katydid23
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The fact of the matter is that RH wasn't texting or drinking or high or engaged in any activity whatsoever other than driving his car between the time he left CFA and reaching the intersection where he didn't turn left instead of going straight.
If he had been texting or drinking or high when he didn't turn left, he'd be guilty of criminal negligence, and even then would not be presumed to have had intent.
And, there is no way to know whether or not Cooper would be alive if RH had "exercised self control for a few more minutes." That's an opinion, not a statement of fact.
It's obvious RH spent a lot of time texting that morning, including while he was in CFA, but the fact of the matter is that he didn't text between the time he left CFA and the time he reached the intersection. By the time he reached the intersection, he was already not in the left turn lane he needed to be in to take Cooper to daycare.
No one on planet earth other than RH knows what RH was thinking about in that stretch. Maybe he wasn't thinking about Ms. X or Y or Z at all. Maybe he was thinking about what he had to do when he got to work, or what to say in his 10:30 AM project progress meeting, or about meeting up with friends at a movie that night. There isn't any way to know.
And, reality is, RH had only slept a few hours the night before. Maybe the few seconds of not focusing had as much to do with being tired as anything else. Yah, yah, he was up late doing what he wasn't supposed to be doing. So what. Countless other parents routinely stay up past their bedtimes, having friends over, going out, enjoying being married, reading a good book, watching a meteor shower, or getting lost in any other of a thousand different activities that make time go by too quickly.
Yes, maybe they are tired the next day, and no, their choices of the night before do not mean they wake up with the designation "bad parent," any more than RH's choice of activity made him a bad parent when he woke up, likely tired, on the 18th.
I have to disagree with much of the above. For example: "The fact of the matter is that RH wasn't texting or drinking or high or engaged in any activity whatsoever other than driving his car between the time he left CFA and reaching the intersection where he didn't turn left instead of going straight. "
I don't think you can isolate and extract one minute of time and then conclude he was not engaged in any high risk activity. In reality, he was in the middle of a 20 minute conversation on his phone, about his needing a break from his family life. That was an ongoing convo that continued until he pulled into his workplace parking lot.
"It's obvious RH spent a lot of time texting that morning, including while he was in CFA, but the fact of the matter is that he didn't text between the time he left CFA and the time he reached the intersection. By the time he reached the intersection, he was already not in the left turn lane he needed to be in to take Cooper to daycare."
Correct, in that 30 second span of time, he neglected to make the turn towards daycare. So what was he thinking in that 30 second span? He was not thinking about his little passenger, even though he was having a conversation about fatherhood. I find that very odd.
"And, reality is, RH had only slept a few hours the night before. Maybe the few seconds of not focusing had as much to do with being tired as anything else. Yah, yah, he was up late doing what he wasn't supposed to be doing. So what. Countless other parents routinely stay up past their bedtimes, having friends over, going out, enjoying being married, reading a good book, watching a meteor shower, or getting lost in any other of a thousand different activities that make time go by too quickly."
Well, if he had been up late watching a meteor shower or 'enjoying being married', then it would not have been distracting him the next morning at breakfast with his son. But the sad fact is that he was up until 3 am sexting, while his wife and son laid beside him in bed, asleep. We cannot pretend he was reading Lincoln's autobiography or watching a meteor shower.
"Yes, maybe they are tired the next day, and no, their choices of the night before do not mean they wake up with the designation "bad parent," any more than RH's choice of activity made him a bad parent when he woke up, likely tired, on the 18th."
Sorry, but in my opinion, it DOES make him a bad parent. It was highly disrespectful and dishonest behavior on his part. It was even worse that he instantly began sexting again at 5 am when his son woke up. That screams 'sexual addiction' issues to me. It was not just a casual past time. Who sets up an afternoon bj at 5:30 am ?
It absolutely means he was a bad parent. He was putting his marriage in jeopardy , as well as his good, steady job. Not to mention his health and the health of his wife. And it put him in danger of going to jail for the minors involved. Let alone the dangers of meeting prostitutes in motel rooms and inviting strangers into his home. I don't know how you can say he was not a bad parent? :no:
If he was having an affair, then I would consider it his personal business and that would be between him and his wife. But this behavior, sexting until 3 am then starting back up at 5 am---communicating with 5 or 6 randoms a day---including minors, prostitutes, long time girlfriends--sending them pix of his junk and of his wife and son? ----that is CRAZY.
IMO, you cannot isolate that one minute when he supposedly forgot about his son, and say it was an innocent accidental mistake. Because that minute was smack dab in the middle of a manic phase of sexting/texting/fantasizing and was in the middle of a conversation where he expressed his desire to take a break from parenting duties. Therefore,his behavior in that minute was affected by his fatigue, lack of sleep, and his manic behavior. The distraction that led to this tragic gruesome death was of his own making. imo:cow: