Chicago’s teen violence epidemic
Video of the beating death of Derrion Albert: Warning – graphic violence
Community organizing has not stopped Chicago’s teen violence epidemic. The Olympics will not solve this long-festering problem, either.
The latest:
The family of Derrion Albert, the 16-year-old fatally beaten Thursday in an after-school mob melee in Roseland, struggled Friday to understand how their honor roll student’s life could have ended in such violence.
“Derrion has never been in a fight in his life,” said Joe Walker, Derrion’s grandfather who raised him. “He never raised his voice. Not in 16 years have I had one day of trouble.”
Walker broke down several times speaking about his grandson, proudly showing off the awards he received at Christian Fenger Academy High School for excellent attendance and being on the honor roll. Derrion had just started his junior year.
“We were crazy about him,” Walker said. “He was the type of grandson everybody wished for.”
Monique Bond, Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman, said Derrion “basically was walking along unprovoked, and unbeknownst to him he was about to walk into this conflict. I don’t think he even saw them coming.”
Three thugs were charged in Albert’s beating death today.
Tip of the iceberg:
The Chicago public school system has about 407,000 students in 666 schools. It is the nation’s third-largest school district and has been plagued by violence in recent years. During the 2007-2008 school year, at least 20 students were killed, including 18 by gunfire. The year before, more than 30 students were killed, again most by gun violence.
The Atlantic has a brief, but devastating piece on how business at one funeral home in Chicago is booming as a result of out-of-control violence in the city’s schools and neighborhoods.
Flying to Copenhagen isn’t helping.
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Clearly a tragedy. I can only imagine what this child’s family is going through. It must be horrible.
If this violence in Chicago is on the rise, the local officials and politicians need to recognize that they’re not getting the job done.
They should talk to Rudy Guiliani. I don’t like a lot of Rudy’s social stances, but he did an excellent job getting NYC cleaned up. At the very least, they could attempt to follow his “broken window policing” example… for starters anyway.
Guess they didn’t get ‘bama’s message on class in class.
Can’t we all just get along?
Actually there use to be a time when judges could say Jail or Military. But, our liberals said they couldn’t do that anymore. I have a friend that went to Panama that way. The judge sais jail or army and she would up getting her life together!
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May God bless the soul of this young man–and may He comfort their family.
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There were a lot of other people nearby who could have intervened and didn’t. Too many thugs in the area–and no armed people to help.
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I stopped a “fight” after school 20 years ago when I picked up my daughter from her school. About 10 White kids had a Black kid down on the grass in the park near the school and were hitting and kicking him. One punk was doing most of the punching. All the kids were about 10 years old.
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I pulled the hitter off the kid and yelled at them to stop. One of the kids told me they were just “having some fun”! I asked the Black kid if he was having any fun–he said, ” Hell no!”.
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We walked him back to his family’s house nearby. Fortunately these were small kids–and had no weapons.
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Too bad that some of the bystanders wouldn’t try to take down the guys with the boards. It could have been done. A wise man said, “All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing”.
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John Bibb
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And didn’t Obama fix Chicago already? Given that he moved on to fixing America?
Didn’t these thugs read “Obama is My Bicycle” ???
it seems we haven’t enough jail space and our guards cost us too much to house all of our miscreants. why not build a gigantic prison complex up around barrow alaska, hire a few eskimo’s and put these people there. guard resources are minimal, because escape is minimal. the choice between three hots and a cot or freezing to death and being eaten by bears and wolves really isn’t much of a choice. btw, 5 years in barrow will make a lot of wetbacks think twice about crossing that border.
Milwaukee blogger and talk show host James T. Harris sums things up in four words:
“It’s the culture, stupid!”
Check him out at http://nationalconversation.typepad.com
I had a friend like that, years ago; a real troublemaker. He retired out after 25 years and is now in management with a major electronics company, doing very well and a fine citizen. I guess it works. Sgt. Ermey (history channel) joined the USMC the same way, I read once.
You didn’t really need to go there.
But I thought the liberal hero Van Jones said it was the “white kids” that were perpetrating all the school violence.
