On the innocence of youth

While surfing the information super highway I came across a headline and story that shook my faith in humanity.

Gun in backpack wounds 10-year-old boy.

Here's a quick summary: A 17 year old boy in Seattle was approached by a 10 year old and other juveniles on a bus. The younger kids demanded the 17 year old give them his money and when he refused the 10 year old reached into his bag to pull out a gun. The 17 year old fought with the 10 year old and the gun went off shooting the 10 year old in the arm. Kid's in the hospital but will be ok.

Now there are a lot of aspects of this story that I can only speculate on but there are a lot of interesting questions to be answered here. How did the 10 year old get the gun? Why was the 17 year old targeted? And let's not forget most importantly, how the fuck did a 10 year old get a gun!?!



This is of course the second incident this year near Seattle involving a gun to get instant headlines. In June a man was carrying a legally concealed handgun in the waist band of his sweat pants (because this stereotype wasn't complete without the sweatpants) when the gun slipped and when he grabbed for the gun the man shot himself in the testicles. This had happened in public in a home improvement store.

Now I don't want to weigh in on the open carry debate. For the most part it's an American issue and being born and raised in Canada I feel that I can only offer an outsider's perspective on the whole thing. To be honest even the idea that gun ownership is a constitutionally protected right is something I have a hard time wrapping my head around.

But don't take this as me bragging about Canada or anything like that. I'm sure our youths are getting into just as much trouble. Maybe. Let's check the headlines shall we?

"They're coming to flash you Barbara!"

Teen flashes woman in cemetery

And suddenly my faith in humanity is restored. That's right a male in his mid to late teens exposed his genitals to a woman walking through a cemetery in Stratford Ontario. That's the youth rebellion I can get behind. It certainly takes the expression "cocked and loaded" to a different level. No one's in the hospital, no one lost their nuts, just good clean harmless teenage stupidity the way I remember it. And just for the sake of clarity I should specify, I don't think exposing your junk should be a constitutionally protected right either.