Mike Tang spent a night in jail and faces a year of parenting classes and picking up trash for his choice of discipline.
Mike Tang was charged with child endangerment for leaving his 8-year-old son in a grocery store parking lot a mile from home. It was supposed to be a life lesson.
"I just wanted to reinforce that money is hard to earn and that, if he doesn't do a good job at school, he could end up sleeping...[with] the homeless," says Tang, who lives in the Southern California suburb of Corona.
The incident took place after Mike caught Isaac cutting corners on his homework. At about 7:45 p.m., he drove him to the parking lot and drove away. About 10 minutes later, Tang's father came to pick him up.
But Isaac had already been picked up: He was in police custody. A stranger had spotted the boy and called the cops, who arrested Tang, and he spent the night in county jail. A jury later convicted him of child endangerment, and the judge sentenced him to parenting classes and a 56-day work release program picking up trash and doing other menial work.
Mike is refusing to serve the sentence, and there's an outstanding arrest warrant for his failure to comply. He scrawled a response on top of the warrant and mailed it back.
"Fuck you all!" Mike's written response begins. "Walking on a public sidewalk at 7:45 p.m. is not child endangerment."
Is Mike right, or did he jeopardize Isaac's safety? And was it appropriate for the police to intervene?
"It rises to the level of unusual. It rises to the level of, perhaps, controversial. But it was not literally dangerous. That's not a crime," says journalist and Reason contributor Lenore Skenazy, founder of the Free Range Kids movement.
Watch the full video above and decide for yourself.
Approximately 5 minutes. Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Camera by Weissmueller and Alex Manning. Music by Blue Dot Sessions.
#1: rlk To: Deckard (#0)
Good lesson. More kids today should be taught it.
rlk posted on 2017-04-21 20:34:11 Reply Private Reply
#2: Justified To: Deckard (#0)
Why do you insist on beating up cops for doing their job? Cops tend to ask the higher ups what they should do and sometimes even prosecutors get involved.
Justified posted on 2017-04-21 21:00:53 Reply Private Reply
#3: Deckard To: Justified (#2)
Back when Amerika wasn't a police state, a kid would have at worst gotten a ride home from the cops, who would have sided with the dad on his teaching a lesson to his son.
Deckard posted on 2017-04-21 21:09:51 Reply Private Reply
#4: Deckard To: rlk (#1)
Instead, the lesson that he learned is that children belong to the state, not their parents - a sentiment that is echoed here frequently.
Deckard posted on 2017-04-21 21:11:31 Reply Private Reply
#5: Gatlin To: Deckard (#0)
It was an excellent life lesson for the father . spending a night in jail, attending a year of parenting classes and picking up trash.
You dont leave a 8-year-old kid in a grocery store parking lot alone a mile from home this day and time just to teach him a lesson.
There are other reasonable ways and far safer methods for the kid to learn a life lesson.
If an 8-year-old girl can be kidnapped while walking alone through Walmart and murdered, then a 8-year-old boy can be kidnapped and murder while being left alone in a grocery story parking lot.
Watch the video .then try to get some fucking sense in your dump mind, asshole.
Surveillance video shows chilling moments before 8-year-old girl was kidnapped and murdered ..
Gatlin posted on 2017-04-21 21:13:52 Reply Private Reply
#6: Deckard To: Gatlin (#5)
Deckard posted on 2017-04-21 21:23:29 Reply Private Reply
#7: Gatlin To: Deckard (#6)
No, common sense for safety of your child.
The lesson that he learned could have been that his kid belonged in a grave from being left alone.It has happen before, I showed that to you.
I will show you where it happened again .not that it will mean anything to you, maybe it will to others.
This story means absolutely nothing to you, cop-hater .and moves you in no way at all, does it.?I repeat what I said earlier: You dont leave a kid alone in a grocery parking lot to teach him a life lesson .not in this day an time.
What is there about that you cannot understand?
Gatlin posted on 2017-04-21 21:35:26 Reply Private Reply
#8: Gatlin To: Deckard (#4)
Doncha think
I do.
Gatlin posted on 2017-04-21 21:40:55 Reply Private Reply
#9: Gatlin To: Deckard, Justified (#3)
And what I have learned is that you libertarians really dont care about either....anything goes, eh?
Here is tragic story of a 6-year-old boy left alone
You still dont give a shit do you .about the safety of a child left alone?Pathetic
Gatlin posted on 2017-04-21 22:09:13 Reply Private Reply
#10: Gatlin To: Deckard (#6)
5 Cents
No Charge.
Gatlin posted on 2017-04-21 22:14:04 Reply Private Reply
#11: sneakypete To: Deckard (#0)
Do you NOT understand that cities are overflowing with freaks that have no good judgement whatsoever,and the kind of potential dangers you were exposing your son to while trying to teach him a life lesson?
I could go along with it if the boy had been 12,but 8?
You are lucky your punishment was a hell of a lot harsher than it was,and you are also lucky that boy wasn't snatched up by a pervert in those few moments he was alone.
sneakypete posted on 2017-04-21 22:20:07 Reply Private Reply
#12: sneakypete To: rlk (#1)
Robert,I agree that more parents should take their parenting RESPONSIBILITIES a lot more serious than that do,but this ain't the world you and I grew up in. It's a hell of a lot more dangerous for helpless innocents.
sneakypete posted on 2017-04-21 22:22:26 Reply Private Reply
#13: sneakypete To: Deckard (#3)
Kinda hard to teach values to a child who has been abducted,raped,and murdered. Back when Amerika wasn't a police state, a kid would have at worst gotten a ride home from the cops, who would have sided with the dad on his teaching a lesson to his son.
That America no longer exists,and hasn't existed in 50+ years. 50+ years ago if someone abducted and raped/murdered a child,they knew they would be lucky if a mob didn't get them before the police,and that even if the police did arrest them that they would be found guilty and given the maximum sentences.
That was back before criminals had more rights that citizens,and there were no acceptable excuses for kidnapping,raping,and/or murdering a child.
sneakypete posted on 2017-04-21 22:23:33 Reply Private Reply
#14: Fred Mertz To: Deckard (#0)
Yes, Mike, fuck all of 'em. I agree with you.
Now the state is gonna teach you a lesson; you're fucked.
Fred Mertz posted on 2017-04-21 22:45:07 Reply Private Reply
#15: Tooconservative To: Deckard (#0)
They got two older kids who had been spoiled rotten and wouldn't get up for the school bus, refused to take any responsibility.
So they decided that the kids should walk to school instead. They lived about 6 miles out in a very rural area. The road was decently graveled with good visibility.
So after the kids laid in bed and missed the bus again, they rousted them and mad them start walking. They let them walk about a mile, following in the pickup about 50 feet behind to keep them safe.
Some busybody (or the kids themselves) whined to the child agency. They took the kids away and they were disqualified for foster care.
They said good riddance if that is the system. They didn't want that much grief and didn't need the money.
Tooconservative posted on 2017-04-21 23:49:15 Reply Private Reply
#16: rlk To: sneakypete (#12)
The point is well taken.
rlk posted on 2017-04-22 00:45:03 Reply Private Reply