DES MOINES, Iowa -
Jane Hambleton has dubbed herself the "meanest mom on the planet."
After finding alcohol in her son's car, she decided to sell the car and share her 19-year-old's misdeed with everyone _ by placing an ad in the local newspaper.
The ad reads: "OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet."
Hambleton has heard from people besides interested buyers since recently placing the ad in The Des Moines Register.
The 48-year-old from Fort Dodge says she has fielded more than 70 telephone calls from emergency room technicians, nurses, school counselors and even a Georgia man who wanted to congratulate her.
"The ad cost a fortune, but you know what? I'm telling people what happened here," Hambleton says. "I'm not just gonna put the car for resale when there's nothing wrong with it, except the driver made a dumb decision.
"It's overwhelming the number of calls I've gotten from people saying 'Thank you, it's nice to see a responsible parent.' So far there are no calls from anyone saying, 'You're really strict. You're real overboard, lady.'"
The only critic is her son, who Hambleton says is "very, very unhappy" with the ad and claims the alcohol was left by a passenger.
Hambleton believes her son but has decided mercy isn't the best policy in this case. She says she set two rules when she bought the car at Thanksgiving: No booze, and always keep it locked.
The car has been sold, but Hambleton says she will continue the ad for another week _ just for the feedback.
Stories like this make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. We need more parents like Jane Hambleton.
Assuming that it was still her car, she has every legal right to do so, but she seems rather petty if she'd remove her permission for him to use her car and publicly embarrass him, just because someone else had an unopened bottle of alcohol in the vehicle. I know that I wouldn't have expected a "no booze" rule to be so strict.
I have a feeling that the 'meanest mom' and 'snoopy mom who needs to get a life' might have been snippets of the son's reasoned counter-argument, and the reason why this went to publich shaming instead of simple punishment.
Translation: Don't mouth off AFTER you fuck up.
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alexholker wrote:Assuming that it was still her car, she has every legal right to do so, but she seems rather petty
article wrote:She says she set two rules when she bought the car
The article should say whiny teen bitches when mom sells her car.
if she'd remove her permission for him to use her car and publicly embarrass him, just because someone else had an unopened bottle of alcohol in the vehicle. I know that I wouldn't have expected a "no booze" rule to be so strict.
Why? You expect a reasonable parent to let a kid keep a car when either he/she lies about drinking in it or does not moderate what comes into his/her car? This just stinks of teenage self-entitlement to me. He didn't own the car, didn't pay for it, and didn't follow the rules set forth for him to use the car.
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But as far as board culture in general, I do think that young male overaggression is a contributing factor to the general atmosphere of hostility. It's not SOS and the Mess throwing hand grenades all over the forum- Red
Knife wrote:Why? You expect a reasonable parent to let a kid keep a car when either he/she lies about drinking in it or does not moderate what comes into his/her car? This just stinks of teenage self-entitlement to me. He didn't own the car, didn't pay for it, and didn't follow the rules set forth for him to use the car.
My point is that her rule was poorly defined and went beyond what was neccessary to protect the car or her kid. Hence, as I said, if I had been in her son's place, I would not have assumed that the presence of an unopened bottle of alcohol would have broken her rules.
alexholker wrote:
My point is that her rule was poorly defined and went beyond what was neccessary to protect the car or her kid. Hence, as I said, if I had been in her son's place, I would not have assumed that the presence of an unopened bottle of alcohol would have broken her rules.
How the Hell can you find "No Booze" "poorly defined"?
And went beyond? I know you're in Australia and you may have a...different view on drinking and driving, but here in the States half the traffic deaths are directly caused by alcohol-related accidents. And since she is apparently the owner, she would have been legally responsive when the punk got in trouble drinking and driving. It is well within the scope of a reasonable rule.
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Knife wrote:Why? You expect a reasonable parent to let a kid keep a car when either he/she lies about drinking in it or does not moderate what comes into his/her car? This just stinks of teenage self-entitlement to me. He didn't own the car, didn't pay for it, and didn't follow the rules set forth for him to use the car.
My point is that her rule was poorly defined and went beyond what was necessary to protect the car or her kid. Hence, as I said, if I had been in her son's place, I would not have assumed that the presence of an unopened bottle of alcohol would have broken her rules.
Would you leave an open can or bottle of alcohol in a car hiding under the seat of a car? You sure as hell can't hide a bottle under there open because you'd have to put it down sideways and it'd fucking spill out. Most likely same for a can. There isn't a whole lot of fucking room down there.
Don't be an idiot.
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alexholker wrote:
My point is that her rule was poorly defined and went beyond what was neccessary to protect the car or her kid. Hence, as I said, if I had been in her son's place, I would not have assumed that the presence of an unopened bottle of alcohol would have broken her rules.
If nobody else but him drove the car where the fuck else did the booze come from? The fact that he's not old enough to buy it himself is a pretty huge mark against him either way. I'd love to hear any legitimate explanation for it being there that doesn't involve a lot of handwringing.
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Terralthra wrote:Does it say anywhere in the article that the bottle of alcohol was unopened?
It doesn't say either way. But what does it matter? She said no alcohol, probably because she knows that teens with booze in a car will lead to a fucking disaster.
