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| Teen violence. August, 2007 |
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| Sugar and spice and everything nice... Right? |
Highly emotional teens could stir up a hornest's nest of trouble.
Teenaged girls fighting could lead to something worst!
August 1, 2007
A neighborhood walk became a tour of violence.
Last evening at about 8:30pm I went for a short walk through the neighborhood.
When I turned on to Campbell St from Park Ave. I saw a crowd of people in the middle of the street. As I approached I could see that it was some teenaged girls fighting.
Since, I didn't have my glasses on, I could not make out any recognizable faces. (Even if I had 20-20 vision I doubt that I could identify anyone.)
As I got closer I could see one tall skinny girl fighting for her life. Other girls were beating her and ripping at her clothes.
I had heard that another "girl fight" had broken out near the same location last week. I wondered, "What is it about the black community that causes our children to engage in this behavior?"
Most of the children were gleeful spectators. Some were encouraging the fight; rooting for their girl!
By the time I got to the crowd, which I estimated to be no more than 100-150 kids, a state trooper rolled up in his cruiser.
Amazingly, the crowd did not disperse immediately. The girls continued to fight.
As he got out of the police car the crowd broke down into smaller groups and moved on to Campbell St. and Memorial Ave.
It appeared that the trooper collected two girls that were attacked and sat them down on the curb. A few friends surrounded these girls.
Suddenly several other police cars with lights blazing, sirens wailing came to assist the trooper. At this point the fight was over. And smaller groups of people were milling about.
An officer commanded through the loud speaker, "Clear the Park!"
Incredibly, this order was largely ignored! The children and some adults remained. There was some older boys playing basketball and was completely oblivious to the commotion.
At that point I recognized that our youth have no respect for Williamsport Cops. And the cops seem to be on edge and hostile.
This is a recipe for disaster. It is a tragedy in the making.
Both groups need education about the other. The children must not initiate a scenario where things could escalate into a dangerous incident. The cops need to know these children as children and not as potential perpetrators.
I fear that individuals on both sides are waiting for an excuse to release pent-up anger and frustration.
Community outreach and training is absolutely necessary.
Let's stop the violence before it explodes. What are your thoughts? What should
be done? Write your answers to this problem and send them to:
Richard C. James
Editor and Publisher
An African-American Perspective
PO Box 1181
Williamsport, PA 17703
aaap@rcjamesdesign.net
http://rcjamesdesign.net/African-American/index.html
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