Lynch-mob

Lynch-mob?

Dear Editor,

I've been pondering the incident at the high school ever since my wife read to me what one of your concerned citizens had to say.

I wonder if that individual ever made a mistake or if maybe the savior has returned? The lynch-mob attitude that has been displayed over this incident concerns me far more than what some teenagers did! The Monday morning after on Open Line, people were ready to go out and start hanging teenagers before they even knew who had done this, or as far as that goes, what the extent of the damage was if any!

One lady even went as far as to compare it to the awful tragedy at Virginia Tech, and Rich Barnett, I don't mind saying you were part of that feeding frenzy, reporting hearsay before the facts were even released. So unlike you.

What these kids did was wrong! But you who have never made a mistake, tie the first knot in the rope. Oh but if it's just that you never got caught, or that you were not man enough to own up to it, you don't get to throw a knot.

And if you are so special, maybe you'd better hesitate just a minute, because it might just be your son or daughter that these terrible young men and women who did wrongfully go into the school (however going through an open door is not breaking and entering, trespassing maybe, get your facts straight.

Protecting when they turned themselves in, because there were some kids being falsely accused then to attack Mr. Smith, who probably has more integrity and experience working with young peoples then any one of you lynchers. This is a man who understands kids make mistakes but these were not mistakes worth ruining young men's lives over.

By the way, some of those young men were the same ones that will receive academic honors or were your heroes and the talk of the town when they were football stars.

I've made my share of mistakes in my life and so have you! But I've always taught my kids when they make a mistake first to own up to it and second to learn from it.

You see my son was one of the young men in the school that night, and I'm not proud of the fact that he did this, but I am proud that he was man enough to admit it and take what ever he has coming to protect the innocent! Also, for you uninformed, Mr. Smith has imposed punishment that monetarily will far outweigh the damage done by these teenagers. Maybe we should get all the facts and weigh them carefully before we tie the knot in the rope lest we be judged with the judgement we have judged.

Mike Morgan

Indianola