YouTwits

I can't believe it needs to be said, in this day and age, in this freaking country, that violence against others is a bad, bad thing.  (Especially if it's in honor of those who "kill people and break things" during wartime.)  So of course, when word passed along my extensive line of contacts (re:  the one other guy I hang out with) that a 14-year-old kid had gotten beaten up, you might imagine I had a few choice thoughts.

The victim?  One fourteen-year-old whose name has not been revealed in order to protect him Nadin Khoury, who was assaulted by seven other students near an apartment complex in Upper Darby, a suburb of Philadelphia.  Not to profile the perps, but all of them were part of an alternative school program at Upper Darby High School.  Only two of them had any sort of criminal record (although one of the idiots suspects caught on camera had two previous charges of assault).

I'll spare you the details, since anyone can pull a Google or click on my magic links to read about the incident, but here's a quick breakdown:  They ganged up on him, pinned him down, spent at least a minute (out of the twenty-minute scuffle) kicking him in the chest, stuff him in a tree, and finally hung him by the hood of his jacket from a wrought-iron fence.

In case you're wondering, no, the kid never actually did anything to them.  This was simply bullying at its finest.

The bad news?  Nobody thought to help him.  Nobody was around to call 911.  Well, except for the woman caught on camera who basically looks the other way and walks away from the scene while he's calling for help.  As you can imagine, this was the "bystander effect" at its absolute finest.

The good news?  It was caught on camera.  Because our youngest generation is the brightest generation ever, one of them was standing there with a video camera, taping the whole damn thing, so they could post it online at their convenience and gloat about it to their classmates.  Presumably, this is the latest, hippest e-trend in cyber-bullying, which police all over the world are calling "YouTwit".

Of course, my forte, my raison d'être, is in the comments section for articles such as these, where emotion-driven dialogues and reactionary rhetoric are the name of the game, and yahoos like me can post compelling arguments such as "Fine the Parents $2000.00 each," "I say $10,000 and make them (and their child) do community service," and the classic line, "kids these days need their ass beat."  Because nothing solves violence like more violence.  (Just ask Batman.)

Of course, in situations like these, "Then you have the drugs."  Granted, they might have been a gang, but why does everyone always assume it has to be drugs?

Look, kids like violence.  And kids like being in groups.  Unfortunately, violence is bad.  And, by the transitive property, "groups" ---> "violent gangs".  It's a match made in hell, and trying to solve these problems with strictly punitive measures isn't going to fix anything.

I can only pretend to understand these situations insofar as I'm a violence-loving fourteen-year-old driven by mob mentality.  It's true that parenting plays a role, but let's face it, parents also have to compete with pop culture--specifically, a pop culture which glorifies violence.  I know that's a weak excuse, but I say this as someone who loves TV and movies--especially the violent ones (while being pretty ambivalent around all three of my parents).

You know what the solution to this is?  (Well, besides taking their phones, hanging them from a fence, and seeing how they like it?)  Community service.  Just...community service.  And a written apology to the victim, stating what exactly they did wrong and just how sorry they are.

And if that doesn't work.  They'll go to jail.  Actually, I believe that's how our justice system works.  Except they'd need a third strike anyway.  Which leads me to believe the guy with two assault strikes on his sheet is about to get put away, even if he is only 14 years old.  Frankly, it's been a while since I took those classes on Assault and Battery in the City of Brotherly Love.

Speaking of which, where's Charlie and the gang when you need them?

Note:  Probably dead by now.  Hopefully dead by now...