TOTALLY GEEKED!

Ohfour · Hooker

RE: Dear Harriette: Daughter Going on Spring Break in Florida

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

Ohfour wrote:
First of all, where did I say "Only"?

Second, I don not for a minute believe that what happens there doesn't happen everywhere else. During the CMA Awards, one of my kids cousins was leaving late and caught a cab. She was raped by the cab driver. Nothing happens there thatdoesn;t happen all the time in every single city...

Criminals know that Florida is a mecca for young, unchaperoned kids. That's not a chance I'm willing to take. Especially not as human trafficing gets worse and worse.

Ohfour · Hooker

Lawyerlady wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
First of all, where did I say "Only"?

Second, I don not for a minute believe that what happens there doesn't happen everywhere else. During the CMA Awards, one of my kids cousins was leaving late and caught a cab. She was raped by the cab driver. Nothing happens there thatdoesn;t happen all the time in every single city...
Criminals know that Florida is a mecca for young, unchaperoned kids. That's not a chance I'm willing to take. Especially not as human trafficing gets worse and worse.

Most of these "kids" aren't legally "kids". They don't need a chaperone.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Ohfour wrote:
First of all, where did I say "Only"?

Second, I don not for a minute believe that what happens there doesn't happen everywhere else. During the CMA Awards, one of my kids cousins was leaving late and caught a cab. She was raped by the cab driver. Nothing happens there thatdoesn;t happen all the time in every single city...

Oh my dear O4, don't you know the only place anything bad happens is in Florida on Spring Break?

Nothing happens in any one's hometown.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

Ohfour wrote:
Lawyerlady wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
First of all, where did I say "Only"?

Second, I don not for a minute believe that what happens there doesn't happen everywhere else. During the CMA Awards, one of my kids cousins was leaving late and caught a cab. She was raped by the cab driver. Nothing happens there thatdoesn;t happen all the time in every single city...
Criminals know that Florida is a mecca for young, unchaperoned kids. That's not a chance I'm willing to take. Especially not as human trafficing gets worse and worse.
Most of these "kids" aren't legally "kids". They don't need a chaperone.

They are not old enough to legally drink and yet many die from alcohol poisoning. Even if they are technically adults, get them all together and they behave like children.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

lilyofcourse wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
First of all, where did I say "Only"?

Second, I don not for a minute believe that what happens there doesn't happen everywhere else. During the CMA Awards, one of my kids cousins was leaving late and caught a cab. She was raped by the cab driver. Nothing happens there thatdoesn;t happen all the time in every single city...
Oh my dear O4, don't you know the only place anything bad happens is in Florida on Spring Break?
Nothing happens in any one's hometown.

Scoff all you want. The fact that bad things can happen anywhere doesn't mean you make it easier for them to happen.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

So you never go to the mall? To a sporting event or concert?

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

lilyofcourse wrote:
So you never go to the mall? To a sporting event or concert?

That is not the same thing as thousands of underage teens congregating together illegally drinking and partying and you know it. You sound ridiculous.

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

lilyofcourse wrote:
So you never go to the mall? To a sporting event or concert?

Let's see...last time I went to a mall, there were no drunken partiers, or half-naked people...Same for every Colts game I've been to.

Concerts: depends on the band.

flan

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

But nothing bad ever happens any where else. Right?

Ohfour · Hooker

Lawyerlady wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
So you never go to the mall? To a sporting event or concert?

That is not the same thing as thousands of underage teens congregating together illegally drinking and partying and you know it. You sound ridiculous.

I tend to agree, but the article you posted listed Sporting Events as being just as much a target to traffickers as Spring Break...

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

lilyofcourse wrote:
But nothing bad ever happens any where else. Right?

NOBODY said that. You keep saying it like it makes any sense or has any bearing on the dangers of spring break in Florida. Your logic is messed up.

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Lawyerlady wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
But nothing bad ever happens any where else. Right?

NOBODY said that. You keep saying it like it makes any sense or has any bearing on the dangers of spring break in Florida. Your logic is messed up.

Lily, when you make statements like that, how do you expect ANYONE to take you seriously?

flan

Ohfour · Hooker

flan327 wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
So you never go to the mall? To a sporting event or concert?