Chicago is Obama’s back yard.Looks like he did as good a job there with his “hope and change” as he is doing with the rest of the country.
True-but why put them anywhere NEAR our troops? But I guess it would be illegal or something
I know the Army and Veterans organizations were upset with the movie “Dirty Dozen”. Bad guys and punks do not make good soldiers. During the Viet Nam war we had McNamara’s 100K- eightballs drafted to “be fair”; those that did make it to Viet Nam generally ended up in the Long Binh Jail–aka Camp LBJ.
The news accounts and videos of this and other violent gang events in Chicago, precede and nullify Obama’s visit to Copenhagen and are bound to sway the Olympic Committee’s decision against that city being selected to host the 2016 Games.
I can’t imagine they would risk tarnishing the Olympics by inviting unwitting, non-English speaking spectators carrying large amounts of US currency into an American city with streets so violent, that an innocent wrong turn could have devastating consequences.
This is what happens when the element in society with an overwhelming sense of entitlement and a genetic predisposition towards simian behavior is being paid by the system to breed.
We’re watering the weeds, people.
Punish success and reward failure – and this is what you get.
Your tax dollars at work….kids are being taught with…”understanding” “feelings” and “hope” …NO discipline NO respect Government has been producing these worthless beings for much to long for it to be “accidental” …..But Government will protect us from these misunderstood kids for only a very small increase in taxes….It is not reasonable to HOPE for any else from government
It’s not the melanin content or the genetics – it’s the character content, buddy. So I think you’d better reconsider your remark, which is one of the more offensive things I’ve come across here.
Animals.
And where is the Mayor Daley while kid’s are dying everyday in Chicago’s streets? More worried about bringing the Olympic’s to the city than stopping the gang violence. What a tool.
God Bless this family
Nothing will ever truly fill the void this loss leaves
May they find some modicum of peace through justice
What else is there
No Nail49, I am serious. I am retired Army and lived through the post Vietnam transition from Draft to an All Voluntary force. As a Company Commander at Fort Hood Texas I had misfits including drug addicts, thiefs, rapists, etc to deal with. I Court Marshaled two and Chaptered thirteen others in the span of 18 months. That was 8% of my workforce So been there and done that. I can’t remember the number of Article 15s I gave, but my company clerk got real good with his typing over that 18 months.
I believe in the Sheriff Arpaio school of thought – punishment should suck. Right now in our legal system it doesn’t suck enough.
Ever see the Dirty Dozen? If a gang is a problem of any kind then round them ALL up, but don’t put them in prison for the taxpayers to support. Send them to a special boot camp for six weeks. Don’t worry about their complaints, there is no complaint system / there are no washouts. They have six weeks to either learn what they have to learn to survive or not. They can lay on their bunk for the entire six weeks. I don’t give a hoot. Either way, they are going to the war zone in six weeks. Cowards or not they will be in a position where they fight or die based upon their ability to do what they are told.
Morale of the rest of the unit? There is no rest of the unit, it is only them and a very few of the biggest baddest SF guys who volunteer to lead the unit. Call it the American Foreign Legion. The only way they come home is when the job is done, or they are dead. In effect, make belonging to gangs suck.
Maybe unrealistic dream off/ might apply, but sarcasm doesn’t. I’d gladly contribute my share of tax money to such a program if it existed.
“Proper self esteem is the goal – not too much, not too little.”
Self RESPECT is of more importance than self-esteem.
Criminal have the highest self-esteem, as they think the rules don’y apply to them, they are better than that. Further, whatever self-esteem they have is fragile and can be burst with the smallest slight (“dissing”), and this leads to violence, to protect the oh-so-fragile self-esteem.
Self-respect is key.
Such a sad commentary on the violence and lack of respect for life this society now exhibits.
I question where the race baiting Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are condemning this violence. Why aren’t they organizing marches and boycotts against the liberal establishment that fostered this environment by their politics of dependency.
I find it hard to believe that gun violence is so prevalent in Chicago. Don’t they have some of the toughest gun control laws in the nation?
