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LETTERS ABOUT ALCOHOL USE |
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Email this page to a friend Related pagesA message and a tribute from Ryan's mom, Toni LoBue Islanders share memories of Ryan LoBue Ryan Lobue dies after car/bicycle crash Memorial service includes laughter and tears 72-hour deadline waived, charges remain in effect Letter from Court Bell re alcohol and youth Letters about alcohol and youth DUI drill is a realistic lesson for students Impact Panel impresses participants |
Response to Court Bell's letterposted 10/08/03
Oh sure, they were sentenced to longer terms but that was suspended. The argument is that the suspended time hangs over their head and keeps them from re-offending. But for this too happen, they have to drive drunk AND get caught first. I would rather the penalty for first offense be serious enough to discourage the first time drunken drivers! Yes, it costs money to lock someone up but if we are to be safe on our streets, this is a price I am prepared to pay. We cannot mandate that parents all have the same standards or that they even be good parents. What we can do is ask that tough sentences be handed out to all drinking drivers regardless of age or social status. The courtroom is one place where society sends the message about what’s acceptable and what’s not. The message I get from the most recent penalties is that despite the deaths and injuries, despite the community grief, it’s still no big deal to drink and drive or to use drugs. One day! That’s all its worth to risk a life here. One day and few hundred bucks. That’s a pitiful response. Greg Hertel The Measure of a CommunityBy Court Bell
What is the accurate measure of a community? A good question. We pride ourselves on our care for one another. We come together in the face of tragedy, like the recent death of Ryan Lobue. We celebrate life and the care we share on this island. The outpouring of grief over Ryan's death is appropriate and needed. The memorials, the flowers, the poignant reminders, and the moving services are all testimonials to the measure of this community. What person would not have wanted a memorial like the one for Ryan in Turnbull Gym? The group of islanders that put on the dinner afterwards were incredible. A visitor to our island during the past two weeks would look, perhaps, wistfully, at this togetherness, and say that here is a caring, loving community - a wonderful place to live and raise a family. But to use the outpouring of heartfelt grief, as needed and as important as is it, as a measure of this community, is, I am afraid, to miss the point. The measure of a community is not how it deals with tragedy, but how it seeks to prevent it. And by this measure, we are failing miserably. There is a huge problem, which Janice Pepin voiced at the Turnbull Gym service, on this island - it is the problem of alcohol and drug abuse. It is a problem that is always there, affecting everything we do. Most of the time, it is a 'hidden' problem, our dirty little secret, as it were, that we keep well hidden. Hidden, until it wells up in the form of tragedy so horrible that we cannot help but look it in the eye - at least for a while. But looking alcohol and drug abuse in the face is scary, and it is much safer to be awash in grief. But the issue isn't grief, it is responsibility. For let's be clear, Ryan, didn't die, he was killed. Ryan was killed at age 18 when he was hit from behind by a car. As the deposition from the deputy at the scene, made clear, alcohol was involved in this death. The driver/riders in the car that hit Ryan had all been drinking. In one of the most commonplace activities for young people on this island, the drinking had started at Jackson's Beach and the four were on their way to watch the sunset on the west side - and drink. We can argue about the reasons why young people drink; it is a great debate. But, at base, young people drink because they are emulating adult behavior. The 'job' of adolescents is to push against the boundaries set for them by society. We all did it; it is part of growing up. What is OK, and what is not? And here we come to the crunch, because the message from too many adults to young people on this island is: it is OK for young people to drink and smoke pot. The boundaries are simply, too loose. It is, however, not OK. In addition, it is against the law. It is against the law because alcohol and drug use by young people creates often-irreparable harm. To go through your high school years in a daze induced by frequent alcohol / drug use, is, you can argue, a personal decision. But that decision has costs to society as well. . . in lost potential, in lost rights to education by others, in lost productivity, in lost life. In all the grief being poured out over Ryan's death, one crucial element is missing - responsibility. I am not even talking about the obvious responsibility of the driver and passengers in the car that killed Ryan. I am talking about the collective adult responsibility over lax standards and unclear messages given by adults to young people surrounding alcohol / drug use in this community. While there are, no doubt, prodigious amounts of alcohol and drugs shared and consumed at Jackson's Beach, this pales in comparison with that consumed at parents' houses, weekend after weekend. I am not a tee-totaler. I drink alcohol - and, I believe, responsibly. But adults can drink responsibly and still be absolutely clear, including establishing consequences, that under-age drinking is not OK - it is illegal and dangerous. Yet, that is a message that some find difficult to deliver. Bob Dylan had it right when he wrote, "How many deaths will it take 'til we learn, that too many people have died." How many trips to rehab? How many alcohol-induced rapes? How many have to move off-island to avoid the shame? The community has been attempting to respond to this deep-seated problem. The two drunk-driving simulations on the high school field in the last few years are excellent examples. But, much more important is the collective individual messages given by adults day in and day out. The true measure of this community will be what happens next. How, and with what force, will the adults on this island draw a line against all underage alcohol and drug use? |
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