Lucy was old enough to have said "let's take a walk" instead of "take me for a ride in your car for chips" knowing he was drinking. bottom line. Sure he was wrong ~ he blamed others. But like Wheels himself stated in so many words... it's easy for someone to judge him - when they've grown up with loving parents, opportunities galore, etc. he pretty much had one hardship after another. I think he deserves a little bit of a pity party.
One I'm 54 years old, two the stats were done over a 10 year period, and they're not pointless they were taken from facts based on data obtained from all the people who stated they drank alcohol of all ages.
I'm not fooling myself you're an idiot, as I stated the 25 percent stat was done over 10 years.
You're the one that stated the majority of high school students drink alcohol The majority don't drink alcohol. A minority number of high school teenagers drink alcohol.
A.majority would have to be a higher number than 25 percent, and that 25 percent is the percentage of people under the age of 21 out of the "TOTAL" number of all alcohol drinkers of all ages that the data was compiled.
Which means that the "MAJORITY" of drinkers in the U.S. during the 10 year study would be over the age of 21.
25 percent is hardly a majority and again people under the age of 21 are not all in high school, there weren't students in my high school between the ages of 19 and 20, maybe there were in your high school, which explains a lot maybe you were one them
What does Lucy age have to do with anything?
I don't know how old you are but adults are going to do what they want and another adult isn't going to be able to stop them.
If that were the case many people would be able to talk their adult friends out of doing almost anything when they're drunk.
I've seen adults try to forcibly stop someone from trying to drive drunk and failed, I've also seen adults try to stop another adult doing any number of things that weren't in their best interest and fail.
"YOU" can suggest anything "YOU" like to someone else and "THEY" don't have to listen or do what "YOU" suggest.
I've seen people try to stop to drunk guys from fighting by suggesting they walk away, and it usually doesn't work in most cases. Adults will do what they want, and trying to suggest something to someone who has been drinking and is intoxicated can be like trying to talk to a wall.
Mmmmm that's the most UNREALISTIC thing I've read on here in a while. I think YOU are fooloing YOURself. You must not have went to highschool if you think there's hardly any drinking going on during those years... secondly.. this is Canada... Degrassi High is a CANADIAN show/film - American stats are baseless here. And people who defend everyhting with stats are boring. get out into the real world. Most stats aren't even accurate.
As I stated if "YOU" had seen the earlier episode of "Degrassi: TNG" this issue was discussed by the characters from the old series at their reunion.
In the reunion episode Snake states Wheels got off "EASY"after he killed the that kid. If Wheels had gone to prison for killing someone then Snake would not have stated Wheels got off "EASY".
When Wheels made his appearance on the series in the episode "Degrassi: The Next Generation" Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Snake - "I'm starting to wish it was all just over.
Wheels - "I know how that feels"
Snake - "No you don't, I'm sorry there is no way you do"
Wheels - "Snake, I was drunk, I drove, I killed a kid, I think I know what it feels like to want to die.
For us responsible adults who take responsibility for our actions, what Wheels stated is called "OWNING UP" for your own actions.
He didn't blame Lucy. He clearly stated he was responsible.
People can suggest a lot of things as well as give advice, and people still do what they want or choose not to listen. - Especially adults who have been drinking.
If "YOU" knew what "YOU were talking about and clearly "YOU" don't.
At the time when this film was made Canada didn't have Truth in Sentencing Laws they didn't pass until 2010.
Wheels went to jail and from what the characters all stated he got off "EASY" but at that time if a person stayed in jail not prison the judge would credit them for the time they served in jail until they went to trial.
During the time when this took place drunk drivers didn't get much prison time.
Rob Ramage killed a guy in Canada while driving drunk in January 2008 and he only got 4 years which was seen as harsh in 2008 because he didn't have a previous record. They changed the sentencing guide lines in August of 2008.
If Wheels had done the same thing now, he would be looking at a possible life sentence in Canada. You also can get up to 10 years for someone suffering bodily injury.
In the reunion episode Lucy has to walk with a cane because she was injured in the accident, again this film took place in 1992.
If it happened now Wheels would have been charged with drunk driving, resulting in death to one victim and bodily injury to another and that person being Lucy.
This film took place in 1992, Wheels didn't have a previous record and most likely as Snake stated "Wheels got off "EASY".
Instead of giving them credit under the truth in sentencing act passed in Canada in 2010 a judge has to give a mandatory sentence that is equivalent to the crime. Again none of this happened to Wheels because these laws didn't exist and he got off "EASY"
Hence the BAD RAP!
It was a string of real life drunk driving cases from 2008 to 2010 that prompted Canada to change their laws and sentencing guidelines because people were getting off "TOO EASY" and they all got "BAD RAPS" and they deserved them.
Movies will make you famous; Television will make you rich; But theatre will make you good.
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12 years ago
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knight_sentinel
12 years ago
I agree Cancerian that I felt bad for wheels when he had such a hard time. I gave him pity when his foster parents died, when he ran away from home because he felt no one wanted him, when he was almost molested, when his dad turned his back on him, when he didn't go to school and almost failed, and I even felt bad for him when he acted out at his friends. But after a while I realized that after a while the pity stopped because Wheels didn't want to learn to heal and take responsability for his actions. He just kept blaming everyone else and he knew better not to drink and drive after what happened to his foster parents. I'm glade that Wheels was finally able to find peace when he did show up in Should I stay or Go. I keep thinking that if Snake and Joey had stopped with the pity party and actually tried to help their friend then the whole accident could have been avoided.
