Bad news concerning an Edgewater player

[Pipe Dreams]

Gerald Anderson, 18, a senior, was shot and killed while involved in an armed robbery. He shot the homeowner multiple times.

It's always extremely sad when this happens, especially given the circumstances of it occurring during a crime. Very sad because, like in many other cases, this was probably a young kid who got caught up and made a huge mistake.

Other kids need to learn from this because it happens to footvball alumni from just about every school... 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-luismil-hernandez-arrested-home-invasion-murder-20180106-story.html

[DarterBlue2]

Misleading title. Edgewater, the school, did nothing wrong. Two stupid 18 year olds made a bad choice. One paid with his life. The other may spend the rest of his life in prison, if he avoids the death penalty. Hope the victim pulls through.

Very sad tale. 

 

[Pipe Dreams]

It's been changed from "Bad news out of Orlando Edgewater" to the current thread title. 

Not sure how that title implied anything bad about the school, but I changed it anyway to be extremely specific..... I said it's an issue at most schools in my post so not sure why you thought that (?)

[DarterBlue2]

50 minutes ago, Pipe Dreams said:

It's been changed from "Bad news out of Orlando Edgewater" to the current thread title. 

Not sure how that title implied anything bad about the school, but I changed it anyway to be extremely specific..... I said it's an issue at most schools in my post so not sure why you thought that (?)

It's cool. Not meaning to attack you or anything. When I clicked on the thread, I though Edgewater had been caught up in a recruiting scheme or something.

Then I saw that what happened was much worse on a human level. Three lives, one ended, another probably ended for all practical purposes, and a victim, who may or may not recover. It's just a sad, bad situation. And, for very little gain with a whole lot of downside. 

[badbird]

If you are going to a house with a gun to rob someone it is more than just getting caught up in something or making a mistake.  Sounds like he was a very troubled kid and I doubt this was the first time.  

[DarterBlue2]

6 minutes ago, badbird said:

If you are going to a house with a gun to rob someone it is more than just getting caught up in something or making a mistake.  Sounds like he was a very troubled kid and I doubt this was the first time.  

It does not really matter whether it was their first time or not. It was wrong; it was also stupid; and, it reflects two young men who had serious moral issues and who clearly lacked the capacity to see the likely consequences of what they proceeded to do. 

Because of their actions they have destroyed their own lives (one terminally), and possibly permanently impacted the victim and his wife. What led them to this action is a discussion for another topic, but, rationally, only by those that knew these young men and their circumstances. Lacking this information, I cannot begin to speculate what led them down this path. 

[Pipe Dreams]

I agree 100%. I’d bet that most of us know former teammates or players that have either been killed or gone to prison.

It’s an epidemic that is seldom talked about in the open and it’s obviously not just athletes.

Many, many misguided kids are in prison or worse just a few years after HS. The number one indicator (in a broad sense, I am no longer talking about the Edgewater case) is typically a lack of a father figure in the home. It’s killing communties and the cycle does not end. 

Read the article below: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.brookings.edu/opinions/three-simple-rules-poor-teens-should-follow-to-join-the-middle-class/amp/

Three rules, 1) Graduate HS, 2) Get a Job, 3) Have kids after marriage.

 

[DarterBlue2]

2 hours ago, Pipe Dreams said:

I agree 100%. I’d bet that most of us know former teammates or players that have either been killed or gone to prison.

It’s an epidemic that is seldom talked about in the open and it’s obviously not just athletes.

Many, many misguided kids are in prison or worse just a few years after HS. The number one indicator (in a broad sense, I am no longer talking about the Edgewater case) is typically a lack of a father figure in the home. It’s killing communties and the cycle does not end. 

Read the article below: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.brookings.edu/opinions/three-simple-rules-poor-teens-should-follow-to-join-the-middle-class/amp/

Three rules, 1) Graduate HS, 2) Get a Job, 3) Have kids after marriage.

 

I have no problem with the message in the article. I do suggest, though, that the current world economic order which has led to the export of manufacturing jobs from the USA to Asia, Mexico and other lower cost countries is also part of the problem.

A full time job ought to provide enough income to sustain the basics of life. I know more than a few individuals that need to work two or more jobs to do so. This leads to a neglect of any children in these households. 

