It’s unspeakable when adults are cruel towards others or have no value for the lives of others. But it’s horrifying when you see teenagers (the next generation……) behaving the same way. They sometimes act like wild animals. Sorry, I probably shouldn’t compare them to animals as I am insulting the beasts. Anyway, every time I see violent teenagers on TV I ask myself, who the hell raised them? The truth is, the less news you consume, the better off you are.
I saw a story on the news about a year ago that shocked me, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. There was a report that an Uber Eats driver was killed during an attempted carjacking in Washington D.C. The two suspects were 13 and 15 years old.
The Uber driver may have left the car running and the two suspects jumped into the car while he momentarily left the vehicle to make a delivery. When he came out, he saw them sitting in his car and he tried to get control of the vehicle. In fact, there was a video taken of the encounter. He was heard saying “get out, it’s my car!” But the car suddenly sped away at high speed even as he was holding onto the open driver’s door. The car drove about a half block and hit a barrier on the driver’s side. The owner was crushed between the barrier and the side of the car and was thrown against the side of a building. He later died of his injuries in a local hospital.
The driver lost control of the car, which crashed into another parked car and rolled over onto its side. The two carjackers, who were unhurt, climbed out of the car and were detained by National Guardsmen who were at the scene.
What shocked me the most was while the Uber Eats driver was lying on the sidewalk dying of his injuries, one of the carjackers ignored him and was looking for her cell phone. I can’t imagine what it was like for the poor man’s family to see those images online or in the media.
To make matters worse, apparently, neither of the two teenagers would spend any time in prison. They received the maximum sentence allowed at the time by pleading guilty as minors to second degree murder. Some of the lesser charges against them were dropped such as armed carjacking, aggravated reckless driving, and robbery.
By agreeing to a plea deal, they were assured to be released by the time they turned 21 and would not be placed in a prison facility. This means that in another few years, both of them will be freed and back out on the street………… 😦 😦
Had they been adults, they would have been subject to very different sentences. Not only would they be put behind bars for a much longer period, certainly 20 years or more, but they would also have been placed in a prison for adults instead of a juvenile detention facility.
This is only one tragic story of many others that I have seen over the last few years committed by teenagers. There has been a huge increase in shootings on the streets in broad daylight, violence against complete strangers, and sometimes even against seniors.
Normally there would be support for the police and a desire to protect everyone and arrest and prosecute those that break the law. But what has happened in many cities in the United States instead is that lawbreakers were not prosecuted. And the police were criticized for supposedly unfairly targeting visible minorities, homeless people, and the poor, among others. The result of this is that people accused of breaking the law were not punished for their illegal actions. Another result was a huge increase in theft, arson, assault, and murder. In addition, police quit their jobs and took early retirement by the thousands.
Unfortunately, over the years youth violence has increased not just in the US but around the world as well. And the reasons for that are varied. But one thing is for sure, today we are more exposed to this disturbing phenomenon than in the past and this is due to social media.
It is well known that many adolescents as well as adults, would do anything for a few minutes of fame on social media. On the other hand, many people earn a living through it. Indeed it can provide a lot of benefits. Yet, sometimes social media has been used for negative purposes. For example, teenagers who frequently engage in violence, and livestream their activities on Tik Tok to show off. The big problem is when they become a source of inspiration for other youth that imitates their brutal acts.
Sometimes their behavior can be so cruel toward others that it’s hard to understand why anyone would give them a platform……… And the question is this: where is the censorship? Is there any limit to what people are allowed to post on S.M.??? Probably not! As long as they make money off it…………………..
With Experience Comes Wisdom 