The parents of 9-year-old Mubashar Ali of Pakistan are being accused of neglect for sitting in the next room while their son hung himself in a re-enactment of Saddam Hussein’s execution. The video of the former dictator dangling from the rafters has reportedly been airing on Pakistani TV all weekend. Ali, motivated by God knows what, decided to enlist his sister in an attempt to re-create the historic act. Sadly, no one was around to tell him how stupid this was; the boy died before his parents could reach him.
It’s unclear from the article whether the authorities will bring any charges against mom and dad, or if they’re going to be content with verbally abusing them.
I’m up in the air about this one. Should parents always be held liable for the stupid and negligent actions of their kids? I did any number of dumb-ass things as a kid that might have resulted in my death, with my parents nowhere in sight. Without knowing more about this tragic case, it’s impossible to say whether the parents were truly “negligent”. It seems to me that, if anyone’s to blame, it’s Pakistani television networks for littering the airwaves with execution footage.
