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If he had no kids he could be a contender for a Darwin Award.

And before anyone jumps me for being so heartless, that fool could have easily killed someone else.  Just from that short blurb it looks like numerous laws were broken.

I knew this young man very well. He was no fool, had just graduated from LSU and was about to begin his career! If the story has the correct road where the accident happened, he was almost in front of his house and the road dead ends very shortly after him family’s home. And YES Crakalakin you are heartless. You need to remember that this young man is someone’s son, brother, grandson, and held dear to the heart of the entire community.  Accidents happen!!!

So, I guess I should be careful not to accidentially illegally drive my ATV on the road without a helmet at high speeds at 2:00AM while possibly (likely) intoxicated.

Accidents happen.  Gotcha.  I’ll tell my lawyer friends to use that one in court next time they have to defend a speeding DUI suspect who killed a kid in a car crash.  Sounds like a winner.

I was going to say they need to put extra patrols during these hours to just drive all around seeing what accidents they can prevent, since lately there seems to be an abundance of deaths or serious injuries, especially among young people during these hours. Then I saw one certain blogger’s remarks and it almost made me just not want to be a part of any blogging, in the event it appeared I belonged to it somehow. Good job, Arealteacher, defending this young man. The sad part is that it could be any family member of any one of us, and you never know when such a thing will happen. So, unidentified in my blog other blogger, you need to think more, and/or self-analyze before posting things that make you seem so heartless. I don’t hear any solution suggestions coming forth from you. Maybe your lawyer friends could help us come up with something to help save our youth, like recreation during normal hours that would let them have clean fun and make them tired enough to not be up at 2AM. So sad! I hope readers think about how easily this could happen in their lives and help others avoid such a fate.

 No, it could not be any family member of any one of us.  It will never be my family member.  We don’t ride ATVs.  We don’t ride any vehicles on the road that are illegal to drive on the road.  If we DO decide to ride a motorcycle, we WILL be wearing helmets and we WILL NOT be drinking and driving at 2:00am.

You want to know what my solution is?  USE FREAKING COMMON SENSE AND OBEY THE LAW.  If the kid did either he’d still be alive.  “Recreation during normal hours”?  My recreation during normal hours on a Tuesday is a job.  “You’ll never know when such a thing will happen?”  Yes, you do!  That is why there are laws against drinking and driving and laws against riding ATVs on streets.  People die from that, moron!

I have been trying not to respond to “idiots” on these blogs, but I have to ask: Where does it say he was drinking????? People assume too much.

You sound very harsh Crakalakin. I am surprised your comments have not been removed yet, You need to have a little compassion for the family. God is the only person that can judge this boy, You are the fool!!

James, a promising young man with a bright future ahead of him, had  recently graduated from LSU, on a scholarship,  with a degree in Political Science and was starting Law School in August. .   It is so sad that his life was ended at such a young age so tradgically as he had a great love for life and enjoyed every moment of it.  RIP  

A regular on the DEMOCRATS site who overloads their mouth on a regular basis. Yea, yea, yea you made points but sometimes you should remain silent… kinda like being in church. Get your @#! back on your little bluff and learn some manners!

I have read enough of your posts over the past couple months to know you are what my generation calls a TROLL. You get a thrill out of posting remarks no matter how hostile an uncaring just to see how much of the attention you can draw. Your remarks are based on miniscule facts and distorted to cause a reaction.

 Facts you have distorted in this case are 1. He was driving an ATV on a road and without a helmet. Point taken, but the road he was driving on is not a parish road and thus he could be driving on this gravel road on an ATV. Yes he should have had a helmet on, I agree, I however as a young person I randomly road my ATV without a helmet on occasion. This does not make it right but I can see the other side of the situation. 2. There has been no statement in this blurb that says he was drinking. You have posted over and over that he was intoxicated, were you there?

I as an ATV owner know of no law against driving an ATV a 2 am, and yes I have taken more than one safety course on ATV operation. These courses tell one what is legal and what is not legal.  Most ATV’s have headlights for driving after dark.

I believe you get a thrill out of causing people to get upset and in turn post remarks about your statements. I think the ND should review all users’ posts and delete posts of the TROLL nature. So to you I have only one more comment. “Go hide back under the bridge you crawled out from under!”