[OldSchoolLion]

5 hours ago, DarterBlue2 said:

I have no problem with the message in the article. I do suggest, though, that the current world economic order which has led to the export of manufacturing jobs from the USA to Asia, Mexico and other lower cost countries is also part of the problem.

A full time job ought to provide enough income to sustain the basics of life. I know more than a few individuals that need to work two or more jobs to do so. This leads to a neglect of any children in these households. 

..getting off topic here, but....  

We hear a lot about unemployment metrics, but we don't hear as much about this in the chart below.  Who cares how many people are working if they cannot live off of the wages.

On another note, I have a friend who manages a food processing facility with 1200 employees.  Nearly everyone who works in the factory is an immigrant.  He is so desperate for workers, he is paying to fly people there from Puerto Rico and put them up in hotels with a per diem, just so he can keep his lines running.  The workers make well over minimum wage and get excellent benefits.  Could be a great summertime job for a kid.  He said he has only a handful of "Americans" working there and has had little luck getting any of the "natives" to work there.  All of the factories in that area have the same problem.  I  was involved with manufacturing sites in 3 different states and saw the same thing.  

I know I am generalizing, but the kids do not want to work in factories.  It's ironic, but even if we "bring jobs back," we are increasingly lacking people with the skills and desire to work in them.   We need to go back to exposing kids to "blue collar" careers and stop the ridiculous "college or nothing" mentality to which we have evolved.

 

 

[DarterBlue2]

You make interesting comments. Perhaps some of the lack of interest in the jobs reflects the fact that hourly compensation has not risen to match productivity. Maybe there is a feeling that the wage does not match the effort. 

But the other issue is that to many blue collar jobs are seen as "dirty." When your pop and uncle had one back in the day, the expectation was, if you were not academically gifted, that you would take a job alongside them at the plant. A generation and a half have come and gone since those jobs were plentiful. The ethic and culture that made the youth want to do them has died over that time. 

[OldSchoolLion]

5 minutes ago, DarterBlue2 said:

You make interesting comments. Perhaps some of the lack of interest in the jobs reflects the fact that hourly compensation has not risen to match productivity. Maybe there is a feeling that the wage does not match the effort. 

But the other issue is that to many blue collar jobs are seen as "dirty." When your pop and uncle had one back in the day, the expectation was, if you were not academically gifted, that you would take a job alongside them at the plant. A generation and a half have come and gone since those jobs were plentiful. The ethic and culture that made the youth want to do them has died over that time. 

I remember working hard manual labor as a kid out in the south FL sun, not learning any skills, making 1.5 times minimum wage and being happy.  A kid working at that factory I mentioned above can make about 2X minimum wage working in the cool AC and learning how to drive a forklift, a skill that he can take with him.  And there is all kinds of overtime available at 1.5 times pay, or about $20/hour.  My buddy said the kids will not do it. It's a college town, too, so there are plenty of kids  He has signs all over town advertising jobs.

I think some kids might be interested in blue collar careers if they knew how much money can be made.  I am amazed at how many people assume blue collar workers make less money than white collar workers.  Kids are blown away when I tell them that I had a factory with supervisors with engineering degrees bringing home about $60-70k per year, and our electricians and senior mechanics easily brought home 6 figures if they were willing to work overtime (which the supervisors did all the time but got no extra pay for it).  A lot of them opened up their own little business after they retired and did home repairs, making good money.  

 A lot of white collar jobs are going to be in jeopardy due to automation and outsourcing, but you cannot get a robot or someone in India to come fix your pipes or wire your house.  I mentioned in another post that my friend's daughter did a plumbing apprenticeship for 4 years, put away about $50k, and now she is making $45k/year at age 22...and no college degree.  How many 22 year-old college graduates have $0debt, $50k in the bank and a $45k/year job?

 

 

 

[badbird]

On 1/7/2018 at 10:44 AM, DarterBlue2 said:

It does not really matter whether it was their first time or not. It was wrong; it was also stupid; and, it reflects two young men who had serious moral issues and who clearly lacked the capacity to see the likely consequences of what they proceeded to do. 