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Ghetto edit: Yay, for my brain working slowly again.
It shouldn't matter if there were empty (=opened) or full bottles of beer. It's still a matter-of-fact presence of alcohol.
I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season."
I don't kow if the laws vary state-to-state, but in California any container of alcohol, opened or unopened, that isn't locked in the trunk can result in severe fines and penalties for the driver of the car AND the owner.
Booze in teen driver's car = illegal.
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Terralthra wrote:Does it say anywhere in the article that the bottle of alcohol was unopened?
It doesn't say either way. But what does it matter? She said no alcohol, probably because she knows that teens with booze in a car will lead to a fucking disaster.
I actually agree with that, I was questioning because the earlier poster saying:
Assuming that it was still her car, she has every legal right to do so, but she seems rather petty if she'd remove her permission for him to use her car and publicly embarrass him, just because someone else had an unopened bottle of alcohol in the vehicle. I know that I wouldn't have expected a "no booze" rule to be so strict.
I mean, there's no evidence it was unopened at all.
alexholker wrote:My point is that her rule was poorly defined and went beyond what was neccessary to protect the car or her kid. Hence, as I said, if I had been in her son's place, I would not have assumed that the presence of an unopened bottle of alcohol would have broken her rules.
Eff you, asshead. a 16 year old has no business associating with underage or even OF age drinkers in the first place. and Oh-By-The-Way, when I was 16, i'd have said the shit belonged to someone else, too.
Fuck this kid, Fuck that car, goodbye. No booze means no booze period. My mom told me when she handed me the keys to my 1976 hand-me-down Pontiac, "drive like Jesus Christ is in the seat next to you." guess what? I knew that meant "Don't have booze in the car, keep it locked, buckle your seat belt, obey the speed limit" on pain of having to walk.
Much too often, parents might let it slide. But she warned him, he fucked up and now he pays the price. Next time he might be more responsible, whether the alcohol belonged to him or someone else who left it in the car. The lesson is clear: No drinking until you are legal. Don't like it? Fine, don't like it, but you can wait a few years.
If my parents found a bottle of booze in the car when I was a teen, not only would I be out a car, I'd very likely be out of a place to live. Kid got off light if you ask me.
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Chardok wrote:
Eff you, asshead. a 16 year old has no business associating with underage or even OF age drinkers in the first place. and Oh-By-The-Way, when I was 16, i'd have said the shit belonged to someone else, too.
Fuck this kid, Fuck that car, goodbye. No booze means no booze period. My mom told me when she handed me the keys to my 1976 hand-me-down Pontiac, "drive like Jesus Christ is in the seat next to you." guess what? I knew that meant "Don't have booze in the car, keep it locked, buckle your seat belt, obey the speed limit" on pain of having to walk.
Chardok to be fair the article in the OP has the kids age at 19, not 16. But your point is still valid, because the mother was apparently still the legal owner of the car.
Alexholker I don't know if this was part of your thought process or not, or if you are aware but in the U.S. (unlike Australia) age 19 is still too young to buy alcohol here. So regardless the parents rules this is pretty light considering what would have happen if the police got hold of him, especially since its a cheap car to begin with.
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CaptainChewbacca wrote:I have a feeling that the 'meanest mom' and 'snoopy mom who needs to get a life' might have been snippets of the son's reasoned counter-argument, and the reason why this went to publich shaming instead of simple punishment.
Translation: Don't mouth off AFTER you fuck up.
Oh man I can imagine it going like this.
Mom: "What are you doing with booze in your car? I fucking told you no booze."
Kid: "What the fuck are you snooping in my car for?"
Mom: "Answer the question."
Kid: "Get a life."
Mom: "Who put you up to this? Shawn?"
Kid: "At least his parents aren't mean. They love him."
At first after reading this I thought, "the kid's 19, who cares if he has alcohol the mum sounds like a complete nutter." Then I put two and two together booze + car = completely justified. It's hard to believe any parent would be stupid enough not to do something drastic about drinking and driving from their kids.
CaptainChewbacca wrote:Drive safe, be home on time or call us if you can't, no friends over after midnight, no women behind closed doors.
Not to digress too much, but my fiancée's family had the same rule regarding the opposite sex behind closed doors. Most of them got the point; her younger sister (while in high school), on the other hand, decided that the best way to not break the rule was to give a guy a blowjob with the door open. Of course, she was caught in the act.
Teebs wrote:At first after reading this I thought, "the kid's 19, who cares if he has alcohol the mum sounds like a complete nutter." Then I put two and two together booze + car = completely justified. It's hard to believe any parent would be stupid enough not to do something drastic about drinking and driving from their kids.
Even without the drinking and driving point, 19 is still too young to legally drink.
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"everytime a person is born the Earth weighs just a little more."--DMJ on StarTrek.com
"You see now you are using your thinking and that is not a good thing!" DMJay on StarTrek.com
"Watching Sarli argue with Vympel, Stas, Schatten and the others is as bizarre as the idea of the 40-year-old Virgin telling Hugh Hefner that Hef knows nothing about pussy, and that he is the expert."--Elfdart
