Only a white kid could walk around stealing people's shit and get romanticized for it. They call him a teenager. If a black 12 year old pulled these stunts not only would he not be called a teenager, he'd get tried as an adult.posted by Jasper Friendly Bear at 7:35 AM on July 11, 2010 [64 favorites]
This is a fascinating real time display of white priviledge.
"Pam Kohler, the mother of international outlaw Colton Harris-Moore, has no intention of letting anyone make a dime off her famously fugitive son without her say in it....Kohler has publicly urged him to keep running from the law and find a country that won't extradite."posted by ericb at 9:03 AM on July 11, 2010
"'Colt is highly intelligent,' his mother, Pam Kohler, said. 'He's just living his life. He's not hurting anybody really, physically, I mean. I think it's kind of neat.' ... 'I think [the plane thefts are] pretty gutsy,' Kohler said. 'He just needs to work on his landings. I've also said he should take a parachute.' ... 'It's gone on so long that I pray it keeps on going; otherwise, he might get hurt,' she said. 'And if he gets hurt, it won't be because of him. It will be because of overzealous cops.' ... 'Tell him to send me a round-trip ticket to the Bahamas,' she said. 'I mean it. Can you print that? I've never been there, but [I've] been wanting to go all my life. [If he does,] I'll send you a post card.'"*Sheesh, she's part of the problem!
"No secret now: The island I flew to was Eleuthera. I was having a couple Kaliks with a friend at a small bar near the landing where taxi boats run over to Harbour Island. Colt had already been to this bar, taking a little snack food and some drinks earlier in the week. It was Independence Day for the Bahamas, so a friend and I went over to the festival in The Bluff. Not long after we left, Colt showed up at the dock in a little Boston Whaler. He ran it aground on some coral rocks – in full view of a crowd of folks waiting on the dock for a taxi to run them to The Bluff.posted by ericb at 2:31 PM on July 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
Colt got the boat off, then turned off the engine and chatted with a few guys on the dock. He told them who he was and what was going on. A nice friendly chat… One guy opened his cell phone and Colt understood he was calling the police. And Colt wasn’t too upset about that. He wanted a chase. And he got one.
I’ll of course be writing a lot more on this, but it all ended fittingly for the Barefoot Bandit. He ran until the very end. After a boat chase, a land chase and a swim to a speedboat, which he stole. The final chase was two speedboats. Colt ran his onto a sandbar. The other boat with Bahamian Police inside ran close and told him to stop. Colt’s boat was floating off the sandbar and they told me that it was obvious he was going to try to keep running. So they shot out his outboard engines, hitting them with a shotgun and what I think was an automatic rifle.
Colt understood it was serious then. He tried one more thing that I’ll report later, then threw his backpack into the sea and gave up. They retrieved his backpack.
Earlier today, Colt, wearing camo shorts, a blue shirt, a hat and a bullet-proof vest – and shackled hand and foot – was led to a small plane at the North Eleuthera Airport and flown in Bahamian custody to the capital, Nassau.
It’s been quite a run for 19-year-old Colton Harris-Moore and it didn't end before he got a chance to experience a paradise, at least for a little while. Unfortunately for him, there will now be a long run through the legal system."
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posted by cereselle at 7:05 AM on July 11, 2010 [2 favorites]