Im with you Fiddlesticks, Crakalakin’s remarks should be removed and I do not see how the ND has allowed them to stay this long. Every time this person posts they just show how much more of a fool they are.

We all make mistakes, and none of us follow the law 100% of the time.  How many times have you been speeding down the highway, drove a couple blocks without your seatbelt?  Please have compassion for the family of this young man.  Sometimes we should keep our comments to ourselves to spare the feelings of others.  My heart breaks for the family and friends and the community.  Praying for all!  For the record I have been on the family side of an article in the paper where a family member was killed due to a mistake he made, it doesn’t help to bash that person, nor does it help the family to heal.

I knew I should’ve refrained from engaging conversation here. I was beyond what you were saying. I know it was illegal, and I know this person didn’t use good sense when they did it. I was looking at the source…why? And who said he was drinking? Is it possible? Yeah. A fact? Don’t know. I have a job, too. Lots of people this age don’t have the skills or the guidance on that job thing. Most people do stupid things when they’re young. He should’ve worn a helmet, not been out at that hour, and especially not drinking and driving, assuming as you have that he was. I understand all that. I was just saying, “How do we diminish the possibility this will recur?” And I am not a moron. As my screen name implies, I try to see the other side…look beyond the obvious. Perhaps this time I have tried a little too hard to engage in logic with someone who does not want to look that far. You sound angry, and we all should be angry about such tragedies, but what does that accomplish without an attempt at a solution? It wouldn’t be 100% solution, but I guess what bothers me is the judgmental blanket opinion. Did you know this person? I didn’t. But there’s a certain human compassion that should occur…not only the anger. I don’t ride ATV’s either.

 Yes, I am a fool for advocating obedience of the law,  common sense safety measures and using this incident to point out that they exist for a reason.  Don’t follow them and you could easily be killed.

Likely the reason my comment has not been pulled is because there are PSAs all over every media that say the same thing I’m saying and use real incidents like this one as examples of what NOT to do.

Admittedly it is difficult for me to have compassion for someone who acted so incredibly recklessly.  Yes, I am angry.  I am angry that, despite all the information and historical evidence, despite all the laws, people still go out and engage in irresponsible and reckless behavior without so much the slightest regard for the safety of others, much less their own.  Stupidity resulting in death makes me angry, not compassionate.  If he had been sitting at a stop sign and gotten rear-ended, I would be more than compassionate.  If he had been stricken with an ailment or disease, I would be more than compassionate.  His death came as a result of reckless abandon and violation of laws meant to protect him and others. 

I knew when I posted my original comment I would catch flak for not being “compassionate”.  I’ve been around the block more than a few times and I know what me (when I was in my 20s) and most other 20-somethings are doing when they are up at 2:00 in the morning.  Drinking.  Maybe he wasn’t.  My money is on drinking, though.  I may be wrong but I doubt it.  One thing I am not is naive.

I never said he was intoxicated.  I stated that it was likely.  A young man is dead because he broke the law and violated numerous safety guidelines.  Those exist to save people’s lives.  Now, you can poo-poo me all you want.  I didn’t cause the kid’s death.  HE did.  I’m telling you how to prevent more.  This incident could have been easily, and I mean EASILY, avoided.

Please accept my apaoligies for not putting on blinders and ignoring the obvious in favor of some faux compassion for a irresponsible individual whose own reckless abandon of common sense and the rule of law killed him.  Yes, I understand, I should either shut up or be “compassionate”.  Meanwhile, the kid is dead and there is a reason for it.  You don’t like asking “why”.  I understand.  I do however, ask “why” and examine “why” in the hopes that pointing out “why” will save some other young person.  THIS is why we have laws.  THIS is why people should wear helmets.  THIS is why drinking and operating motor vehicles is dangerous and against the law, if indeed he was drinking.

Viewing this as some mundane, common accident is a disservice to the truth.  Viewing me as troll just makes it easy in your mind to discount the very real points I am making because they make you uncomfortable and don’t conform to YOUR idea of “compassion”.

Look, I watch EMTs clean up blood almost every day.  I see the results of this kind of irresponsible and reckless behavior almost every day.  It ruins lives, changes families forever and kills people.  Not just the actors but innocent people who were doing nothing but headed lawfully from point A to point B.  THOSE are the people for whom I show compassion, not the ones who foolishly and with complete disregard for human life kill themselves and others.   I WILL NOT remain silent to appease your delicate sensibilities. 