Let's see...last time I went to a mall, there were no drunken partiers, or half-naked people...Same for every Colts game I've been to.
Concerts: depends on the band.
flan

I've been to Colts games and seen MANY a drunkard and half naked person. Every pro game I've been to is a drunken party...

(Of course it COULD be the company I keep... wink )

-- Edited by Ohfour on Thursday 12th of March 2015 04:13:34 PM

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Ohfour wrote:
flan327 wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
So you never go to the mall? To a sporting event or concert?

Let's see...last time I went to a mall, there were no drunken partiers, or half-naked people...Same for every Colts game I've been to.
Concerts: depends on the band.
flan
I've been to Colts games and seen MANY a drunkard and half naked person. Every pro game I've been to is a drunken party...

Yes, of course, people drink, but I've never seen anyone intoxicated.

And if the roof is open, it's usually too cold to take your clothes off...

flan

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

And Lily - you are the one that goes on and on about girls not putting themselves in situations where it is easy to be a victim. Spring break in Florida is EXACTLY the type of situation where it is easy to be a victim. Even if they are not drinking or doing drugs, most of the people around them are. Your position on this makes absolutely no sense to anything else you have ever said.

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Ohfour wrote:
flan327 wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
So you never go to the mall? To a sporting event or concert?

Let's see...last time I went to a mall, there were no drunken partiers, or half-naked people...Same for every Colts game I've been to.
Concerts: depends on the band.
flan
I've been to Colts games and seen MANY a drunkard and half naked person. Every pro game I've been to is a drunken party...
(Of course it COULD be the company I keep...)

-- Edited by Ohfour on Thursday 12th of March 2015 04:13:34 PM

You edited while I was posting!! LOL

So is this a confession? You were the half-naked drunkard???

flan

Ohfour · Hooker

flan327 wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
flan327 wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
So you never go to the mall? To a sporting event or concert?

Let's see...last time I went to a mall, there were no drunken partiers, or half-naked people...Same for every Colts game I've been to.
Concerts: depends on the band.
flan
I've been to Colts games and seen MANY a drunkard and half naked person. Every pro game I've been to is a drunken party...
(Of course it COULD be the company I keep...)

-- Edited by Ohfour on Thursday 12th of March 2015 04:13:34 PM
You edited while I was posting!! LOL
So is this a confession? You were the half-naked drunkard???
flan

I plead the fifth... wink

I just can't believe it. I've been to football and baseball stadiums all over the country and have YET to go to a game that someone didn't have to be thrown/carried/stretchered out.

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

I've only been to Colts games and one IU game.

flan

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Ever been to a racetrack? And the ball games I have been to have been nothing BUT drunks after a few plays.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

And just FYI - I am not in the minority on this.

Spring break is no longer an innocent respite from the rigors of college academics, it's potentially life threatening, according to the American Medical Association, which published a survey in 2004 that shows 91 percent of parents say it's time to stop spring break marketing and promotional practices that promote dangerous drinking.

"The tourism and alcohol industries promote heavy drinking and sex, creating an environment that can lead to rape, fatal injuries and death by alcohol poisoning. We agree with parents that we must put an end to these promotions that target students, most of whom are underage." said J. Edward Hill, MD, AMA chair-elect in a news release.

The "Matter of Degree" poll indicated that a majority of parents (56 percent) were completely unaware that tour companies market spring break destinations directly to college students, emphasizing heavy drinking and sex. In addition to U.S. spring break destinations, American tour companies, in partnership with alcohol producers, promote destinations outside the country where the drinking age is 18 - a key attraction.

Of the 500 parents surveyed, 91 percent say it's time to stop spring break marketing and promotional practices that promote dangerous drinking.

Other findings of the poll include:

More than 80 percent of parents said they were concerned about college students drinking alcohol during spring break. Topping the list of concerns were students having unprotected sex (71 percent), students driving while intoxicated or with a drunken driver (70 percent), and female students getting raped (68 percent).
Eighty-eight percent of parents said they think that spring break is primarily a problem of underage drinking, because many college students are younger than the legal drinking age of 21, and 61 percent believe that underage students are more likely to drink than 21-year-olds.
77 percent of adults and 68 percent of parents say that alcohol companies are using spring break in Mexico to introduce underage students to their products.
The beer and liquor industries say that they are not promoting underage drinking by encouraging alcohol use at spring break locations in Mexico, but 64 percent of parents agree that this practice takes advantage of American youth under 21 and influences them to drink.
70 percent of parents say they are unwilling to pay for their child's spring break.

