Law enforcement veteran discusses the recent arrest of Ashley Pardo, and why it should provide a big lesson in how to raise your children
How parents handle their children as they grow up leaves a big reflection on them. It really does.
I’ve seen parents that have taken great care of their kids. Having the right level of discipline, but also showing love and guidance and needed. They’ve since gone on to become great adults, who will no doubt take care of their children as well.
But I’ve also seen examples of bad parenting. Horrible parenting, in fact. Adults who let their kids “run wild” without even a hint of interaction. Who let their kids play along on their tablets as a way to “shut them up” while keeping discussions with them to a minimum. They set the worst kind of
example and, sadly, it reflects on them later in life.
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With that, I’m still trying to wrap my head around what Ashley Pardo was thinking.
This 33-year old woman was arrested this week in San Antonio and charged with aiding in the commission of terrorism. And what was her crime? She provided rifle and pistol magazines “loaded with live ammunition” to her son as payment for babysitting her younger siblings.
What’s worse, Pardo actually knew about her son’s violent nature. But instead of doing something about it, she guided it further by providing him ammunition that could’ve been used in some sort of domestic terror attack.
That’s right, she “intentionally and knowingly aided” her son in what he was planning.
“The Defendant expressed to the school her support of (her son’s) violent expressions and drawings and does not feel concerned for his behavior,” the affidavit noted.
What’s worse, her child actually looked ready to carry out an attack. He had gone to school on May 12th – one day after his mother’s arrest – “wearing a mask, camouflage jacket and tactical pants,” but left without hurting anyone. Still, the school took it as a warning sign, hiring extra security and calling in police officers to assure he wouldn’t do any harm. (Fortunately, he was detained safely later on and charged.)
I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if that boy carried out his attack and hurt anyone. I seriously can’t. It’s already bad enough that this deranged young man could’ve potentially shot or even killed someone at a school, after all the active shooter events that we’ve seen. But what’s worse, his mother supported him.
I am thankful, however, that the grandmother did something. She actually walked in and found this live ammunition in plain sight, and called the police on the matter immediately. She understood responsibility, at a time when it was clearly forgotten by the others in the house.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this instance either. A father was indicted alongside his child on several counts at the Apalachee High School killings last year.
What happened to good parenting? What happened to wanting to take care of your kid and teaching them to do better in this world?
There’s a lot that can be factored in here. Maybe the mother was just tired and trying to reconnect to her son. Maybe she just felt that was the only way to talk to him. But, dear God, Pardo, that isn’t the way.
This would’ve been a key opportunity to sit down with the child and talk with them. Discuss why they have such violent tendencies. Did something happen at the school? Were they bullied? What’s frustrating them so much?
Sigh.
It’s one thing to support your child if they want to set out on an ambitious goal, or even try something new, like joining the school band or something along those lines. But to support their violent tendencies to hurt others?
Let this serve as a reminder. Our actions shape our children. They truly do. Especially at a young age. They observe a lot more than you think, and what we do reflects on them. If we do hateful things, they too will grow up to do hateful things. If we teach them the right way of life, they’ll follow that path.
Will they be perfect at it? Of course not. Children make mistakes and that’s a part of life. But with the right level of love and respect, we can make them into something greater into this world.
Here’s hoping Pardo learns that lesson. If not, well, I hope they find someone better to care for her children. They deserve better.
