My wife and I have different perspectives on the youth violence
epidemic that currently plagues our urban neighborhood. She thinks
some of the miscreants could be helped by more targeted
after-school programs staffed by caring adults. I think there are
plenty after-school programs and, besides, the teens perpetrating
the violence, often after 11 p.m., are not the sort of individuals
who would attend after-school programs. I believe more extreme
measures are in order.
The back-story: since early summer, packs of up to a dozen
young teenagers have been accosting random middle-aged or elderly
males in an attempt to knock them out with a single blow to the
head. At least seven such attacks have occurred in our part of
town. One elderly Vietnamese immigrant has already died
as a result. Last week, the mayor of St. Louis, Francis Slay, drove
up as a group of young thugs was strolling casually away after one
such assault. This week, seven juveniles, mostly between the ages
of 13-14, were arrested for two separate incidents. Mayor Slay said
he would like to see the teens charged as adults. Speaking to
reporters, the mayor said:
In my mind, this is attempted murder… You crack someone like
that and walk away nonchalantly like they did when we pulled up,
they have no respect for human life or their fellow human
beings.
The mayor’ s words were welcomed, but it was only dumb
luck that he happened to be driving by at the time of the attack.
Many of us wonder if the incident would have received the same
level of attention had he not witnessed the carnage first
hand.
The following day a local reporter interviewed a group of
students at the nearby high school, including a few who proudly
admitted participating in the so-called ” knockout game.”
Those interviewed said they were bored, and,
besides, the attacks were fun and made them popular. As for
seriously injuring someone, one teen said: “You don’t know them, so
why care about hurting them?”
Spoken like a true sociopath.
Community leaders preferred to ignore the teens’
own words and rather blamed a lack of funding —
funding for their own programs, naturally. James Clark, vice
president of community outreach for a group called Better Family
Life, had this to say:
The root of this knockout game is the lack of recreational
opportunities and neighborhood-based programs for our young people…
there have to be more programs for teens in high-crime
areas.
It is little wonder teens are indifferent to violence when they
are repeatedly assured that their vicious behavior is not their
fault. Blame a lack of hula-hoops and Frisbee golf. Blame a lack of
finger painting classes.
THE NOTION THAT city kids could be so bored they would be
driven to kill random strangers strikes me as incredible, to say
the least. It is a well-known stereotype that rural teens have
little to do but drink booze on country roads and perhaps tip over
cows. However, it was a surprise for me to learn that city kids
were similarly bored. After all, they live in the big city. Don’ t
young people move to the city for the excitement, and not because
they want peace and relaxation? To paraphrase Dr. Johnson, ” If you
are bored with the city, you are bored with life.”
I grew up in a small, working-class city, a place captured
perfectly in the
early
songs of fellow hometowners Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar. Like
most young teens, my friends and I were bored from time to time.
But mostly we created our own diversions. Our free time was filled
with skateboarding, sandlot football, bike riding, roller skating,
hiking through nearby woods, fishing, and building go-carts, tree
houses, and bicycle trails. We had newspaper routes and cut our
neighbors’ grass for pocket change. We were
involved in high school sports and cub scouts. I could go on and
on. And we sure didn’ t have the countless free programs and
recreational facilities that the city offers its
residents.
If nothing else, last week’ s attacks may finally have
gotten St. Louis’ s Democratic mayor’ s attention. This week he
blasted the ” more-programs” mentality and
called instead for more individual responsibility.
If city officials do indeed charge the teens as adults,
that will likely put an end to the knockout game quicker than
decades of community outreach ever could. It would send a clear
message that violence is not funny and it’ s not a game. And that
would be a start.
