The new generation.....

This is on a personal level.  I had left for work (overtime YAY) and my son called me while I was leaving subway with dinner.( I wish they had frequent flier cards as often as I eat there..but I digress).  My son called me and told me that " a kid tore down my basketball goal."  I replied " What?!"  the back story is as follows.  My son has a basketball goal and we have it in the cul-de-sac becauee my driveway is on a hill and he would spend more time chasing the ball down the hill than practicing his basketball shooting skills.  I had already repaired it because friend of the neighbor's kid tried to do his favorite Michael Jordan impression by swinging off the rim and tore it off the backboard.   Then to compound it, the other kid threw the hoop into the  other neighbors yard pissing him off.  Well I finally fixed it reluctantly after the wife and son both asked me to do it.  Well I used some sheetmetal to the backboard to brace it and reattached the basketball loop.  I also did some composite repairs and painted it so it looked good.  Well another friend of the same neighbor kid busted it again.  This time the wife was home and she went over to talk to the parents of the kid that broke it( this time).

   The parents of the kid blew her off and acted like him breaking the goal was no big deal and they are not concerned in the least that their kid busted property.    They also used an ugly word to my wife to describe her attitude.  "You don't have to be a b***h about it".   When my wife told me, I was livid.  I wanted to turn around and head home and show how how much of an asshole somebody can be.  But I had to go to work.(dang responsibility anyway.)  I told her to please call the police, I wanted a police report.  She didn't want to pursue it.  I wanted the report because I could take them to small claims court and have them poney up the money to replace my sons goal.  What also disturbed me was the totally cavalier attitude these people had.  Like nothing was their fault and their problem. 
     Am I old fashioned....?   I remembered being told since I was little to "respect other peoples stuff" by my Dad.  If my son had broken something, I would have worked out an arrangement with the owners to "make it right".  Until my son is 18 or emancipated by the law, I am responsible for what he does or breaks.  This attitude is foreign to the new generation....they have no care and have a big entitlement mentality.   What went wrong with this country?   Where did we deviate from the "being responsible" to being a "sorry piece of crap?"   I just don't know how to make of it.

I gotta decide if I am going to repair it....or just call it a day on it.  But it penalizes my son, who likes to shoot basketball and all it does is hurt him.  With my overtime schedule running...If I fix it...it will not be anytime soon.   I have to remove some of the plastic in the back, and insert more sheet metal to brace it and it isn't an easy fix.  The little bastard really did a number on it.   If I fix it, where would I put it?  If I put it in the cul-de-sac, it probably will get busted...again.  I can't use my driveway because of the slope.