I want to be completely clear here.
I am not posting this article as some sort of "pick on the young" thread.
But this is something I think I see developing more and more in the US.
Statistically, the most dangerous critter on the face of planet earth is a human male, aged 15-30.
The second most dangerous critter on earth is a human female, aged 15-30.
Combine those with worship of "thug culture" and you've got a recipe for disaster.
I think this is something that crosses all segments of society.
In Northwest Arkansas, the latest spate of violent home invasions were perpetrated by a pair of middle-class white kids who wanted a chance to prove what bad@$$es they were.
Young idiots with a desire to emulate thug culture is a recipe for bad things to happen.
http://www.ajc.com/sunday/content/epaper/editions/sunday/metro_442897aa235fc14500e1.html
Rap culture cited in alleged attack by teens
Andrea Jones, Paul Donsky - Staff
Sunday, June 4, 2006
Amy Martin had three answers when asked whom she admired most for a school project: her grandfather, Martin Luther King Jr. and Tupac Shakur.
Like thousands of teens, Martin idolized Shakur, a rap star whose violent death a decade ago epitomized the thug culture he helped shape.
Friday, it was Martin in the coffin --- the victim, her friends say, of trying too hard to live the kind of life she saw in rap videos.
Stabbed to death by a former Marine as she and four other teens allegedly held him up at gunpoint on a dark Midtown street, Martin died less than a month after her 17th birthday.
"It wasn't like her to do something like that," said her friend, Tiffany Lowery, 16. "She was influenced by people around her."
The four boys who were with Martin on Memorial Day face felony charges of armed robbery and assault. One of the teens, 18-year-old Christopher Daniel, remains at Atlanta Medical Center in serious condition with stab wounds to the chest.
After Martin's funeral, where teens, some clad in bandanas and drooping pants, remembered their friend, Atlanta police investigator R.C. Huffman stood outside, shaking his head. Huffman serves as the school resource officer at Grady High School, where Martin and some of the teenagers involved had attended.
"These kids went to the right schools. They had all the chances," Huffman said. "They just wanted to portray this image that they're bad, they're tough."
The teens all came from middle-class families, he said. At least two had mothers who were teachers. Most lived in well-kept subdivisions with tidy lawns.
"They all had money. They all could have gone the other way," said Lasasha Matthews, 17, a rising senior at Grady. "It doesn't make any sense."
Martin's friends described her as a goofy girl who loved dancing, clubbing and writing poetry. She had been working at Six Flags over Georgia for about three months and had started dating Keyunta Dowell, who was also running the rides at the popular theme park.
Atlanta police say Dowell, 16, was another one of the teenagers in the car the night they tried to rob a terrified Thomas Autry, a Desert Storm veteran on his way home from work as a waiter. Cornered by his pursuers, he fought back with a pocketknife.
Police say it wasn't the first time the teenage robbery crew had attacked a victim on the streets.
The five carried three guns --- two shotguns and a pistol --- and rode in a dark blue Cadillac that belonged to the mother of Christopher Hayes, 18, according to incident reports.
Also in the car, the reports said, was Kendall Barksdale, 17, an athletic and popular high school senior set to graduate from Grady last Wednesday. He had planned to head for college in the fall, friends and family said.
Anticipating his graduation day, Kendall's family hung a banner from the staircase overlooking the living room of his home. "Congratulations Kendall & Robert," the sign read, also noting the graduation of Kendall's younger brother from middle school.
Kendall's grandfather, Rubin Lowery, said he still can't believe what happened.
"It definitely was a shock," said Lowery, doing yard work in the front yard of the large brick home he shares with Kendall and his family. "What was he thinking about?"
The anguish in Lowery's voice was palpable. Kendall had always been a good kid, he said, getting good grades and minding his parents.
Kendall had at least nine tattoos, according to a 2005 article in the Grady High School newspaper, with plans to cover even more of his body in artwork.
Lowery blames Kendall's friends for leading him astray.
"We tried to tell him to choose his friends better," Lowery said.
"Kids are kids," he said. "No matter who their father is, where they are from, kids have a mind of their own."
Lowery said Kendall must be held accountable for his actions.
"I told his mother, 'If he has done something wrong, the law applies to everybody.' "
Last Thursday, the "congratulations" sign remained in place. A high school yearbook on the coffee table was turned to Kendall's picture.
"It's awful. It really hurts," his grandfather said. "To see a kid as smart as that . . . do some dumb [stuff] like that --- I don't really understand."
Hayes, the driver of the Cadillac, lives in a sprawling new subdivision in Douglas County, with tidy brick homes on winding streets surrounding a swim and tennis center.
Neighborhood children have drawn a hop-scotch court in the street.
A soccer goal sits in a neighbor's backyard. The family did not return messages left on an answering machine last week, but Hayes' defense attorney Bruce Harvey said Hayes "has never been in trouble before and is in no sense a thug." Hayes previously worked at American Express at the Atlanta airport, Harvey said.
"He's clearly upset," Harvey said. "He's the one that drove immediately to the hospital. It's sad. It's a tragedy for young people."
At Martin's funeral Friday in Southwest Atlanta, Pastor Craig Oliver challenged teens to give up their fascination with the hip hop lifestyle and turn their lives around. With his deep voice echoing though the pews at Elizabeth Baptist Church, Oliver told teens to "get yourself together, get a GED, get a diploma, get a meaningful job."
"Stop thinking it's cool to be a thug," he said. Oliver also asked teens to unload their guns and drop them off at the church.
Dozens came forward, many weeping, promising to give up their weapons. By Saturday afternoon, the church had collected at least three guns.
--- Staff writers Beth Warren and Bill Montgomery contributed to this article.
