WSJ: “It’s Just Kids Killing Kids”

Kid on Kid violence is surging no thanks to pandemic lockdowns & remote schooling’s non-discipline? How about them Hollywood movies & media games showing how easy it is for juveniles to hurt others & get away with it?

As the WSJ story noted: “… a stark reversal of a decades-long decline in juvenile crime” is seen in federal stats showing “homicides committed by juveniles acting alone rose 30% in 2020 from a year earlier, while those committed by multiple juveniles increased 66%.” Moreover, the number of killings ( yes, KILLINGS) “committed by children under 14 was the highest in two decades.” Not surprisingly, “one consequence is a mounting toll of young victims. “The tragedy [too often] is that we’re talking about a gunman who is too young to be called a gunman because he’s 15 yrs old,” said Bronx District Atty Darcel Clark. “These ages make you weep.”

Besides the obvious impact of Covid & 2-yr lockdown of schools where troubled kids could have gotten intervention counselling & mental health help, reasons cited by the experts include easy access to illegal & make-shift guns, as well as overly lenient if not enabling progressive bail & sentencing laws. And, what about the societal-wide breakdown in respect for the law & law enforcement we see in today’s news & “entertainment” media? “They [would-be kid killers] think it’s cool,” said K’Mya, a team leader at Young Chances Foundation, a community organization that seeks to prevent violence. “They want that gun to define themselves & for people to be scared of them.” In that, “they” are a success?

Davd Soul