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Boy trapped in homemade balloon...

I agree that jail is over the top.

Our so-called "justice system" is stupid. There has to be consequences to dissuade people from doing things that harm other people but they should be commensurate with the crime. Jail should be for violent people who are a danger to others. Crimes like this should call for restitution and community service.

Agreed. A nice, stiff fine.

Yep. Hit 'em where it hurts. Money.


J.
 
I think the best thing for him would be several hundred hours of community service. Maybe they could make him clean toilets, pick up trash from the roadside or the like. He would have to be forbidden to allow his community service to become the subject of a reality show.

I don't think he has much money. If you fine him the kiddies will probably suffer as I don't think the guy would go without much himself.
 
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I think the best thing for him would by several hundred hours of community service. Maybe they could make him clean toilets, pick up trash from the roadside or the like. He would have to be forbidden to allow his community service to become the subject of a reality show.

...

Aw, Miss Chicken, you always know just the right things to say. :adore:


J.
 
I agree that jail is over the top.

Our so-called "justice system" is stupid. There has to be consequences to dissuade people from doing things that harm other people but they should be commensurate with the crime. Jail should be for violent people who are a danger to others. Crimes like this should call for restitution and community service.

Agreed. A nice, stiff fine.

You have confused me. You're agreeing with me with with community service/restitution yet you have deliberately made a point that you think the family should be water-boarded. I don't get it. Where do you stand?

James Bond, Moonraker 1979, Hugo Drax: "Frederick Gray; what a surprise. And in distinguished company all wearing gas masks. Gentleman, you must forgive me. Not being British, I sometimes find your sense of humor rather difficult to follow."

F. Kreuger, I find you difficult to follow. Where do you stand on this issue, seriously?
 
I am sorry, but plenty of people break laws everyday. You know how many crank stupid calls these services get an hour let alone a day. It is not usual or rare.

Are you being deliberately obtuse? Because several people, myself included, have explained the difference between the scope of this hoax (and the response) and some punk making a crank call to 911 that distracts police resources for a few minutes. And yes, people frequently do get in trouble for that kind of thing.

I think all of you and the authorities are mad cause you got conned and fooled.

I'm not mad in the slightest. I didn't even watch the thing as it was happening, and just read the story and watched some clips later on when I got home.

You keep harping on people for being conned and fooled as well, as if they were wrong to take this at face value early on. They had no reason to doubt the father's story at that point, and while there were some doubts expressed on the news and in this thread, it was certainly possible that the kid might have been inside or was in it originally and fell out.

I am sure the guy did not think the whole freaking world was going to go crazy over this.

Who went crazy? People thought there was a six-year-old boy trapped in a runaway balloon. While you may be able to argue that it didn't require non-stop coverage, it was certainly a story worthy of coverage by national media for its unique nature and massive response.

So if we start asking people to pay money back when they do something stupid, that could become a slippery slope. I remember talk, and I am not sure anyone does it, but they were going to start charging for rescues for thrill seekers that get into trouble and need to be rescued.

If you blatantly disregard common sense, your safety, and the safety of others, why shouldn't you have to pay for it? It wouldn't be for someone who went bungee jumping or skydiving for example, both activities where in the hands of a reputable group or guide who followed safety guidelines you should be fine 99.99% of the time. It would have to be for people who showed a reckless disregard for safety, like that guy that free climbs skyscrapers, if you purposely ski in an avalanche zone, or did street-racing on a public street with other traffic.

Community service ok, suing in civil court, ok, but jail, please. That is way over the top.

And that's what most people are saying, so what's the problem?
 
I agree that jail is over the top.

Our so-called "justice system" is stupid. There has to be consequences to dissuade people from doing things that harm other people but they should be commensurate with the crime. Jail should be for violent people who are a danger to others. Crimes like this should call for restitution and community service.

Agreed. A nice, stiff fine.

