More News Stuff

You know I just can't resist reacting to news I read or hear...so here is another bit.

There is a protest going on someplace because of the arrest of 6 youths who beat up 1 youth....the main argument as I have heard it is that these 6 shouldn't be getting punished because (a)the victim attended a dance sometimes afterwards {I didn't hear the interval between the assault and the dance, though} and reportable only a black-eye was visible (b)this is an ongoing problem between the youths of the area.

Now I worded this this way very carefully...because I wanted to take race out of the issue....as it should be. Now let's look at these parts:

(a)the victim attended a dance and only a black-eye was visible
So let me get this straight....because you don't beat somebody to the point of needing hospitalization then its okay to do? No. This was a gang of kids (there were 6 of them) who beat 1 child. I don't know if you've ever been in a situation like this....I have and so have my brothers during high school....don't care the race of victim or attacker, it is wrong. They should feel themselves lucky as hell that he was able to attend that dance...it will probably make the difference between probation and possible-parole!

(b) this is an ongoing problem between the youths of the area
Well certainly makes the difference====NOT! The moment that this became more than two youths in a fight it became a gang attack! I don''t care if those 6 youths were purple, green, polka-dotted, made of marshmellows or gingerbread or sugar dough....6 to 1 is a gang beating, in fact it is almost akin to attempted murder in my mind! How can you expect a single person to survive a beating by 6 others? Now I have no idea if there were weapons used--if they were then this is definately a case of attempted murder!
I think the parents are trying to lay blame completely on the authorities and I'm sorry but the majority of the blame is on the youths...I know they want the victim in this case to be arrested for previous incidences....I can understand that....but it still does not excuse the gang-mentality of their children.

Of course this does raise the question of "what happens if the authorities don't take a strong enough stand?" and then on the school side there is the question of "how do we handle this without making one side feel picked on?"

If one side feels like they are constantly getting the short end of the stick, is it right for them to take vigilante justice? That is, when is it acceptable to take the law into your own hands?

In my mind its never. The law is the law. Just because no one is there to catch you does not mean its okay to break it--like most people do with the traffic laws {sorry, pet peeve}.

I will have to wait for more information to come out on this issue...actually I'm waiting for the person I heard on the radio this morning to get arrested--he made a blatant, unadulterated threat while being interviewed that if the law is applied to these youths the nation would see the "wrath of god" at its full force....actually that's not a correct quote, I will have to wait for it to come back on the radio to get his quote straight, but its the jest of it.

HELLO!! That is a call for a race war...a nationwide race war.

We need people like this about as much as we need the KKK or the Black Panthers---we don't!

BTW--victim was white, the 6 youths were black.