I don't.
You reap what you sow, Wheels was behaving badly, his adopted parents were trying to do the right thing by being parents, Wheels was starting to act out in bad ways, and when his adopted parents died, he went to stay with the grand parents of his adopted parents, he didn't like that they were being strict by wanting him to go to school and do well in life.
No he chose to steal money from his friends. parents and then he chose to runaway, to his biological father, I don't think the biological father turned his back on Wheels, it was clearly explained earlier that the biological father and mother gave Wheels up because they couldn't take care of a kid when they were teenagers.
Wheels showed up unexpectedly, expecting to just have an instant dad, it wasn't like he knew his biological father all that well. So it was selfish on Wheels part to expect anything from someone he barely knew, A few visits here and there, and a few cards doesn't make a real relationship.
Everyone goes through bad situations, he was stealing money from his friends' parents, and he was called out on it, and instead of owning up to it he decided to lie and say everyone was against him. No one was against him, and Joey and Snake weren't having a pity party, there are things you just don't do to your friends.
Then again most people who feel pity for people who behave this way are usually the type of people who would stab a friend in the back by stealing and lying, and then try and turn the situation into some sort of persecution complex.
His foster parents tried to talk to him and chose to turn his back on them to go unexpectedly to see his biological father who had along with his birth mother given up for adoption.
Ihave these episodes and I don't and people did try to help Wheels and they tried to talk to him but he clearly stated he didn't want to talk and that everyone was ganging up on him.
FYI, they weren't this is typical behavior of people in denial, they balme everyone else for their situation or why bad things are happening.
His adopted parents dying was just life as Joey pointed out to Wheels, people die, it's how Wheels handled life challenges, and that is why you and Cancerian are in the minority as their post clealry states "Am I the only one that thinks Wheels doesn't deserve the bad rap??"
I don think he's the only one but most people have the common sense to know you don't behave the way Wheels did just because some bad things happen to you in life.
A lot of the characters on Degrassi had bad things happen to them, it how they handle them that makes the difference.
Wheels never tried to do better or learn from his mistakes until it was too late and his mistake had deadly consequences, and he had no one to blame for himself for the bad decisions he made in life.
Life choices are an important thing in life and if a person constantly makes bad decisions it's always going to end badly.
As Snake pointed out Wheels was given a pass on his bad behavior, by almost everyone after his parents died but Wheels just kept messing up.
Wee would have never known that Wheels had owned up to "HIS" mistakes and the consequences of his actions if he hadn't shown up in the later series. As Snake pointed out Wheels didn't feel guilty at the time.
The other characters always seemed to be humbled by their mistakes, Wheels wasn't at the time when he was behaving badly.
People aren't going to reach out and a help a person who blames everyone else for their bad behavior or when they bite the hand that feeds them.
Joey and Snake's parents both let Wheels stay in their homes and he rewarded them by stealing from them, not cool, and not something you do to people lending you a helping hand and trying to be understanding which they all were at first, but Wheels' behavior got worse. People don't like their friend stealing from them or their parents.
Wheels got a bad rap because he didn't take personal responsibility for anything he did at the time, blaming other people and situations for your behavior is a cop out, and gets a person a bad rap and bad rep.
When did telling someone that they needed to start behaving better become a pity party, Joey and Snake helped Wheels and he bit them, and blamed everything else on his behavior. A person has to own their actions in order to be truly forgiven, a person telling people they deserve forgiveness and not changing is not going to get them any forgiveness some effort has to be made to make amends for the people a person's actions have affected, and running away is not a solution and definitely doesn't lead to forgiveness.
Movies will make you famous; Television will make you rich; But theatre will make you good.
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12 years ago
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knight_sentinel
12 years ago
From the way their relationships were in the later series it's sounds like it took Wheels a long time to come out of his denial that he was responsible for his actions. Snake had pretty strong feelings about Wheels' denial and lack of taking responsibility..
In the first episode of the new series even Lucy talks about what happened briefly, she ended up having to use a cane after all her rehabilitation but was still able to get on with her life and became quite successful, she even mentioned she was lucky because she didn't die like the kid Wheels killed..
I don't recall them going into all the details as to just how bad the accident was in the film from the original series. Wheels wasn't at the reunion either in the first two episodes of the original series.
Movies will make you famous; Television will make you rich; But theatre will make you good.
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vodka_and_caviar
11 years ago
Wheels was there and apologized to Lucy, but it's only in the Canadian airing. For some stupid reason, they deleted Wheels from the American airings.
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knight_sentinel
11 years ago
The Canadian version is the one that is on Hulu. As real life current events similar to this fictional story have now had a resolution, the daughter of the victim stated - "She did not want drivers in similar circumstances to think a public admission would lead to leniency. - http://nbcnews.to/1aHoCzV
Now her mother felt just the opposite. the way i see it just because someone makes an apology doesn't necessarily mean they're remorseful, and some people are good actors and can fool some people.
Minds that have withered into psychosis are far more terrifying than any character of fiction.
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vodka_and_caviar
11 years ago
I can't find it on Hulu.
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knight_sentinel
11 years ago
I just checked and both "Degrassi Junior High" - http://bit.ly/18rbmxE and "Degrassi High" - http://bit.ly/1bskG7I are still up on that site as they have for a few years now, the movie is included as the final episode of the high season just as it was included on the DVD release "Degrassi High: The Complete Collection" back in 2007.
Minds that have withered into psychosis are far more terrifying than any character of fiction.
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