"Parents and students need to recognize that there is a dark side to the spring break madness they see on MTV," said Frank Guglielmi, whose 19-year-old son died after falling off a balcony following a day of partying in Panama City Beach, FL.

And now, students who are headed to Mexican locations for Spring Break have additional dangers facing them as the raging drug cartel wars have significantly increased violence, murder and kidnapping throughout the country.

Ohfour · Hooker

My kids and I didn't go because of any specific marketing. We went because that what we do.

3 of the kids still go.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

So having your daughter around more drunks is a good thing to you?

Honeys_Mom · Mod & Permanent Board Sweetheart

Oh lord...

cry

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

When I was a teen Ft. Lauderdale was the spring break hot spot. It was wild. All under age teens And young adults. It was a blast!

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

Would my daughter seek out a drunk? No.

Would my daughter go to a club? No.

Would my daughter go with friends who would do either of these? No.

Honestly I would worry more about swimming in the ocean where my daughter is concerned.

Why? Because I know my daughter and her friends. I know they wouldn't be following the crowd.

If my daughter came to me saying they were going to Florida, of course I would ask the questions.
Who is going, who is driving, where are you staying, what about food? Then I would worry like any mom would, set expectations that she let me know they got there, text me now and then and let me know when they start home.

I'd have the stay safe be aware talk with her.

And then I'd hug her tight and tell her to have fun and bring me back some thing cool.

When it came to J, I don't know. He has a strong sense of right and wrong. He would stay in the room the whole time cause he just doesn't like crowds. He wouldn't go.

A is the one I would not let go. He is a follower. He tends to just go along with the crowd. He is the one that would end up drunk and in a bad place.

Knowing your kids and what they are able to handle and their level of responsibility is just a small part of making the decisions on if they should go or not.

Ilumine · Regular

Ohfour wrote:
Meh, It's really not that big a deal. What you see on TV is sensationalism.

Uh...no it is not. For those of us who live here, this is the NORM for the 6 weeks that colleges and high schools let out for spring break.

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Ilumine wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
Meh, It's really not that big a deal. What you see on TV is sensationalism.
Uh...no it is not. For those of us who live here, this is the NORM for the 6 weeks that colleges and high schools let out for spring break.

Thanks! I thought you lived there.

flan

Ilumine · Regular

lilyofcourse wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
First of all, where did I say "Only"?

Second, I don not for a minute believe that what happens there doesn't happen everywhere else. During the CMA Awards, one of my kids cousins was leaving late and caught a cab. She was raped by the cab driver. Nothing happens there thatdoesn;t happen all the time in every single city...
Oh my dear O4, don't you know the only place anything bad happens is in Florida on Spring Break?
Nothing happens in any one's hometown.

AGAIN, Panama City's crime rates are almost double the national average. But hey....let's totally ignore the statistics.

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

Ilumine wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
Meh, It's really not that big a deal. What you see on TV is sensationalism.
Uh...no it is not. For those of us who live here, this is the NORM for the 6 weeks that colleges and high schools let out for spring break.

I agree. We would go to Ft. Lauderdale and sit on the beach across from the strip and just watch the drunks. When we got older we participated.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Ilumine wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
First of all, where did I say "Only"?

Second, I don not for a minute believe that what happens there doesn't happen everywhere else. During the CMA Awards, one of my kids cousins was leaving late and caught a cab. She was raped by the cab driver. Nothing happens there thatdoesn;t happen all the time in every single city...
Oh my dear O4, don't you know the only place anything bad happens is in Florida on Spring Break?
Nothing happens in any one's hometown.
AGAIN, Panama City's crime rates are almost double the national average. But hey....let's totally ignore the statistics.

Yes, let's ignore the FACTS. And the statistics that say that it IS deadly. And the police who hate spring break with a passion because the crime goes through the roof. Let's just ignore all the facts. And you can talk to your kids until you're blue in the face but when someone rapes the "talks" don't help.

