Commentary on today’s news and opinion, from readers and newsmakers.
Middle-school-aged victims gave The Journal News an exclusive interview detailing a gang sex attack they say involved four boys from Chestnut Ridge Middle School. LoHud.com readers reacted strongly to the interview:
“I worked in Chestnut Ridge for a while, and unfortunately this does not surprise me at all. We’re not talking about a community where every kid can come home to a nice safe set of adults. As the girl describes in her interview, for her own protection, the protection of her schoolmates, and protection against other kids she couldn’t come right out and let her folks or the police know what was going on.”
— Chloe Veredy
“Why were these girls allowed to give this interview? What are the parents thinking? This article is the equivalent of a Facebook post. There are still more questions than answers and this case needs to be tried in the courts, not on Facebook or the papers. … All involved deserve privacy until the case is heard. These kids are so young, they don’t understand the implications going forward.”
— Peggy Hatton
This Saturday, the Rockland Boulders baseball team will change their name for a day to the “Bergen Boulders” in an effort to get Bergen County residents to come and spend money in Rockland County. LoHud.com readers were less than enthused by this unusual business strategy:
“This has to be one of the stupidest things I have ever heard. You don’t change a name for a day. Names are not something you toy with. If this team and ballpark want to attract more people from Bergen County, there has got to be a less frivolous way to do it.”
— Wendy Mierbeth
What are you talking about today? Leave your answer in the comments below.