Violent youth. (examples of violence by and against teens) Steven Manning; James Earl Hardy; Katie Monagle; Valerie Chow Bush.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 1991 Scholastic, Inc.
IMAGINE LIVING IN A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE roving teenage and random gunfire make it too dangerous to toss a football in a play. ground or walk the streets at night. Imagine attending a school where body searches for for concealed weapons are the first order of business each day after the bell rings. The sad, alarming fact is that for thousands of teenagers in the United States today, violence at home, on the streets, and in the schools is a daily part of life. And according to nearly every expert on crime and youth, the problem will only women in the years ahead.
In this Special Report, UPDATE looks at some of the most disturbing examples of violence by and against teens-and what is being done to bring it to an end. As you'll earn, teen violence doesn't have to involve headline -grabbing incidents such as gang shootouts and racial assaults. It can hit as close to home as a violent or abusive relationship between a boyfriend and girlfriend. GANG WARFARE Last April, 17-year-old Ramon Rios was riding a bus in Los Angeles when he was shot and killed in front of 15 other passengers. The reason? Rios was wearing all blue, which is the color worn by members of the Crips," a notorious East Los Angeles teenage gang. Rios's murderers belonged to the Bloods," arch-rivals of the Crips. Rios's killers apparently assumed he was a member of the Crips-but Rios wasn't a gang member.
Rios wasn't the first innocent victim of gang warfare and he hasn't been the last. Cities such as Boston, Detroit, and Atlanta are also burying victims of rampant, remorseless killings by teen gangs. But in Los AngelesCounty, the situation is especially grave. Police estimate there are some 600 teen gangs in the county, with 70,000 to 80,000 members. Last year, say police, these gangs were responsible for 374 murders. The fact that many of those pulling the trigger were as young as 13 has left law enforcement officials dumbfounded. Teen gangs are, of course, not a new phenomenon. "They have always served as a sort of extended family, especially for alienated inner-city kids," says Dr. Irving G. Spergel, a sociologist at the University of Chicago who studies gangs. Historically, says Spergel, gangs have been formed to "defend" a group's neighborhood from outsiders, particularly another ethnic or racial group. ARMED AND DEADLY But today, gangs are fighting over more than turf-and they are fighting with more deadly weapons. Carl Taylor, author of Dangerous Society, a study of Detroit gangs, says that poverty in the inner city has helped create a new, violent gang culture-one where the weapons of choice run to sophisticated Uzi submachine guns and high-powered assault rifles. In some cities, organized, well-armed gangs, or "posses," have been formed solely to operate profitable drug businesses. The rivalry between these gangs often explodes into violence. Innocent teens as well as adults have been the victims of drive-by shootings, where gangs randomly fire upon people in their rivals' territory. A rash of such killings in Detroit and Boston has made parents afraid to let their children congregate outside. Recently, a number of cities have taken steps against gang violence. Atlanta has imposed an 11p.m. nighttime curfew (midnight on weekends) for all teenagers under the age of 16. Politicians in Boston are calling for more police and pressing for passage of legislation that would allow juvenile offenders to be tried as adults in murder cases. And in Los Angeles, the police department has set up special patrols in areas of heavy gang activity (known as "Crash Units"), and won passage of a law that allows them to take into custody any youth under the age of 18 who is on the streets after 1 a.m. The police department is also attempting to discourage young people from joining gangs through workshops for students and parents in local schools. But many experts on juvenile crime believe that in addition to "getting tough," society must also address the social conditions-such as drug use and high unemployment in the inner city-that cause violent teen gangs to emegre in the first place.
These kids don't care if they can be put in jail for the rest of their lives," says Carl Taylor. For many of them, life is already a jail. It's time for society to help unlock the cell. " James Ead Hardy KILLING FOR CLOTHES
As Michael Jordan, the Chicago Bulls basketball star, goes for another death-defying, 360-degree slam dunk, his most loyal fan, Mars Blacknion, stares at him in amazement.
After Jordan returns from the heavens, Mars shakes his head-for what has to be the millionth time-and says, "Is it the shoes? It's got to be the shoes. "
For many teenagers, it is the shoes.
This scene from a popular Nike sneakers TV ad is one in a series directed by and featuring filmmaker Spike Lee as his fictional character, Mars. Ads like these have made Air Jordan sneakers the ultimate hip status symbol among inner-city minority teenagers. In addition, the "Mike and Spike" ads have helped make Nike one of the world's leading athletic-apparel companies. The company earned $2.4 billion in profits last year-a good hunk of it attributable to Nike's advertising campaign.
But cities such as Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Baltimore are reporting a growing number of incidents in which teenagers are being stabbed, shot, and killed over their sneakers, varsity jackets, and leather coats. These crimes have shocked the nation's black community, where the majority of such incidents occur. They have also put Nike-and celebrities like Lee and Jordan-in the hot scat for pitching expensive items to poor minority teens. Some critics even claim that Nike and other apparel companies share responsibility for the rash of killings.
No one would disagree that in order to gain acceptance by their peers, many teens dress to impress. Unfortunately, many of the hottest fashions are also very expensive. A pair of Air Jordans, for example, can cost $125. For poor teens, such items have become status symbols-especially when their favorite celebrities endorse them. As a result, "the guy on the block who has the new Nike sneaker or jacket is considered a big shot," says HarvardUniversity psychologist Dr. Alvin Poussaint.
But Nike spokesperson Liz Dolan says it is one thing to say that images and idols influence teens to buy a product, and another to hold Nike and other companies responsible for crimes associated with their products.
"Our ads don't tell teens to go out and rob or kill each other," Dolan says. MORAL OBLIGATION
But the Rev. Tyrone Crider, director of Operation PUSH, a civil fights organization based in Chicago, says that companies like Nike-and especially its endorsers such as Jordan and Lee-have an obligation to address the problem.
