*facepalms*

[kyburg]

SNARK_MODE=ON

RENO, Nev. - A couple who authorities say were so obsessed with the Internet and video games that they left their babies starving and suffering other health problems have pleaded guilty to child neglect.

..

Michael Straw, 25, and Iana Straw, 23, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts each of child neglect. Each faces a maximum 12-year prison sentence.

Viloria said the Reno couple were too distracted by online video games, mainly the fantasy role-playing "Dungeons & Dragons" series, to give their children proper care.

"They had food; they just chose not to give it to their kids because they were too busy playing video games," Viloria told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Police said hospital staff had to shave the head of the girl because her hair was matted with cat urine. The 10-pound girl also had a mouth infection, dry skin and severe dehydration.

Her brother had to be treated for starvation and a genital infection. His lack of muscle development caused him difficulty in walking, investigators said.

I had to bold part of that. They don't mention the pet(s) in the story.

Okay, you read that. Here. Have some schaudenfreude:

[Poll #1022545]

No, they don't have an LJ. but she certainly has something at MySpace. Oh look. Four cats. Wow.

Each of them needs a one-way ticket at least five hundred miles outside the country - and no way back unless they find a job and work their way back home. In opposite directions. I don't see an internet problem as much as a couple of children who missed the part about growing up.

And gee thanks, for taking two innocent kids (and the four cats) with you.

Comments

[n6vfp.livejournal.com]

Those 'parents' need to be spayed and neutered without anestesia.....

[sun-berry.livejournal.com]

agreed

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Each of them needs a one-way ticket at least five hundred miles outside the country - and no way back unless they find a job and work their way back home. In opposite directions.

I'm thinking East and West are the appropriate directions, myself.

[trillsie.livejournal.com]

I was thinking more along the lines of north and south, as in the poles. Without protective gear. Well, I'm not that cruel. I'd let them have a light jacket and perhaps a blanket.

[deyo.livejournal.com]

Her MySpace page is a study in irony.

"What's Wrong With Our Kids?

Do you really have to ask? Open your eyes. The problem isn't that the next mass murderer may be sitting right next to you, sleeping in your house, eating at your table, giving you every signal of desperation a person can give. The problem is, you don't want to see it. How else does a child become an emotionally alienated, psychologically twisted, mass murderer, unnoticed by everyone?

They don't.

Nobody gets that far gone without anyone noticing."

[feyandstrange.livejournal.com]

She meant the kids she plays D&D online with, not *her* kids.

Amen to that - between that and the "taking the male cat in to get snipped so he can't get the female preggers *any more*", she's the picture of responsibility.

[miwasatoshi.livejournal.com]

They should be put in a dungeon. A REAL one.

[turandot.livejournal.com]

Definitely a case of thinking you can be Peter Pan for the rest of your life. I know you have more reasons to be angered by this, but it makes me angry too: I wish I could have kids and be half as callous as they were towards them. Instead I have one cat that is pampered more than probably all their children and cats combined, and I sit up at night worrying that I'm in my 30s and still years away from being financially ready for a child (also, kinda of depressed that I'll have to work for a living, and therefore leave everyday care of them to others).

[musicalchaos.livejournal.com]

And in the mean time, people like me are now left with the "joy" of defending Video Games and Dungeons & Dragons (again). Yeaaaah, fun. I don't envy any of my friends in the South right now, they're probably having hell with this story.

In regards to the situation itself, I've never understood people who become so wrapped up that they utterly abandon their responsibilities. If you're stuck at a point and are a minute or two getting out the door? Okay, I can see that. Not feeding or caring for your kids or pets? Um, they need to grow up. Seriously. That actually brings to mind one of my biggest arguments AGAINST MMOs and far too many other games these days. They don't have an instant save function or capability (yes, I know the difficulty in putting something like that into an MMO, but there are other ways to achieve the same effect). It wouldn't have to be anything snazzy, just a bookmark of sorts so that when you came back, the data would be erased and you could continue on from where you were without losing anything, and without having any unfair benefits (like those who save every five f'n seconds through a mission). Hell, if they can do it for a bloody Game boy COLOR game (Dragon Warrior III), they should be able to find a way for these other things.

[dracowayfarer.livejournal.com]

And in the mean time, people like me are now left with the "joy" of defending Video Games and Dungeons & Dragons (again).

My first thought exactly.

[violet-tigress1.livejournal.com]

Myspace? Figures.

[sun-berry.livejournal.com]

I can't get into a RPG because my mom told me we were part elf at an early age.. I don't see it as RP