Teen Girl Ambushed Over MySpace Posting 

Have you seen the video? (Just go to Google and type in Polk County Teen Beating) and you will find a wide variety to choose from. In Polk County, Florida, eight teenagers were arrested, ages 14-18 including two boys who allegedly acted as lookouts and charged with felony assault and false imprisonment. And get this - some were cheerleaders and even honor roll students. And if you've been reading anything I have written or have ever attended one of my talks - do you now believe me that being the sharpest pencil in the drawer doesn't automatically give you good character! And being the athlete with the most points per game or in this case the cheerleader doesn't automatically give you good character.

This incident occurred during their spring break and the 16-year old victim (a former friend) apparently posted something against six former girl friends on MySpace. Two of the six called and text messaged the victim and lured her over to a house where the other four laid in waiting in another room - ready to ambush and slaughter their prey. 

It is shocking to say the least - but you have to watch the video and listen to what these girls are saying. While the "gang" of animalistic pack mentality girls are beating the tar out of this girl in the face and in the body along with slamming her head into the wall (and yes they were filming it - now is the time to look up the definition of hoods, idiots and misfits and their pictures will be there) the one girl (who's house this girl was lured into) keeps saying, don't hit the shelf, don't break any glass! This house owners daughter is so worried about protecting her parent's house, but is not worried about the girl who's getting the crap kicked out of her - what's wrong with this picture? 

The victim is beat for 30 minutes, falls into unconsciousness and when she wakes up they begin beating her again. It is at that time that they begin filming the rest of the beating. One of the girls even yells out "There's only 17 seconds left; make it good." The reason is that they wanted to post the video on MySpace and YouTube. And to make things even worse - they had two guys stand outside and stand guard while all this went on inside the house. At one time the girls were getting so loud that the guys stepped inside and said "You gotta quiet down - someone's going to hear you." And then they throw her into a car and threaten her that they will beat her even worse if she calls the cops.

As a result of this beating the victim ended up with a concussion, loses her hearing and has severe damage to one eye. 

And to top much of this off, the girls while in the holding cell at the jail were heard cutting up, laughing and saying, "Am I going to miss cheerleading practice tomorrow?" "I guess I'm not going to the beach this weekend." No remorse whatsoever for what they just did! 

Now, would you want this be to be your kids? Would you want you son or daughter to date any one of these thugs? Would you hire any one of these thugs? Would you want to be the cheerleading coach of these little darlings? 

NOT ONE of the six girls or two boys ever stepped up and said "stop it" or anything close to that - but then again - that is exactly what thugs do.

What the heck is going on with these kids AND their parents that are raising these kinds of animals? And get this - the parent or should I say thug raiser (Christina Garcia) of the daughter who's house was used for this slaughter states that the incident was overblown and the victim "deserves" some of the blame. What? The victim deserves some of the blame! Well you know what Mom - excuse me - I mean "person" who is helping to raise a daughter into a thug and unfortunately has the title of Mom - no one deserves to be beat on! You might want to sit in jail with your sweet little daughter and the two of you can sit there until you figure that one out. 

And get this - the Mom states that she thinks the Internet is the problem! How is the Internet the problem here? The Internet and even the social networking spaces teens love to visit are NOT the problem. They are inanimate options and choices for people to make in life. What people "choose" to post on the Internet and these spaces IS the problem. They have TOTAL control of each and every keystroke. 

This is just one more story that reinforces to me that you need a license to fish, a license to hunt, a license to drive but NOT a license to parent. I firmly believe that people are not BAD people, they are just making "poor choices" at the time BUT this parent and the thugs that were involved take the cake in this one. They need my books real bad. They need my CDs real bad. They need to make some real decisions on better choices - real quick. And WE need to hold these people accountable for their choices. Just based on what the facts have been told by the police and watching the video - I hope that all 8 get the book thrown at them and that they also figure how to go after the parents who are "supposed" to be raising these little darlings.

The victim owns part of the problem for what she posted. BUT, the victim only owns part of this problem. The eight accused own the rest of the problem for each and everyone of the punches they threw, the on-going beating and the false imprisonment. They made those "choices" all on their own.

So if anything is an opportunity here it is that there is a learning lesson for both the victim, her parents and all the thugs and their parents to learn from.

Take Care,

Dr. Mike Thomson
It's All About Character, Inc.
drmike@itsallaboutcharacter.com 
Online: http://www.itsallaboutcharacter.com
800.290.2482