Sticking with the blade laws, I did spent a meal discussing the kid's habits with his relative. She was somewhat familiar with the issues at hand, she herself carries a keychain tool and she does like playing with some of my EDCs for the novelty of it. She assumed the Bowie simply had to be illegal, but was unaware of the classification of the double edged throwers. I didn't bother with the 4' folder, I understand that's the one he actually uses for cutting tasks. She said she'll pass it on to the family the next time she heads out there, but it looks like this may be a dead end. She never mentioned it until I opened it up, but obviously some conflicts of opinions on the boy have led to family tensions. Two smiling, clueless, notably naive parents. If they don't listen, get some one he'd take seriously to mention it to him, it's up to the rest of the family.
As he kept remind us himself, the kid actually is a bit of a star academically and has some major scholarships. His parents, meanwhile, are extremely limited intellectually, as in they have the intellect to pay the rent but not much else. Yet, follow an oddly hands-off, yet eerily encouraging attitude. My relative assures me, "They'd be glad he has those things, they think he's superhuman." On one hand, his personality is extremely abrasive if not predatory...but the kid has nearly a full ride scholarship at a private upstate academy. Friends, emotional stability, and compassion for others...Not present. My friend filled me in on a couple incidents, thankfully excluding knives, that illustrated that this kid's temper has indeed resulted in violence. Nothing on the street or in the police blotters, but normal teenage situations which resulted in sudden, unwarranted rage. I won't disclose anything, this forum doesn't need more stress with these customs issues, but I'll say this much: It's not just knives. It's his car, his relationships, his academics, and his self esteem. These stories honestly scared me a bit, especially a twist at the end about his career goals. ROTC scholarship, full ride, will serve as an officer. In the other window, I'm looking up military psych tests.
In closing, my friend will pass on details of the law to the family if she sees them. The plan is when they mention him, suddenly get a lightbulb idea about something she heard the other day that reminded her of the son. How far will it get? Doubtful, but she will pass this on to some family elders who may get a role model to intervene. I'm just a friend from work she brought out to stay sane at a family event, whom happens to appreciate lawfully used tools. The rest of this...I appreciate banter, this is one of the most intelligent and well-rounded sites I've been on, but you gentlemen really don't want to know the extent of these problems. I'm seeing why my friend didn't want to talk about it, a lot of people let this happen over a long period of time.