We all make mistakes. None of us obey the law 100% of the time.  How many times have we speed down the highway, or not worn our seatbelt to drive a couple of blocks.  Sometimes we have to keep our thoughts and comments to ourselves for the sake of others.  I have been on the family side reading posts on an article of a family member killed due to his “mistake”.  It doesn’t help to bash the victim and certainly doesn’t help the family to heal.  Praying for the family, friends and community.

I think you and I have different definitions of the word “victim”.  One cannot be both perpetrator and victim.

I do think of the family involved.  I sincerely feel for them but my comments are not directed at them.  My comments are for the next person who may engage in this behavior.  My comments are for the parents of that person.  I know this sounds harsh to people.  I am quite aware of that.  This is much bigger than people’s feelings, though.  This is about human life and the reckless disregard some people have for it that lead to its end.

Maybe I used the wrong word “victim”, my mind went blank.  Just hoping you would consider the family at this time.  There is a time and place to bring awareness and precautions to avoid such accidents in the future.  And trust me no one knows more than the parents and other family the importance of a helmet now, they don’t need to be reminded.  I understand your concerns and I agree, however I do not believe “this” is the time nor place for it.  Give the family some time and they will head up an awareness for it, they have lived the nightmare of losing a loved one.  

No you are a fool for calling a deceased young man a fool and being so inconsiderate of someones death. I am sure you are sooooo perfect in your day to day life. LOL

You should remain silent from here on out. Our delicate sensibilities are because someone has died and we have a heart unlike you.

Someone didn’t just “die”, simpleton, he killed himself via recklessness and law-breaking.  As I’ve stated before, I do have a heart but unlike some, I also have a brain that does its duty to offset the foolishness of the heart.  One does not think with his heart.  One does not reason with his heart.

Well, I take that back, some people do.  People who are incapable of using their brains, like you.

He was a fool and it cost him his life and broke his parents hearts.  Gripe at me all you want.  Accuse me of being hurtful all you want.  I’m not the one who killed him and hurt his parents, HE did. HE was responsible for this.

I’m not perfect but I am still breathing because, unlike some, I’m no fool.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! I am so glad I was able to waste my time reading your crappy comments today. Unlike you I have a life other than posting DAILY and arguing with strangers. Obviously your brain isn’t working spot on or you could use it and realize you have no life other than posting on this forum. This will be my last reply to you since I have a life and better things to do. I wish you well crakalakin in your miserable lonely life that I am certain you live.

You may not be able to fathom such but I am able to perform more than one task at a time. I have a wonderful family, a great career and lifelong friends who are like brothers to me. Loney? Hardly. I’m blessed.

Just because you cannot comprehend complex subject matter does not mean there is something wrong with me. Intellectually speaking, I’m using a computer and you count on your fingers. This is not new to me. I’ve had a lifetime of such interaction and am quite accustomed to concepts I put forth completely going over heads of folks like you. It’s neither your fault nor mine. Genetics are what they are.

Your so perfect, so intellectual…. so genectically perfect. You must be so proud of all your little post being that your ideas are so above everyone else. Makess you sooooo right about everything, yea, yea, yea… complex SUBJECT matter….LOL… GENETICS…. LOL even harder!

RIP young man…. Family members…. pray for your peace. This guy can put a sentence together and boast about his intelligence but not once has he ever grasp the ideas and thoughts of the others who posted with one simple request. Compassion. Oh thats right… it’s all about CRACKHEAD.

After reading all your comments, I understand now. Your job has great responsibility and is law-related probably. I understand the anger more. Yes, what gets so many people killed on motor vehicles of various sort is just plain not thinking. And worse, there are so many behind the wheel illegally to start with around here. Add to that prevalent alcoholism and drug abuse, and lack of other pastimes that would provide more fulfillment than the next alcoholic beverage or bar scene, and it’s a catastrophe waiting to happen every day. I understand. It is a “crying shame”! And I wish more people knew more of what to do to begin to deflate the general condition and save some lives. I believe in prayer. It will work. But people still make their own choices. God allows that. I believe we need to better educate our young people…ok, all people…on the responsibilites of life and how important their decisions and behaviors are.

