmest bulb. Most of his grades were either As' or 'Bs'. He never broke the law and very rarely got into any trouble, other than the odd mischevious schoolboy prank.
This continued until about six months after leaving school and joining the 'real' world. He soon learned that honesty was not the best policy. How did he learn this? He was, like most honest citizens, punished for telling the truth.
One evening, he and a couple of his mates were returning from wherever they'd been. It was an evening when a boisterous bit of fun got out of hand. I'm not sure of the specific details so will say no more otherwise it would be conjecture. All I know is that a little bit of tomfoolery got out of hand. A house window was broken by a stray stone thrown by one of the group.
The group ran off; all except the boy, who knocked on the lady's door and offered to pay for the damage. The lady, evidently believing the boy was using this honest approach as a means of getting into her house, refused the offer and called the police.
When he appeared in the local juvenile court, his "mates" lied to the court and stated they were nowhere in the vicinity of the incident that evening. The boy, having told the truth, was sentenced to ninety days community service and ordered to pay for the window to be replaced and to pay the lady £250 for the distress caused. His "mates" escaped scot free.
During his community service he was subjected to the influence of a few unsavioury characters such as habitual drunkards and, unfortunately, a couple of drug abusers. They all scoffed at the idea of actually working for a living, insisting they were better off unemployed and letting the state i.e. the hardworking taxpayers, pick up the tab for their way of life.
After being subjected to this propaganda for the full ninety days (this was in the time when community service was administered in days and not hours) he eventually believed what he was hearing. To make matters worse, he also lost his job because he now had a "criminal record."
It took less than six months for him to become hooked on heroin. The last time I heard about him, he was living in "cardboard city" in the centre of London, badgering passers-by for "fifty pence for a cuppa". His family have tried to entice him back home, as have the social services, but to no avail.
This waste of a life could, and should have been avoided quite easily.
If his "mates" had been honest enough to admit their part in what took place that evening and the barrister had pleaded the fact it was nothing more than a boyish prank then perhaps he may not have had to do community service, with the result he would never have come into contact with the people who led him down the wrong path. If the authorities had used a little common sense, they could have placed him in a group devoid of hardened no-hopers who should have been sentenced to imprisonment in the first place.
This little tale has a knock-on effect. Other youngsters have heard of what happened to this boy and have come to the conclusion that it will be better to cheat and lie their way through life rather than be honest and true. No doubt they will pass their beliefs onto their children in due course, thereby strengthening the ever increasing numbers of people prepared to live a life of crime and dishonesty.
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