"Nike continues to exploit our youth for money while they [Jordan and Lee] go on pitching items that are getting people who look up to them killed. That, to me, is obscene. "
Last September, angered over what it saw as Nike's insensitivity to the issue, Operation PUSH launched a boycott of the company's products. The boycott has not made a major dent in Nike's sales, but it has upset many people, including Spike Lee.
Lee told UPDATE, "These senseless crimes are occurring not because of an advertising campaign, but because the people who are doing the killing have screwed-up values. To them, life is cheap because they don't feel life has anything to offer." Lee insists that Nike is addressing the problem through a new series of ads-featuring himself and Jordan-that advise young people to stay in school. But Lee agrees that more must be done to make kids see "that life is not about wearing fancy clothes; it's about making something out of yourself."
-J.E.H. WHEN TEENS HATE
Hatecrimes-acts of violence against people purely because of their race, religion, ethnic background, or sexual orientation-are one of the fastest-growing categories of violent crime in the U.S. today. And more often than not, teenagers are the perpetrators.
Almost all minority groups in the U.S. are reporting an increase in "bias" crimes. Attacks on blacks and gays are up dramatically. So is violence against Jews, Arab Americans, Asians, and Hispanics.
New York City, one of the few cities that keeps track of bias-related crimes, reports that between 1986 and 1990, hatecrimes jumped 80 percent. And 70 percent of those arrested for hatecrimes were under age 19-a fact generally reflective of the situation across the country, says Daniel Levitas, executive director of the Center for Democratic Renewal in Atlanta, which tracks the incidence of racial violence.
Some of the most violent crimes are carried out by skinheads," young men usually in their teens and early 20s who shave their heads and frequently espouse white supremacy. But most bias crime is not committed by easily recognized groups like skinheads. More often they are somewhat successful in stemming violence in schools. But many educators agree that turning America's schools into armed camps is not a long-term solution.
Instead, many stress antiviolence programs that teach young people alternative ways of resolving conflicts.
Educators are also finding that many violent kids experience violence at home, and then bring what they've learned to school with them. So some schools are beginning to offer counseling to students and their parents.
The key, most agree, is reaching young people early, and getting parents involved. But, says Ronald Stephens, turning the tide of violence in the schools will not be easy. It's a job, he says, that needs to be done "individually-one person at a time, one school at a time. K-M. BATTERED GIRLFRIENDS
"My boyfriend didn't like what I was wearing today. He told me to change, but I said no. So he grabbed me and threw me up against the wall."
These are the words of a 15-year-old girl. They appear on the cover of a pamphlet distributed to thousands of high school students in Connecticut by the Domestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven.
Her story is not uncommon. Over the past five years counselors have discovered that, like adults, many teenagers are involved in abusive relationships-those that include physical or sexual violence.
The extent of the problem remains unclear, since many teens do not report the abuse out of fear or lack of awareness that they are in a potentially harmful relationship. Yet family-violence experts suspect that as many as I out of 4 high school students may be involved in a violent relationship.
Teen dating violence occurs when someone uses physical-or even emotional-abuse to assault, control, or intimidate someone else. Physical abuse can include slapping, shoving, holding a person down against his or her will, and rape. VIOLENCE TO INTIMIDATE
While there are recorded cases of boys being physically assaulted by girls, the vast majority of incidents involve boyfriends abusing their girlfriends, according to Regina Braham, a teen educator with Jersey Battered Women's Services in New Jersey.
"When a girl hits, it is often in self-defense, whereas boys tend to use violence to intimidate," says Braham, adding that "girls usually sustain much more serious injuries than boys."
Some experts say that emotional abuse-such things as yelling, verbal threats, or intentionally humiliating a girlfriend or boyfriend-can also be a form of violence and may be a warning signal that physical violence could follow.
Domestic-violence experts believe that most violent and abusive behavior among teens is learned behavior. That's especially true for young boys, they say, who often receive messages from parents, the media, and other boys that being a "real man" means being tough and aggressive.
Exposure to violence in the home also seems to play a significant role in shaping boys' later behavior, as compared to girls. A 1981 study by domestic-violence researchers A. Rosenbaum and K. O'Leary found that 75 percent of boys in abusive relationships came from abusive homes, as opposed to 25 percent of girls in abusive relationships.
Braham and other counselors are quick to point out that most violent or abusive boyfriends are not hostile all the time. Often, after a violent episode, a boy may be genuinely remorseful and try to shower his girlfriend with gifts and expressions of love. Faced with conflicting messages, the girl believes-or at least hopes-that her boyfriend will change.
But far from being a situation that disappears over time, teen dating violence tends to escalate if ignored. Domestic violence counselors urge teenagers in an abusive relationship to acknowledge their problem and seek help. The first step? Tell someone you trust-a friend, teacher, family member, or counselor-about the abuse. "You'll realize you're not alone," says Braham, and begin to end the cycle of violence. Valerie Chow Bush
Article A10614454
View other articles linked to these subjects:
Gangs
103 Newspaper references
369 Periodical references
Hate Crimes - Analysis
32 Periodical references
78 other subdivisions
Hate Crimes
286 Newspaper references
711 Periodical references
Juvenile Delinquency - Analysis
32 Periodical references
64 other subdivisions
Juvenile Delinquency
49 Newspaper references
742 Periodical references
School Violence - Analysis
57 Periodical references
72 other subdivisions
School Violence
229 Newspaper references
1080 Periodical references
Teenagers - Crimes Against
36 Periodical references
168 other subdivisions
Teenagers
685 Newspaper references
9235 Periodical references