If You Were Kirk's Uncle

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It's also questionable whether Kirk really was just going for a joyride. There was a thread a couple of weeks ago debating whether he seemed suicidal.

I never got that impression. I always thought that he was deliberately intent on wrecking the car (and no more than that), and knew full well what to do and how to get out in time, so as not to endanger his own life.

And thus I still ask myself, why? Why would he wreck that car? Obviously he wouldn't do it to get back at his mom, so the logical alternative is, he wants to hurt the stepdad. And why would he do THAT....?

As for how I would handle this: I have no idea. Not a clue. I don't know what I would do or how I would react. Although I definitely would be asking myself what kind of person am I, that I would cause such a reaction in a kid. I may not be any kind of father, real or step, but I do have younger relatives, and if any one of them got so pissed off at me that they would destroy something I valued, I would want to know what I had done that made them do it.

 

[kythe]

The problem with asking how any of us would handle the situation is that 99.9% of parents will never experience anything of this magnitude during their entire years of parenting. Parents always worry about hypothetical situations that could happen between them and their children, but this is something most people don't even dream of.

This is what makes Kirk's behavior something other than a "normal" rebellious attitude, or a "normal" level of reckless behavior even for that personality type. I'm not trying to skirt the issue of how to respond, but most people do not have family situations where this particular scenario is even a possibility.

 

[Trilliam]

At the very least, regardless of what was happening at home, this kid committed criminal acts:
Theft of property
Driving unlicensed (and uninsured)
Neg driving
Failing to obey Police
Destruction of property.
He should be punished at law if not by his family.

None of this bleeding heart "poor little misunderstood child"...

 

[Omega_Glory]

^^^Right on!

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

Please, the man is not his uncle. He's the evil step-dad.

He could be both... Winona could have married George's brother.

It never says uncle, ever. I don't know how that rumor got started.

Supposedly, the script originally called for the character of "Uncle Frank" (and supposedly an actor named Brad William Henke was cast). But either they didn't film the Uncle's parts, or (according to the unconfirmed story I heard) he was edited-out in post-production, and Abrams best pal Greg Grunberg was added as "Stepdad's Voice".

At the very least, regardless of what was happening at home, this kid committed criminal acts:
Theft of property
Driving unlicensed (and uninsured)
Neg driving
Failing to obey Police
Destruction of property.
He should be punished at law if not by his family.

None of this bleeding heart "poor little misunderstood child"...

Perhaps he was punished.