Because of their actions they have destroyed their own lives (one terminally), and possibly permanently impacted the victim and his wife. What led them to this action is a discussion for another topic, but, rationally, only by those that knew these young men and their circumstances. Lacking this information, I cannot begin to speculate what led them down this path. 

I like to speculate.  I would be shocked if this was his first encounter with the law or his first time getting caught up in the wrong.  Not that it really matter but what help was given to him.  I'm sure some probably knew about what he was doing and said nothing or did nothing.  I'm sure there were adults that knew he was doing the wrong things.  What can we do to help others or is this just a senseless death.  Our judicial system for juveniles is very lenient and we don't hold kids accountable.  We also stink at helping kids so they make better choices.  What can be done?  I don't know but it sure sucks to see two young kids ruin their lives and the life of another.  Sad very sad but how can we be better?

[DarterBlue2]

1 hour ago, badbird said:

I like to speculate.  I would be shocked if this was his first encounter with the law or his first time getting caught up in the wrong.  Not that it really matter but what help was given to him.  I'm sure some probably knew about what he was doing and said nothing or did nothing.  I'm sure there were adults that knew he was doing the wrong things.  What can we do to help others or is this just a senseless death.  Our judicial system for juveniles is very lenient and we don't hold kids accountable.  We also stink at helping kids so they make better choices.  What can be done?  I don't know but it sure sucks to see two young kids ruin their lives and the life of another.  Sad very sad but how can we be better?

If the judicial system was more lenient in terms of providing options enabling a kid to keep or earn a "clean record," but actually set meaningful goals as to what needed to be accomplished, and were held accountable to meeting them, that would probably go a long way. I grew up in a Jamaican hood. Some of my friends did wrong and met an early death or were long term incarcerated. These were individuals that I knew very well and I can honestly tell you that on a personal level many were not "bad people." (Of course some were.) But their circumstances were bad and they had no proper guidance/role models to curb their stupid tenancies. 

I was lucky in two senses. First, my mother owned a small business and made sure I busted my butt in it after school (kept me off the streets). Second, I was a "bright boy" and was able to earn a scholarship to high school (back in those days only about 1/6 of Jamaican kids benefited from a high school education, as it was determined by a competitive examination at age 11/12). 

Had it not been for those two things, I don't want to speculate as to what would have become of my life. So while I condemn what those two 18 year old's' did on some level I understand and don't roundly condemn them as individuals. There are a lot of young people that are born into circumstances that are not conducive to development into normal, healthy adults. 

[OldSchoolLion]

3 hours ago, badbird said:

I like to speculate.  I would be shocked if this was his first encounter with the law or his first time getting caught up in the wrong.  Not that it really matter but what help was given to him.  I'm sure some probably knew about what he was doing and said nothing or did nothing.  I'm sure there were adults that knew he was doing the wrong things.  What can we do to help others or is this just a senseless death.  Our judicial system for juveniles is very lenient and we don't hold kids accountable.  We also stink at helping kids so they make better choices.  What can be done?  I don't know but it sure sucks to see two young kids ruin their lives and the life of another.  Sad very sad but how can we be better?

...one thing all of us can do is to have more compassion-easier said than done sometimes.  When I was younger, I caught a serial rapist breaking into my house to rape my mother, and I was not very compassionate at the time.

I am not saying don't hold people accountable.  And I am no bleeding heart liberal.  I have learned through working with people with substance abuse disorders, some of whom have criminal records, that many of these folks are in a living hell and so deep in the hole that they have no idea how to even begin getting out.  Likewise, I am pretty confident these kids were in a lot of emotional pain.   Don't judge unless you have been there.

If these were 5 year-old kids, would we be reacting differently?  Sure.  The irony is that many of these folks who get in trouble are still that little kid in pain, who has not ,grown up spiritually or emotionally.  Look at them like that scared little kid, and it is easier to find compassion. 

A friend of mine does ministry in the prisons and he has inspired me to do the same.  I never would have dreamed of doing that 10 years ago.  But once I started working with troubled folks, my whole outlook changed.  Some cannot be saved, but some can with the right support structure.  We'll never know unless we can get past the contempt we naturally feel when seeing the wreckage left in their their paths.