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Nobody Just Nobody wrote:
Ilumine wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
First of all, where did I say "Only"?

Second, I don not for a minute believe that what happens there doesn't happen everywhere else. During the CMA Awards, one of my kids cousins was leaving late and caught a cab. She was raped by the cab driver. Nothing happens there thatdoesn;t happen all the time in every single city...
Oh my dear O4, don't you know the only place anything bad happens is in Florida on Spring Break?
Nothing happens in any one's hometown.
AGAIN, Panama City's crime rates are almost double the national average. But hey....let's totally ignore the statistics.
Yes, let's ignore the FACTS. And the statistics that say that it IS deadly. And the police who hate spring break with a passion because the crime goes through the roof. Let's just ignore all the facts. And you can talk to your kids until you're blue in the face but when someone rapes the "talks" don't help.

And it DOESN'T matter how much you "know" your kids if they are attacked by a new "friend."

WHY put your child in that situation? There are other SAFER ways to have fun.

flan

Ohfour · Hooker

Almost double the national average for the YEAR. I want to see stats on Spring Break. Let compare apples to apples. We're talking about a few weeks out of the year. I guess all crimes happens then...riiiiiggghhhttt....

Ohfour · Hooker

I've been, my kids have been and are going again. Yes, the reports are sensationalized. I'm sure there debauchery during spring break, but its not like they make it out to be....

Ilumine · Regular

flan327 wrote:
Ilumine wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
Meh, It's really not that big a deal. What you see on TV is sensationalism.
Uh...no it is not. For those of us who live here, this is the NORM for the 6 weeks that colleges and high schools let out for spring break.
Thanks! I thought you lived there.
flan

Actually I live 90 minutes away, in a less known (but growing) teen/college spring break zone. And our crime rates, noise and traffic jams and property damage (i.e. public urination/defecation/vomit and trash issues) increase in some very scary rates. The number of date rates due to someone being slipped a roofie is scary sad. You can't go to the beaches because there are drunk kids screaming at each other...getting louder and more salacious as they edge each other on, tripping over their neighbor's blankets and bodies. And inevitably there is an "accidental" nipple exposure every 100 yards or so...

People seem to forget what real Mob mentality can influence.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Ilumine wrote:
flan327 wrote:
Ilumine wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
Meh, It's really not that big a deal. What you see on TV is sensationalism.
Uh...no it is not. For those of us who live here, this is the NORM for the 6 weeks that colleges and high schools let out for spring break.
Thanks! I thought you lived there.
flan
Actually I live 90 minutes away, in a less known (but growing) teen/college spring break zone. And our crime rates, noise and traffic jams and property damage (i.e. public urination/defecation/vomit and trash issues) increase in some very scary rates. The number of date rates due to someone being slipped a roofie is scary sad. You can't go to the beaches because there are drunk kids screaming at each other...getting louder and more salacious as they edge each other on, tripping over their neighbor's blankets and bodies. And inevitably there is an "accidental" nipple exposure every 100 yards or so...
People seem to forget what real Mob mentality can influence.

It's all in your mind... Said sarcastically.

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

I wouldn't want to live anywhere that had large tourist numbers. They just don't respect the area the way a full time resident/ property owner does.

flan327 · Itty bitty's Grammy

Ilumine wrote:
flan327 wrote:
Ilumine wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
Meh, It's really not that big a deal. What you see on TV is sensationalism.
Uh...no it is not. For those of us who live here, this is the NORM for the 6 weeks that colleges and high schools let out for spring break.
Thanks! I thought you lived there.
flan
Actually I live 90 minutes away, in a less known (but growing) teen/college spring break zone. And our crime rates, noise and traffic jams and property damage (i.e. public urination/defecation/vomit and trash issues) increase in some very scary rates. The number of date rates due to someone being slipped a roofie is scary sad. You can't go to the beaches because there are drunk kids screaming at each other...getting louder and more salacious as they edge each other on, tripping over their neighbor's blankets and bodies. And inevitably there is an "accidental" nipple exposure every 100 yards or so...
People seem to forget what real Mob mentality can influence.

Precisely! It's a very real thing.

flan

Ohfour · Hooker

You have your experience, I have mine.

