Played a lot of stickball and street hockey, had fun summer vacations with my friends and siblings and parents, worked a bunch of different jobs, did well in school and never really developed a taste for trespassing on other people's property or mouthing off to grownups.
"Kids are kids" is not only a meaningless tautology but it isn't even an argument. I remember years back when I was working as a doorman to put myself through college, and one of my coworkers' teenage sons was arrested for breaking into some cars and stealing radios.
His response was "what a headache, but kids are going to be kids" and most of my coworkers nodded in agreement. No wonder they had no dreams for their kids with that attitude.
Smashing into people's cars isn't acceptable, trespassing on someone's property and then mouthing off at them when they object isn't acceptable and "kids are kids" is the worst copout I've ever heard.
My dad worked hard to teach us to be honest, hardworking individuals. Mouthing off to someone after you trespassed on their property is something my dad would never have stood for.
Oh my dad would have scared the living daylights out of them.
I guess that's my point: if this kid was so BAD, why is this guy wringing his hands?
It doesn't sound like to me this kid was being a smart mouth. He answered all the questions asked. (now granted I am not able to judge his tone). A kid being a smart mouth wouldn't have answered. And as far as his answer to do you live here, I don't think his first answer was an out ant out lie. He lived in the neighborhood so he lived there from a kids prespective.
Becky