Interesting, I didn’t take that comment the same way you did. I also didn’t see any whites in that video. As for a genetic predisposition towards violence…statistics don’t lie. Okay, so I’m a racist. But “it really is the culture, stupid”. (I’m not calling you stupid, I’m just quoting someone!) Again, look at the statistics and tell me that this isn’t more prevelant in the black culture.
If Bush was a miserable failure, what does this make the No Show in Chief, the Supreme Embodiment of the Peter Principle?
I see a failed community organizer. Even his votes of present were lies. Calling him missing in action would be generous, I think he deserted.
I’m physically ill after watch that cruel and vicious attack!
My most heartfelt prayers are with the family. I can’t imagine the horror they are enduring!
GOD SAFE OUR NATION!
typo ~ GOD SAVE OUR NATION!
Happyscrapper:
What those punks did becomes prevalent when social order breaks down, regardless of race or heritage. You didn’t see this sort of thing in black neighborhoods years ago, when two-parent families were the norm, hard work was prized, and the kids were expected to get an education and better themselves.
I still stand by James T. Harris’ quote. And Bill Cosby’s assessment from a few years ago. And commentary from Thomas Sowell and Walt Williams and Star Parker and countless others. It is the culture as shaped by dependancy, entitlement, and no authority figures. What I do object to is comparing all blacks to apes, and suggesting that they can’t help their violent behavior. To me, that’s lumping those thugs in with the fine people I’ve just listed. Again, it’s not the melanin content, it’s the content of character.
Very sad for this boy and his family. May God bless and comfort them in this terrible time.
Obama must be too busy talking to our generals in the field to handle this problem. (eye roll)
That a thing like this can happen on ANY American street is a travasty. That the leaders of that city and the powers that be allow this behavior to continue is appalling. If the streets of Chicago are a war zone than they need soldiers.
Every decent human being in the state of Illinois is responsible if they continue to ignore the fire with-in.
Where are the black leaders with enough moral fiber to stand up and say NO we will not tolerate this another day? I am sick and tired of this nation being sick and tired……to tired to even give a damn.
I don’t think some of you understand our politicians. I used to live in New Orleans. The same problem goes on there to this day, even worse. The politicians don’t want to do anything as they can control the community where these people bread and live. If they arrest them or crack down in any way then the people will not vote as instructed. They allow the violence as this keeps the community in line and subserviant to the politicians and political machine. These guys who did the killing likely voted up to 20 or more times (each) for Obama at the command of the local boss. Until the politicians are forced out and we get rid of the machines, this will continue.
This is how Obama’s pal Raila Odinga and Odinga’s village-terrorizing thugs behave when they’re on a tear. Oh. My. Goodness. This poor family and their beautiful son/grandson…
“This is the hard lesson some students at Fenger High School have to deal with after a day of learning.”
A day of learning? Learning:
Stabbing, shiving and shanking – Alternatives and approaches
Ebonics 1A, 1B and 1C
Living Large with Rap
How not to make anything of yourself –
Blaming everyone else for your failings – 1A, 1B, 1C
Gangsta Appreciation
Tragically, too, justice is no longer a deterrent. The fear of punishment used to have the power to sway people from evil deeds. Not any more.
Hey Prince –
How come when I use the word “simian,” you assume I’m talking about black people in general?
I’m talking about the parasitic underclass that liberals have bred and fed for the past 50 years.
I’m talking about decent people being forced to underwrite their own destruction with their own tax dollars.
I’m talking about those lowest on the evolutionary scale being paid to breed.
We are watering the weeds.
Expecting any minute now:
- Oprah Winfrey to do a sob story show about how these vicious murderers are actually victims.
- Whoopi Goldberg to declair that it wasn’t murder-murder.
- Jimmy Carter to calll me a racist because I despise criminals.
We are living the Twighlight Zone episode called “Obamaland”.
Kennedy, Carter, Clinton, Obama…
if you didn’t have the low points, you wouldn’t have a way to measure the good things in life…
What African country was this in?
Sarc/off
Imagine how bad it would have been WITHOUT the $ from the Annenberg Challenge.
They do not want anyone to be free, to think for themselves, to do anything on their own.
This is typical, disgusting behavior, and I have recently seen it on a smaller scale in our small Town.
