Monday, June 1, 1998
Killer kids
VIOLENCE: Society must step up to solve
growing problem of violent children who lack needed
attention
By Lena Kasahara
Juvenile violence. It’s a deadly epidemic sweeping the country.
It’s already taken the lives of hundreds of people and continues to
wreak havoc upon society. Its virulence is mounting and seems
virtually unstoppable. What’s more, the population is without a
cure and helpless against its effects. It hits without warning,
leaving communities wondering: "When will it strike next?"
Sadly, it is no longer unusual to hear stories of brutality
instigated by the hands of a child. Children are slowly assuming
the roles of the notorious mass murderers of the past. The "Jack
the Ripper" and "Night stalkers" of today are more often youths.
Homicides, shootings, rapes and murders are no longer "adult"
crimes. These are all acts where children and teenagers can and
have assumed the role of the aggressor.
The natural question to ask, then, is, "What drives these
children to pursue such heinous acts?" Childhood is supposed to be
a time of innocence. Of course, acts of rebellion are a common part
of growing up. However, children are pursuing increasingly violent
means of expressing their dissatisfaction with the world.
Where once "criminal activity" for children meant stealing a
pack of gum from the neighborhood store or smoking a cigarette
behind school grounds, such benign acts are becoming obsolete. Many
children and teens are pursuing more drastic media for acting out
their aggression. Senseless, violent acts are the instrument of
choice for many of today’s youth.
Reports of kids bringing guns to school and opening fire upon
classmates are becoming the norm. Within this year alone, there
have been three such acts of aggression. Children undoubtedly view
violence as an effective way of being heard. Are we tuning out the
voices of children so much that they feel they must resort to such
acts? Are we, as a collective society, pushing children to rely on
shock tactics to communicate with us?
Juvenile violence has de-evolved over time. School bullies no
longer threaten to take your lunch money; they threaten to take
your life. Fist fights have turned into gunfights. The power of
communication has been virtually lost in this day and age. Violence
is increasingly replacing communication as an outlet for the
emotional baggage of children.
Our natural inclination is to find blame for the violence.
Social problems are much easier to swallow if we can place the
responsibility on someone or something else. It’s the familiar,
"the-bad-guy-did-it" syndrome, a paradoxical phenomenon where
finding a scapegoat is considered "doing something about the
problem." It is easy to fall prey to this finger-pointing phobia
because it distances us from the situation. Assigning blame reduces
any personal ties to the violence. But the sad truth is, it is
society (us) that is inextricably linked to juvenile violence: It
is our lives which have been shattered and our communities that
have been torn apart by this problem. Thus, it is up to us to
actively solve the problem.
With this said, the question arises: "What can we do?" Of course
this is not an easy question to answer. There are various facets of
teen violence to cover before arriving at a solution, but there are
definite starting points. For beginners, we must possess passion
for alleviating the condition. Like the saying goes: "Doing nothing
is doing something." Complaining idly about the state of the world
is not going to fix it. If we want our children to live in a better
world, we need to become active now.
One area we can begin to improve is the institution of
education. Proper education is the first step to alleviating
juvenile violence. Sadly, some public schools are forced into
situations where quality education has become less of a concern.
Teachers and administrators must work around dwindling funds and
resources from the state, cramped, decrepit buildings and
outrageously high student-to-teacher ratios. With these horrid
conditions, it is no wonder that children do not receive the
individual attention that they so desperately want and need.
Schools are places where social interaction and mores are
learned as well. If children are accustomed to getting away with
certain acts, they will continue to test the limits of their
actions. Thus, if teachers and administration have no time to
dedicate to discipline children, problem students will continue to
get worse. If these students are indeed punished for unacceptable
actions, it is usually in the form of expulsion. This seems
counterproductive because rather than readjusting and modifying
behavior, schools are ultimately allowing students to continue with
such actions outside school boundaries. This is just another
example of getting rid of the problem rather than attempting to
solve it.
There should be programs headed by school counselors dedicated
to help problem youth. Often times, children act out because of
problems at home. They are frustrated and confused and don’t have
any other way of expressing their emotions. All they really want is
for someone to listen. Is that really too much to offer?
Schools have the responsibility to educate. This is not limited
to book learning alone, but extends to life lessons as well. By
avoiding dealing with problems at its inception, we create bigger
problems for society down the road. Thus, money should be poured
into helping kids while they’re still in an educational setting
rather than waiting until they have done greater damage.
The importance of family should not be underestimated. Children
learn a lot from parents and adults purely by observation. Families
should be supportive institutions where children learn the value of
communication. If children view parents expressing feelings and
grievances in a rational manner, they will tend to follow suit.
Children would not have to find hostile means of expression if they
were raised in environments conducive to open communication. There
should be more social programs informing parents of proper
parenting techniques. It’s true that there are many parents who
simply don’t care. But then again, how many more individuals just
don’t know how to be a good parent?
On this coming election day, we can begin our road to recovery
by voting for candidates who uphold similar ideals of education and
family. Although juvenile violence may have reached epidemic
proportions, society certainly has not been rendered incapacitated.
A potential panacea does exist, but it is up to us to actively
pursue it.