midna25 said:
Really, this could have been anything. It could have been bad parenting, like DeMoN said, but my personal theory is that Brandon was a spoiled child, and his father finally wanted to step in about it. Brandon probably couldn't handle that, never having had something like that happen to him, so he ran away, and froze to death. That or he had mental issues and made an irrational and fatal decision as a result.
True but remember, Brandon was 15 and most 15 year old kids are already difficult to handle as is. It's possible that Brandon wasn't intentionally spoiled but just didn't know how to handle losing his xbox (which sadly, was probably the most important thing to him.)
When I was 15, I would've been angry if my parents took away my Sega Genesis or Commodore 64. I probably wouldn't have run away because that's the stupidest and most childish thing a kid can do but I'm sure I would've slammed my fair share of bedroom doors or not talk to my parents for awhile. I'm not saying this is what all 15 year old kids should do but it's most likely what they'll do. Most 15 year old kids are like that.
At 15, you're too young to be treated like an adult and too old to be treated like a baby. Being 15 was awkward for most of us and will continue to be awkward for future generations. If anything, it'll be even harder for future generations because they now have ipods, xboxes, ps3s, ds, internet, cellphones, etc. Kids are inadvertently spoiled nowadays.
I'm thinking Brandon wanted to have an important online gaming session that day (despite it being Canadian Thanksgiving) but the parents didn't want him to play games. They argued, the parents took away his xbox (which they were right to do) and he got so upset that he ran away. Sadly, running away cost him his life.
Who is to blame? Both the parents and son because both parties could've handled things differently but Brandon should be blamed more because he ran away. The parents should've explained things to him nicely and the son should've listened. I bet he even thought to himself "I hate my parents for taking away my xbox. I'll run away and that'll show them!" If Brandon wanted to get out of the house and not talk to his parents for awhile, fine. Go outside and cool off for a few hours on the front porch. He shouldn't have packed his stuff and run away. That solves nothing and doesn't help him or his parents.
