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16-year-old honor student beaten to death in Chicago. Why are gangs so prevalent?
A cell phone video captures the beating death of Derrion Albert a 16-year-old honor student.
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/derrion.albert.investigation.2.1212436.html
Silvonus Shannon, 19; Eric Carson, 16; Eugene Riley, 18; and Eugene Bailey, 18, allegedly kicked and punched Derrion, an innocent bystander in a fight between two groups of students near the South Side school Thursday afternoon, according to Cook County prosecutors.
A copy of the very graphic and violent video was posted on YouTube (view at your own discretion).
The assault was not gang-related but arose from a disagreement between students who live in Altgeld Gardens and another group who live in an area known as the "Ville," according to Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Jodi Peterson.
"It's been a learned behavior. Our children suffer from something called moral inversion," said BlackStar Project spokesman Q.L Anthony. "I'm calling the parents out on this one. If you don't get out and govern your child's behavior, then who will?"
"The video games they watch all day long, the surreal TV, you can't do those things that you do on these video games," Anthony added.
Shannon has a job as a landscaper. Riley, a high school graduate, works part-time at a health care facility and auto repair shop. The pair do not have criminal backgrounds.
Albert's cousin came back from Iowa to attend his funeral.
"I moved away from Chicago just because this here. So, I wish he could have came with me," Avery Wingard said.
Blaming this sort of thing on video games is insane. Michael Jackson would not have sold the first copy of "Beat It" if this sort of thing were not common place in a time when there were no violent video games. Did "Pacman" and "Pole Position" drive people to violence in the early 80s?
The first part of what Q.L Anthony said was correct. Q.L Anthony said, "If you don't get out and govern your child's behavior, then who will?"
The video has been blocked on Youtube. It can only be seen if you sign in. Here is a clip from "myfoxchicago.com". I think it's important that people see this sort of thing to understand what exactly is going on in Chicago.
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/video_derrion_albert
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,556400,00.html
Before 2006, an average of 10-15 students were fatally shot each year. That climbed to 24 fatal shootings in the 2006-07 school year, 23 deaths and 211 shootings in the 2007-08 school year and 34 deaths and 290 shootings last school year.
Fenger students said Albert's death intensified tensions at the school, with arguments about him breaking out in hallways all day Monday. Several blocks away, a memorial erected on the spot where he was beaten was burned down. Police also increased patrols before and after school and in the neighborhood.
"It is our problem. We have to take control of our children," said Dawn Allen, who attended the vigil where a group of residents tried to force their way into the school before being turned back by police.
This month, the city announced a $30 million project that targets 1,200 high school pupils identified as most at risk to become victims of gun violence, giving them full-time mentors and part-time jobs to keep them off the streets. Some money also will pay for more security guards and to provide safe passage for students forced to travel through areas with active street gangs.
I'm angered that there are so many people who think that throwing money at something like this will make it go away! What is $30 million dollars going to do for these children? The article states it will provide mentors, and part-time jobs to keep kids off the street. The CBS2 article states...
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/derrion.albert.investigation.2.1212436.html
Shannon has a job as a landscaper. Riley, a high school graduate, works part-time at a health care facility and auto repair shop.
A lack of jobs were certainly not to blame here. This problem stems from something that money cannot buy. This problem requires parents who are--really responsible--for their kids. Parents who support the kids by their own means. Children are not stupid, once they are old enough to see that their parent(s) are not "working" to make things better, they rebel. When the state pays for the basic needs in life, what roll does a parent have in the kid's eyes? Those parents who are wards of the state become no different than the police at that point. Just someone else telling you what you can, and can't do. What kid wants that?
Albert was shinning example of can happen when parents care, and are responsible. Albert was an honor student, not involved in the gang war that caused his death. Albert was; however, in the same neighborhood. So how is it that Albert was not a gang member? That is where the answer to these problems will be found.
Don't examine the outcome of a problem to find the solution. Why not examine examples of success?
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2 comments
Wow, people are still blaming video games for violent behavior? That is just ridiculous. People will blame violent kids on everything but the real source: parenting, or better yet, lack thereof. Of course, the parents will blame video games, the media, society, and whatever else they can think of blaming before looking inwards. Did they play video games? Sure they did. I mean, a lot of parents are substituting a PlayStation for actually being home and watching your kids. 30 million dollars? Are you serious? Whatever happened to parenting? While some might blame their environment and how poor they are I offer this: there are tens of millions (in the U.S.-billions everywhere else, and I mean so poor that millions die of starvation--at least poor people here get gov't assistance-which millions exploit as well) of people who grew up poor as dirt and didn't turn out as violent psychopaths. People need to start looking inwards and not blame society for their problems.
And officials need to stop throwing money at the problem and invest that money in the schools. That's a whole other argument too, the schools.Here in Jax, you see all these schools getting failing grades and getting their funding taken away. The situation is so bad that instead of teaching these kids what they need to learn and reasoning and creative thinking skills, they are actually being taught the exams. Once again, the problem is not with the schools, it's with the parents. For every 100 kids that flunk those tests, how many of them actually have parents that sit down with them and help them do homework? How many parents beat their asses for bringing home sh***y grades? How many parents just call the teachers to see how their kids are doing and how they can improve? How many of them go to their PTA meetings? How many of them have ANY other kind of communication with the school instead of just signing suspension notices and report cards (if they even do that)? Once again, the problem goes back to the parents.
Rob: I agree with you. The problem has to do with individuals NOT society. As you pointed out there are poor people elsewhere in the world, and somehow this is not a problem in those places. That pretty much says it all. 
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