No, this isn’t about me, no matter how much you and fiddlesticks try to make it about me.  You attack me, I defend myself and then you have the gall to say its all about me, Whaen you can’t debate the message, attack the messenger.  Typical of the intellectually challenged.

You know I said I wasn’t going to post again but you are making it very hard and you always have to have the last word. Well I can assure you I am not intellectually challenged. You my friend are the one that needs to use spell check. You are the one that thinks you are soooo much more intellectual than us and making it about yourself. If you have such a wonderful life then stay off the posts for more than one day. K, thanks!!

There is no since in arguing with Crakalakin anymore. He is ALWAYS right and we are ALWAYS going to be ignorant in his eyes. Makes me laugh so hard since he is the true FOOL here.  

I am the one “who” thinks I’m more intellectual than you, not the one “that” thinks I’m more intellectual than you.  I merely made a typo, you failed at grammar, if you wish to play that childish game.

Now, I’m going to explain this complex concept to you and CatTiger and return to the subject at hand.  You and the other posters here are not happy with the way I approached this subject.  You don’t seem to really disagree with what I said but more angry that I said it.  Allow me to put that in perspective for you.

When I go to work (not in Natchez) every day, I go to work with unsung heroes.  I go to work with life-savers.  Their primary purpose in showing up is to save lives.  Now, when these people get called out to go to a car crash resulting from some buffoon breaking the law or being reckless, they are committed to saving every life at the scene of that crash, the guilty as well as the innocent.  Often, multiple teams are required to handle the number of injured caused by said law-breaker.  That diverts very limited resources from other areas.  As those resources are tied up trying to save the lives of a grandma and a toddler who the law-breaker hit, the guy a half mile over is having a heart attack.  Because of the lawbreaker, All my resources nearby are tied up and I can’t get my other resources from the opposite side of the city to him in time and that team has to code him because they got there too late.  Meanwhile, grandma is never going to walk again and a little girl is dead.  All because of some idiot.  So, yeah, forgive me for not displaying the required amount of sympathy for people like that.

You want to talk about my life?  My job is as much my life as my family.  I do what I am.  In my life, if I screw up, people could die.  When my resources are tied up because of idiots, people DO die.  Good, innocent people.  This is real life kid.  You got all bent out of shape because my tone is to rough for your delicate eyes, well, I’m so sorry.  You’re damn right I’m smarter than you and you’d better thank your lucky stars for it.

Please accept my apologies for so flippantly referring to you as “moron”.  That was not only not appropriate but quite incorrect.  So, if you ever need any solid proof that I’m sometimes wrong, here it is.    You may be interested in my response to fiddlesticks.

Last word!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for the apology. My opinion of you just went up. But reading all the blogs on this site did narrow it down. Thank you for the referral to further comments to fiddlesticks. I was close, and thought about it more after my blog above. I understand a lot more now. Just a pointer that might save you lots of blogging time and frustration…don’t insult people personally, because like those insulting you here, it just slows down the intellectual aspect of the discussion, as they begin shooting from the hip. Insult the situation, call out the error in the thinking, shed a light from your own experience, and pray for our area and all those who don’t consider the lives of others as highly as their own immediate impulses. Thank you for adding an aspect to this conversation that wouldn’t have occurred. I didn’t care for how it started, but in the end, you enlightened some folks, I believe. ALL lives are valuable. We are all equal in God’s eyes…He loves us all the same. If everyone could see that, there’d be a lot less misery…and a lot more people using their brains in times that would save their lives and prevent a call to you and your brothers. Thank you for your service to the public, as unthankful as the public may sometimes seem, if each person in this area spoke their mind on that point, all would say, “Thank You!” Now, remember these bloggers are the mothers, sisters, fathers, brothers, and children of someone who cares, and most of them care enough to blog here. Sensitivity does have its benefits…hurt brings anger, and that happens from both sides. My point, and I believe the point of other bloggers here is that there are people hurting, and the fact the death was senseless and sudden makes it hurt more. Unfortunately, some people don’t think ahead or comply with the law as well as others. There are different reasons why. All loved ones hurt when death occurs, regardless of the cause. Show your heart more, crakalakin, and you’ll find your points better received initially. Again, thank you for your tireless efforts to save lives. It’s a shame there aren’t more of you.

Read it all and listen. You can figure it out. And you will understand the anger is mainly righteous indignation.