July 11, 2010

I suppose this is the first time in a long time you have been disappointed in your son, Colton Harris-Moore. His capture in the Bahamas went directly against what you had told him to do: evade authorities and find a place that had no extradition treaty with the United States. Maybe he didn’t know the meaning of the word since he lacked so much formal education.

He’s obviously a bright young man,although how much of that we can lay at your door is questionable. You certainly don’t seem to have encouraged him to pursue anything but a continued life of crime, making communities so angry that many armed themselves and probably would have been happy to shoot your son if they’d come in contact with him. Two years ago, he probably would have been given probation and still have had a chance at making something of his life. He could have been someone who gave Bill Gates a run for his money, been the next Albert Schweitzer (do either of you know who that is?), or used his love of animals to become a vet. Instead, by stealing other people’s planes — and crashing them — by taking their cars and boats, by breaking into their homes and businesses and taking what they worked so hard for, he went from being a petty criminal to being someone who will have to answer to local, state, national, and international authorities.

And you? You seem to be more interested in whether you can make a buck off your kid than whether he’ll spend time in prison. I guess that makes sense: the only thing you taught this young man was that it’s okay to do what you want and take what you want as long as you don’t get caught and do it in a manner creative enough that someone can write a book about it. I only hope that your tacit support of him means that you will be under the same Son of Sam restrictions as he is and will not be allowed to profit from his crimes.

Lastly, I note that you have a sign on your property that says not to trespass or risk being shot. How come your property is so sacred when you and your child obviously don’t think any one else’s is?

Good luck to you and your kid. You’ll both need it.