What a thin line there is between “civilized” human behavior and the behavior of animals. And how easily that line is erased with the over consumption of alcohol which can result in despicable mob behavior.  I’m referring to the uncivilized, irresponsible, insensitive action at a teenage party of two and a half years ago.  

Especially troubling as I see it is that responsibility for the occurrence has been directed at the two Resetarits brothers. It seems to me that there is a far wider circle of people who share that responsibility.

What about:

• The parent in whose home the party took place.

• The other kids at the party who participated in, egged on, watched, or stood by doing nothing as the uncivilized, insensitive, brutal action occurred. 

• Other parents who didn’t know what their teen-ager was doing that evening.

I appreciate the reporting of the two local weeklies for their recent more in-depth reporting of the above incident. (Contrasted to reporting over the two-year period of legal proceedings.) 

However, in my opinion, it is unfortunate that they both had to stick to what was “proven” in court and that they couldn’t mention evidence that initially was widely distributed via the Internet, but then eliminated.

 It’s regretful that this had to wait until a court case was completed. In the meantime, over a two-and-a-half-year period, the names of only two individuals were made to appear responsible for the whole thing.

Two parting thoughts I have.

Should names of “underage” youth be publicly given such as in newspaper reporting? At present they legally must be withheld, which resulted in the two Resetarits brothers, whose names could legally be mentioned, appearing to bear exclusive responsibility for the uncivilized behavior that occurred.  

If youth are old enough to be where unsupervised drinking occurs and to directly or indirectly participate in that behavior, maybe they are old enough to have their names publicly exposed. Does our judicial system need adjustment?

The other thought: “Bullying” is currently being more widely recognized and addressed as a public problem.  The above is a classic example of bullying in its most base form. 

I mentioned “the behavior of animals.” Come to think of it, do many animals stoop so low?   

Beth Cumming is a longtime Homer resident.