Ilumine · Regular

Ohfour wrote:
Almost double the national average for the YEAR. I want to see stats on Spring Break. Let compare apples to apples. We're talking about a few weeks out of the year. I guess all crimes happens then...riiiiiggghhhttt....

Panama City has a registered population of 36,877 (2013) and Panama City Beach has a registered population of 12,064 (2013). Are you actually telling me that 48,941 residents (including the geriatric set since this IS Florida) caused more RAPES than the national average? Almost double the crime rate of Pensacola with its 52,703 people?

Yeah....it has NOTHING to do with the spring breakers. But hey what do I know? My husband doesn't work for our county and has an inside understanding of the costs associated with tourism, both the "Spring Breakers" and Families and navigating the insurgent Spring Breakers (i.e. are the income tourist dollars worth the cost of the handling these kids).

Southern_Belle · Nothing's Impossible

Ilumine wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
Almost double the national average for the YEAR. I want to see stats on Spring Break. Let compare apples to apples. We're talking about a few weeks out of the year. I guess all crimes happens then...riiiiiggghhhttt....
Panama City has a registered population of 36,877 (2013) and Panama City Beach has a registered population of 12,064 (2013). Are you actually telling me that 48,941 residents (including the geriatric set since this IS Florida) caused more RAPES than the national average? Almost double the crime rate of Pensacola with its 52,703 people?

Yeah....it has NOTHING to do with the spring breakers. But hey what do I know? My husband doesn't work for our county and has an inside understanding of the costs associated with tourism, both the "Spring Breakers" and Families and navigating the insurgent Spring Breakers (i.e. are the income tourist dollars worth the cost of the handling these kids).

They will move on eventually. Hot spots seem to change once the locals get sick and tired of the bs and start enforcing stricter rules.

Ohfour · Hooker

Give me stats. That's all I'm asking for. I don't really care about your assumptions...

Ohfour · Hooker

Southern_Belle wrote:
Ilumine wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
Almost double the national average for the YEAR. I want to see stats on Spring Break. Let compare apples to apples. We're talking about a few weeks out of the year. I guess all crimes happens then...riiiiiggghhhttt....
Panama City has a registered population of 36,877 (2013) and Panama City Beach has a registered population of 12,064 (2013). Are you actually telling me that 48,941 residents (including the geriatric set since this IS Florida) caused more RAPES than the national average? Almost double the crime rate of Pensacola with its 52,703 people?

Yeah....it has NOTHING to do with the spring breakers. But hey what do I know? My husband doesn't work for our county and has an inside understanding of the costs associated with tourism, both the "Spring Breakers" and Families and navigating the insurgent Spring Breakers (i.e. are the income tourist dollars worth the cost of the handling these kids).
They will move on eventually. Hot spots seem to change once the locals get sick and tired of the bs and start enforcing stricter rules.

I went in 88, my kids are still going to this day. PCB is a tourist destination. They aren't going to push them away...

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Ohfour wrote:
Give me stats. That's all I'm asking for. I don't really care about your assumptions...

Who cares what the stats are? The stats were in favor of Natalie Holloway too.

Ohfour · Hooker

So one girl goes missing and all bets are off? More kids go missing from their front yard than from Spring Break. Are you not going to let your kids in your front yard?

Ohfour · Hooker

Here, its not a question of "are you going on Spring Break?" The question is "where are you staying on Spring Break?"

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

lilyofcourse wrote:
But nothing bad ever happens any where else. Right?

Yep, bad stuff happens everywhere. You just don't walk into a situation where you know bad stuff happens. Is that a hard concept to understand? let's relate it to the Boston Marathon Bombings. You run AWAY from the danger, not toward it.

lilyofcourse · My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

But in your example no one should ever attend the marathon again because they could be the victim of a terrorist's bomb.

I know what to do_sometimes · Frozen Sucks!

Ohfour wrote:
Give me stats. That's all I'm asking for. I don't really care about your assumptions...

They aren't assumptions and she cannot give you the data. We aren't supposed to talk about Gov't data we gather outside our jobs.

Lady Gaga Snerd · Guru

Ok Lilly and O4. You win. You are right. Because we don't send our kids to Spring Break , we dont allow them to go anywhere. We lock all our kids in the closet right after school. K?