Rotten Pre-Teens Stole my Hat!!!

[Bustercat]

That's really rotten.
I respect your self control. How did they even get it? Snatch it off your head?

They will probably see what else they can get from you in future, so think of a plan...

 

[Feraud]

I did complain sternly to the parents of these rotten street urchins but...

You know who the parents are. Do you know where they live?
Do yourself a favor and file a charge at the local police precinct.

 

[r00tuk]

This dastardly act happened was perpetrated against yours truly a few weeks ago and *gasp* in my own little quiet neighborhood. Fortunately it was only *sigh* my Guinness generic straw fedora (paid $12.50 on sale) and not something more dear to me. Since it was not worth making a huge out of and certainly not worth doing something stupid over i.e. yelling/cursing at or (heaven forbid!) grabbing a minor`s arm...I just chalked it up to experience and vowed never to get caught "slippin`" again. The little darlings even had the odacity to try and extort money for the return of my straw fedora.

Funny thing is I work around felons all day and should know better,eh?

Not sure whether I am more irritated or more embarressed on this one.

HMH

p.s. did I mention these hoods were all girls? *sigh*

That is terribly sad. The poor children could not determine that the hat was of such quality that it was not worth stealing. It's only their upbringing to blame and some shame on parents and society for not educating children on determining quality and style!

 

[HosManHatter]

GROUP HUG,EVERYBODY!!! :cry:

Since I am familar with all the local kids in the area Billy got caught slippin! The little turds did the old bait `n switch on me. Classic ploy,really;the innocent (and youngest) on bicycle feigned "car trouble" with sad puppydog eyes...so,being a father of daughters I`m already pre-conditioned (read "sucker") here. As I bent down (leaned more like it) the tall lanky one (obviously the ring leader) rushed in behind me,yanked the hat off FAST then remained out of range (lucky for both of us).

Like the dog that finally catches that car he`s been chasing .... (HUH??? )
I think HMH may have approached the sublime that fateful day. Anyways,they don`t even tease or laugh about The Case of the Purloined Fedora anymore...but they know...oh how they know!....my retribution will be terrible...uh,kidding guys. :rage: Muahahahahahahahaha.....

HMH

*watching from the shadows,his sinister visage briefly illuminated by a lightning flash*

 

[Methuselah]

A hard situation to be in. Damned if you do / don't resist the mugging.

One of my friends was mugged by school kids (in their uniforms even!)
He hit out at them - until they pulled knives.
The police had the cheek to lecture him about hitting children.
I'm sure they told the kids off too - but 2 wrongs don't make a right in the eyes of the law.

But yes, you do need to report them to the police - sooner rather than later.

 

[Charlie74]

A tough situation. I do think you should file a police report. This at least puts it in writing and maybe if they know you will go to police might give them pause in the future. I once had a bush stolen from my yard and I insisted on filing a police report.

Reporting them to the parents only works if the parents will take action. I taught school for a couple of years and there were parents who thought their children were perfect angels and refused to think that their child could do any wrong.

You are right though, when it comes to dealing with children. IF kids think something annoys you, they will make sure they do it often. And unfortuantely in these days, all it takes is for one kid, boy or girl, to say you approached them and you become the evil pervert.

 

[feltfan]

Among both boys and girls, more had parole officers (or whatever positive title the juvenile court gives them - direction providers?) than not.

Accosted by preteens, in some neighborhoods, isn't a race to the ice cream truck, and they all know that there's nothing you can do.

If more had parole officers than not, apparently someone was
able to do something...

I'd caution against starting a kid on the wrong side of the law.
They don't need to develop that self image or get a reputation with
the local cops when they are still young enough to learn better.
If you can talk to the family, that is best.

We all make mistakes but those mistakes have greater consequences
for those of color or of lower income in this country.

But before anyone takes me for too much of a bleeding heart, I do carry
pepper spray when I go out on my good bicycle since the last
time a kid assaulted me. I don't care- I'll use non-lethal force to
teach a lesson if I am in physical danger. Though honestly I mostly carry it for dogs...