You have confused me. You're agreeing with me with with community service/restitution yet you have deliberately made a point that you think the family should be water-boarded. I don't get it. Where do you stand?

James Bond, Moonraker 1979, Hugo Drax: "Frederick Gray; what a surprise. And in distinguished company all wearing gas masks. Gentleman, you must forgive me. Not being British, I sometimes find your sense of humor rather difficult to follow."

F. Kreuger, I find you difficult to follow. Where do you stand on this issue, seriously?


I would fly the perpetrator and Trekker to Gitmo (on separate planes, or course). Mr Perpetrator would be confined, while it was explained to Trekker that the person in the next room was some idiot customer who was being difficult in the store during the last month. You know, being indecisive, holding up the line, being snarky to Trekker's inquiries how he could help, etc.

Then, we'd let Trekker loose with the water. :guffaw:;)
 
Agreed. A nice, stiff fine.

You have confused me. You're agreeing with me with with community service/restitution yet you have deliberately made a point that you think the family should be water-boarded. I don't get it. Where do you stand?

James Bond, Moonraker 1979, Hugo Drax: "Frederick Gray; what a surprise. And in distinguished company all wearing gas masks. Gentleman, you must forgive me. Not being British, I sometimes find your sense of humor rather difficult to follow."

F. Kreuger, I find you difficult to follow. Where do you stand on this issue, seriously?


I would fly the perpetrator and Trekker to Gitmo (on separate planes, or course). Mr Perpetrator would be confined, while it was explained to Trekker that the person in the next room was some idiot customer who was being difficult in the store during the last month. You know, being indecisive, holding up the line, being snarky to Trekker's inquiries how he could help, etc.

Then, we'd let Trekker loose with the water. :guffaw:;)

The poor towel will be quite worn out. :(
 
The poor towel will be quite worn out. :(

Not an entirely unusual experience for me.

:(

*feeling deeply disturbed on a visceral level...*

Maybe this will help.

scrubbrain.gif

 
Are you really that naive? Do you think this is the only stupid call the FAA, Feds, local pd, or any other such agency gets in a day. Not by a longshot. Everyone is laughing at the fact they even took this thing seriously. Anyone who has done this for a living will tell you that this was an overreaction by the authorities who should have know better.

I am glad that we all agree of the punishment and I can only hope the proper authorities do as well.
 
Why was it an over-reaction? A small child being trapped in a balloon is a possibility and the authorities had to react as if it was the truth. Can you imagine what would have happened if there had been a child trapped and the authorities hadn't done or too little?
 
Why was it an over-reaction? A small child being trapped in a balloon is a possibility and the authorities had to react as if it was the truth. Can you imagine what would have happened if there had been a child trapped and the authorities hadn't done or too little?

Because as I said, to trained professionals this sounds like one of hundreds of untrue stories they hear a day. I was hearing on the radio how silly all of this sounds now. It is one thing to investigate to see what is going on, and it is another to overreact like this.
 
Trained professionals would also say it is very unlikely that a baby pushed more than 100 feet in his pram by a train would have any chance of surviving - but it happened.

Without being able to see the balloon close up there was a possibilty that a small child could have been in the balloon. Yes, some experts said they didn't believe that a child was being carried (because of the way the balloon was behaving) but none of these experts came out and said that they knew this for certain.
 
Why was it an over-reaction? A small child being trapped in a balloon is a possibility and the authorities had to react as if it was the truth. Can you imagine what would have happened if there had been a child trapped and the authorities hadn't done or too little?

Because as I said, to trained professionals this sounds like one of hundreds of untrue stories they hear a day. I was hearing on the radio how silly all of this sounds now. It is one thing to investigate to see what is going on, and it is another to overreact like this.

Yep. Everyday trained professionals get calls like this. My best friend worked as an EMT once in college, he has countless stories of the times he was sent out along with NORAD, Life-Flight, local police, and other agenices to find kids who're possibly trapped in a runaway balloon.

:rolleyes:
 
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