A popular prank circulating on TikTok is “ding-dong-ditch” where a group of young people violently bang or kick someone’s door late at night and then “ditch” or run. On May 3 three high schoolers here in Fredericksburg Va. were participating in such a prank. One homeowner assumed, as in this case, an attempted break in and also took measures to defend his family and property. As the youths were running away he fired, striking an 18 year old graduating senior in the back killing him and seriously injuring a second youth. A wasted life, a family shattered, and the homeowner charged with murder.
You’re absolutely right — no one should ever feel unsafe in their own home. Being startled awake by violent banging at your door late at night is no joke, and it’s a stark reminder that danger can come without warning. That’s why I’m thankful for the right to protect ourselves, our families, and our property. In a moment like that, you don’t get a second chance to call for help before you act — you have to be prepared. Our homes should be a place of peace, not fear, and the ability to defend them is a right worth safeguarding.
Kathy, your countdown to the “end of the Trump Circus” sounds more like a preview for the greatest show on earth. It’s refreshing to finally have a team that knows how to work without a net. It sure beats the stale, grey bureaucrats who’ve been shuffling paper for decades and calling it “public service while literally being asleep at the wheel. With all the juggling, tightrope acts, and cannon shots you describe, why wouldn’t we want an encore? Forget 1,258 days, keep counting, Kathy—just remember, the circus doesn’t end when you think it does. Sometimes, the ringleader just announces a second show.
I can’t help but wonder how many young people heard this advice as a life lesson: cheating is fine if the other side cheats first. What does that teach about character? About fairness? About playing by the rules even when it’s hard?
Sports are supposed to instill integrity, teamwork, and resilience. When we replace those values with “win at any cost,” we risk raising a generation who believe that bending or breaking the rules is acceptable if it gets them ahead. And I wonder — how many of those players, years later, carried that lesson into other parts of their lives? How many crossed ethical lines in business, relationships, or even the law, because they’d been told that it’s okay to do wrong if you feel wronged?
A society that embraces “two wrongs make a right” doesn’t become more just — it just becomes more wrong.
It’s pretty clear that David completely missed the point. The comment about building a stadium—just like the tongue-in-cheek suggestion of suing Newtowners for “being stupid”—was obviously satire. If Dave took the stadium idea literally, maybe the “stupid” comments struck a little closer to home than he’s willing to admit. Sometimes satire isn’t meant to be taken at face value—but then again, if you have to explain the joke, maybe that’s part of the problem.
