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But Mom, he got to sail around the world!

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Inky_Wretch, Aug 18, 2009.

  1. spnited

    spnited Active Member


    But youo don't understand, she's special, YGBFKM
     
  2. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    Holy fuck, this isn't about how goddamned special somebody is or isn't.

    You're not her. She's not you. None of us are the Sunderlands. They don't make decisions for us - why the hell does anybody here think they're so much better qualified to make decisions for them and for their children?

    I wouldn't allow my 16-year-old child to do what they allowed their 16-year-old child to do. That does not make them irresponsible, or worse parents than I am.

    They're different from the vast majority of us. They think differently, they make different decisions based on what they know, not what we THINK we know.

    I don't know why I didn't take my own advice earlier.
     
  3. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    I agree with you on that.
     
  4. YGBFKM

    YGBFKM Guest

    I think differently than most people, too. But that's not always a good thing. When I was 16, I was obsessed with the Doors. I wanted to drop out of school and become a famous drunken poet. Luckily, my parents did not support me (although it could be argued it would have been a safer career choice than newspapers).
     
  5. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    As I've said, I wouldn't let my child do that. That doesn't mean I have any right to comment on what some other family allows their properly trained child to do, whether it's sail around the world or move to Moscow or whatever.

    I know it's difficult for some people to understand this, but sometimes there are teenagers with far more on the ball than adults twice or three times their age.
     
  6. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    Then you give them more responsibility at home like allowing them to take a part time job or start their own business.

    I don't think there has ever been a teenager who has ever drawn oxygen on this planet who would be qualified for this.
     
  7. Care Bear

    Care Bear Guest

    She had to be rescued. It's not like she was successful in her attempt. I do think she IS special. Doesn't preclude her from being 16-years-old. Maybe she is more mature than some adults. Doesn't make her one. She is still a child.
     
  8. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    He still could have waited for a better moment to attempt the rescue. She was in no immediate danger when he arrived. Nowhere did I say he should have left her to die.

    As for my "being ridiculous," this is what I'm talking about with the attitudes around here. I realize this is SJ, but I haven't insulted you. Give me the same consideration I give you.
     
  9. spnited

    spnited Active Member

    My biggest problem is there was no safety net, nobody following her or tracking closely enough that should could have been rescued as soon as there was a life-threatening situation.
    She was "lost at sea" for two days then located 2,000 miles from anywhere. How can you not have someone in some kind of support position all the way?
     
  10. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zac_Sunderland (age 17)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Perham (age 17)

    That's two, off the top of my head.
     
  11. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    Fair point. I would think economics played a big role in that - even if they had wanted to have someone trailing or supporting her, they couldn't have afforded it.

    Which I understand would have been reason enough for most people to have pulled the plug altogether but, again, they don't think the way most of us think.

    I'm reading now about a kid who crossed the English Channel alone at age 11. In response, his mother dared him to cross the Atlantic Ocean next, in a race against his father. It happened four years later. The kid lost the race but completed the crossing. Even I can't defend the kind of parent who would literally dare their child to do something like that.
     
  12. spnited

    spnited Active Member

    So if they couldn't afford safety precautions to protect their 16 year old, you call it off!
     
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