And BTW, this is exactly why you need to have a good stock of
fine vintage hats on hand. There are a lot of reasons why a hat
could disappear or be destroyed. Since they are now rare, that
is a good reason to stockpile!

 

[Redwoodjedi]

:arated:

 

[guitarman]

Re;

I'da layed the smack-down on their candy-***es ! Kids nowdays are punks, and have no respect for anyone or anything. I especially cant stand the 19-21 year old crowd. They all act tough,but they are all talk. Let one of them little *itches touch my hat, and they will be horizontal, looking up !!

 

[Geesie]

rope, shovel, lime

 

[Lefty]

If more had parole officers than not, apparently someone was
able to do something...

It doesn't do anything to give them an ankle bracelet. Most of these kids are the children and siblings of gang members.

I've got a brother in law and cousin who are corrections officers. They've met a number of my mom's past students. There was one instance, at the Cleveland Zoo, where both my mom and brother in law recognized the same guy, who came over and said hi. My brother in law said that this guy had been through the county jail several times.

 

[ScionPI2005]

Seriously though, that's a shame. People need to raise their children to be better citizens not better criminals.

I definitely agree with this, and some of the others in this thread have said the same things. The main problem I foresee with this is that, sometimes, the parents of these deviant kids are criminals themselves. Either that, or they have absolutely no interest in their kids' lives at all and neglect them to the point of having absolutely no idea what they're up to (which is a crime in itself!).

I'd like to say that talking to a kid's parents when he/she has committed a petty crime of this type would help set the kid on the right course and mend things. I know that sometimes it does, just unfortunately not all the time.

 

[StetsonHomburg]

Some kids are just rotten,
and don't think or care what
they do, like one day I am
heading off to school and
these punks take my sovereign
stetson ( Around $50 ) and then
they start passing it around and
throw it on the ground, stomp on it
until it is basically crushed, then
throws it into a bush. And these kids
just are hated by everyone, teachers,
parents (Possibly even their own )
So I tell them to pick it up and fix it,
they say no, so being me and them
being them I grab one of them and
throw them to the ground
(inwitch I admit was wrong, but they
did have it coming ) yada yada yada
we go to the office, I get paid in full for
the destruction of one of my hats and
I don't get in trouble. lol

And Guitarman: not all children are punks... (Just most of them)

 

[fluteplayer07]

GROUP HUG,EVERYBODY!!! :cry:

Since I am familar with all the local kids in the area Billy got caught slippin! The little turds did the old bait `n switch on me. Classic ploy,really;the innocent (and youngest) on bicycle feigned "car trouble" with sad puppydog eyes...so,being a father of daughters I`m already pre-conditioned (read "sucker") here. As I bent down (leaned more like it) the tall lanky one (obviously the ring leader) rushed in behind me,yanked the hat off FAST then remained out of range (lucky for both of us).

Like the dog that finally catches that car he`s been chasing .... (HUH??? )
I think HMH may have approached the sublime that fateful day. Anyways,they don`t even tease or laugh about The Case of the Purloined Fedora anymore...but they know...oh how they know!....my retribution will be terrible...uh,kidding guys. :rage: Muahahahahahahahaha.....

HMH

*watching from the shadows,his sinister visage briefly illuminated by a lightning flash*

Lower primates my behind... I recognize a military formation when I see one!

 

[Bustercat]

Some kids are just rotten,
and don't think or care what
they do, like one day I am
heading off to school and
these punks take my sovereign
stetson ( Around $50 ) and then
they start passing it around and
throw it on the ground, stomp on it
until it is basically crushed, then
throws it into a bush. And these kids
just are hated by everyone, teachers,
parents (Possibly even their own )
So I tell them to pick it up and fix it,
they say no, so being me and them
being them I grab one of them and
throw them to the ground
(inwitch I admit was wrong, but they
did have it coming ) yada yada yada
we go to the office, I get paid in full for
the destruction of one of my hats and
I don't get in trouble. lol

And Guitarman: not all children are punks... (Just most of them)

That's the spirit.
Remember Sinatra spent part of his youth getting his hat knocked off his head.

 

[StetsonHomburg]

Why isn't that an honour, I'm like Sinatra