I am not posting this article as some sort of "pick on the young" thread.
But this is something I think I see developing more and more in the US.
Statistically, the most dangerous critter on the face of planet earth is a human male, aged 15-30.
The second most dangerous critter on earth is a human female, aged 15-30.
Combine those with worship of "thug culture" and you've got a recipe for disaster.
I think this is something that crosses all segments of society.
In Northwest Arkansas, the latest spate of violent home invasions were perpetrated by a pair of middle-class white kids who wanted a chance to prove what bad@$$es they were.
Young idiots with a desire to emulate thug culture is a recipe for bad things to happen.
http://www.ajc.com/sunday/content/epaper/editions/sunday/metro_442897aa235fc14500e1.html
Rap culture cited in alleged attack by teens
Andrea Jones, Paul Donsky - Staff
Sunday, June 4, 2006
Amy Martin had three answers when asked whom she admired most for a school project: her grandfather, Martin Luther King Jr. and Tupac Shakur.
Like thousands of teens, Martin idolized Shakur, a rap star whose violent death a decade ago epitomized the thug culture he helped shape.
Friday, it was Martin in the coffin --- the victim, her friends say, of trying too hard to live the kind of life she saw in rap videos.
Stabbed to death by a former Marine as she and four other teens allegedly held him up at gunpoint on a dark Midtown street, Martin died less than a month after her 17th birthday.
"It wasn't like her to do something like that," said her friend, Tiffany Lowery, 16. "She was influenced by people around her."
The four boys who were with Martin on Memorial Day face felony charges of armed robbery and assault. One of the teens, 18-year-old Christopher Daniel, remains at Atlanta Medical Center in serious condition with stab wounds to the chest.
After Martin's funeral, where teens, some clad in bandanas and drooping pants, remembered their friend, Atlanta police investigator R.C. Huffman stood outside, shaking his head. Huffman serves as the school resource officer at Grady High School, where Martin and some of the teenagers involved had attended.
"These kids went to the right schools. They had all the chances," Huffman said. "They just wanted to portray this image that they're bad, they're tough."
The teens all came from middle-class families, he said. At least two had mothers who were teachers. Most lived in well-kept subdivisions with tidy lawns.
"They all had money. They all could have gone the other way," said Lasasha Matthews, 17, a rising senior at Grady. "It doesn't make any sense."
Martin's friends described her as a goofy girl who loved dancing, clubbing and writing poetry. She had been working at Six Flags over Georgia for about three months and had started dating Keyunta Dowell, who was also running the rides at the popular theme park.
Atlanta police say Dowell, 16, was another one of the teenagers in the car the night they tried to rob a terrified Thomas Autry, a Desert Storm veteran on his way home from work as a waiter. Cornered by his pursuers, he fought back with a pocketknife.
Police say it wasn't the first time the teenage robbery crew had attacked a victim on the streets.
The five carried three guns --- two shotguns and a pistol --- and rode in a dark blue Cadillac that belonged to the mother of Christopher Hayes, 18, according to incident reports.
Also in the car, the reports said, was Kendall Barksdale, 17, an athletic and popular high school senior set to graduate from Grady last Wednesday. He had planned to head for college in the fall, friends and family said.
Anticipating his graduation day, Kendall's family hung a banner from the staircase overlooking the living room of his home. "Congratulations Kendall & Robert," the sign read, also noting the graduation of Kendall's younger brother from middle school.
Kendall's grandfather, Rubin Lowery, said he still can't believe what happened.
"It definitely was a shock," said Lowery, doing yard work in the front yard of the large brick home he shares with Kendall and his family. "What was he thinking about?"
The anguish in Lowery's voice was palpable. Kendall had always been a good kid, he said, getting good grades and minding his parents.
Kendall had at least nine tattoos, according to a 2005 article in the Grady High School newspaper, with plans to cover even more of his body in artwork.
Lowery blames Kendall's friends for leading him astray.
"We tried to tell him to choose his friends better," Lowery said.
"Kids are kids," he said. "No matter who their father is, where they are from, kids have a mind of their own."
Lowery said Kendall must be held accountable for his actions.
"I told his mother, 'If he has done something wrong, the law applies to everybody.' "
Last Thursday, the "congratulations" sign remained in place. A high school yearbook on the coffee table was turned to Kendall's picture.
"It's awful. It really hurts," his grandfather said. "To see a kid as smart as that . . . do some dumb [stuff] like that --- I don't really understand."
Hayes, the driver of the Cadillac, lives in a sprawling new subdivision in Douglas County, with tidy brick homes on winding streets surrounding a swim and tennis center.
Neighborhood children have drawn a hop-scotch court in the street.
A soccer goal sits in a neighbor's backyard. The family did not return messages left on an answering machine last week, but Hayes' defense attorney Bruce Harvey said Hayes "has never been in trouble before and is in no sense a thug." Hayes previously worked at American Express at the Atlanta airport, Harvey said.
"He's clearly upset," Harvey said. "He's the one that drove immediately to the hospital. It's sad. It's a tragedy for young people."
At Martin's funeral Friday in Southwest Atlanta, Pastor Craig Oliver challenged teens to give up their fascination with the hip hop lifestyle and turn their lives around. With his deep voice echoing though the pews at Elizabeth Baptist Church, Oliver told teens to "get yourself together, get a GED, get a diploma, get a meaningful job."
"Stop thinking it's cool to be a thug," he said. Oliver also asked teens to unload their guns and drop them off at the church.
Dozens came forward, many weeping, promising to give up their weapons. By Saturday afternoon, the church had collected at least three guns.
--- Staff writers Beth Warren and Bill Montgomery contributed to this article.
. I don't even have a clip-on earing.
