This will get me branded as a loon...
In the case of someone like these clowns, there is no reforming them. They've gone down a path from which there really is no return. Their patterns of behavior have been established, and there's no way out of that.

An unrelated but relevant example:

Most people, especially in here, have had childhoods marked by squabbles with siblings. We can all tell tales of how horrid our siblings were, and how our parents didn't do anything about it or reacted wrongly or some such. And yet when we've grown up and moved out on our own, our interactions with our siblings and parents change- the petty shit that drove us insane as kids is behind us, right?

That is, until you all get together at your parents' house for an extended time. Then the old behavior patterns start emerging again, the teasing and such starts anew, and you remember exactly why you hated them in the first place.

It's because the behavior patterns have been established. Your role in regards to your siblings and parents is etched into you, and fight it as you may it will come back. The old family dynamic will return in full force.

Now: take these kids, put them back in society after they've been well educated in how things should really work as opposed to the dysfunctional way they've lived to this point. Maybe for a while they'll be okay- but once they meet up with their old friends and their families, how long will it be before they go right back to their old ways?

Not all of them do this, of course- but it's the way to bet.

Death by exsanguination. Donate the blood to the hospitals, harvest the organs, then cremate the rest. That's the best way for them to repay their debt.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Wed 29 Oct 2008, 13:06, Reply)