Yonjuro:
OK, so you weren’t talking about black people. But I still have problems with what you’re saying, and I’ll tell you why.
Human beings, regardless of race or circumstance, are equal in the “evolutionary ladder” in that they have souls and the gift of free will. The victim and his murderers came from the same backgound, under similar circumstances. The difference was in the choices they made.
Underclasses can be undone – ask any Irish-American, who was often considered even more subhuman than a black man. One can rise or sink based on his choices. A thug can have a change of heart and become a decent man (ask Nicky Cruz). A man with a first class education can produce misery for millions(Lenin). The weeds or the flowers are produced and cultivated (or neglected) in the garden of the soul.
So I shall hear no more the language of eugenics – of human weeds and genetic predispositions, even if not applied to a specific race. It is the content of the character, and that shaped by the choices one makes.
This type of behavior is a result of LBJ’s great society where every teenage girl can get on welfare for spreading their legs.
There is no father or family to speak of and the offspring are just like the ones you see here beating the crap out of someone for sport.
Solution is to stop supporting irresponsible behavior.
The federal Government is largely responsible for supporting this kind of behavior that breads criminals and destroys the nuclear family.
It is no accident that we have cities like Chicago and New Orleans that have a majority supporting themselves on the federal teat.
May the family of the young man Derrion Albert, find comfort and healing after losing their blessed child.
Too often the innocent are the victims of these uncalled for acts of violence. I feel for the young man, it appears he was on the right track to be an accomplished contributor in society.
These neighborhoods and projects are the results of years of democrat social failures involving government into the lives of citizens. How’s that “Great Society” working out these people now?
Sorry, Prince.
If these animals had never been born, one decent kid would still be alive and his parents (mother and father) would not be crying today.
Which would you prefer? One living honor student or four unborn pimples on the ass of humanity?
Which would you rather pay for?
Just heard one of those arrested was 19 years old.
How long has this kid been in HS? 5-6 years. No wonder they have such overcrowding, they don’t leave until they”re old enough to enroll on the welfare system.
Wow. I feel so sorry for the child’s family. Can we now stop glorying the “thug” culture. Someone is getting beat to death and all I hear is “damn, damn.” I’m sure you have a phone, call 911, don’t hope someone else will.
Yonjuro:
I’d rather have five decent kids. I’d rather have safe neighborhoods where families look out for each other. I’d rather have families with fathers who stay around and be responsible, and mothers who have husbands and not the boyfriend of the day. But that may not happen till my grandchildren’s grandchildren are old…
And so I mourn one budding life lost senselessly. But even so, I would hope his killers accept the gift of remorse,acknowledging that they are receiving their just deserts, and so regain their humanity and maybe become decent men in prison. It’s their choice to do so or not…
This makes you no better than Margaret Sanger or the vile abortionists who carry out her work today in Planned Parenthoods and abortion mills throughout the nation. In that, Prince Consort is right and you are wrong?
By what criteria are you determining that it’s better for certain people to never be born? Hindsight is 20/20, but neither you nor I are possessed with psychic powers. There is no 100% absolute guarantee that kids born into poverty, drugs, fatherless homes are going to be violent thugs. Just as there’s not a 100% guarantee that kids born to wealthy, two-parent suburbanites aren’t going to be seriously messed up. We don’t know how a child will turn out with certainty based on the circumstances into which he was born.
Do circumstances stack the deck for or against him? No doubt. But for every violent thug you wish had never been born, there’s a young man like Derrion Albert who, if you had your way, would be aborted simply because his parents are losers.
What I’d prefer to “pay for” are people to be responsible; for fathers to BE fathers and not just sperm donors; for mothers to keep their legs closed until they find a guy who will actually, truly provide for them (marriage included); for thugs like this to go to jail and be made examples of – rather than receive slaps on the wrists or have the likes of Sharpton and Jackson defend them as the victims here.
The solution to this problem is a radical change in the hearts and minds of our culture – for a return to the nuclear family, for a return of the sense of shame and guilt and a knowledge of right and wrong.
Not the continued, wholesale slaughter of the unborn – which is what you’re advocating – because that solves nothing.
Lars,
Sorry to respond so late but the bit about it being a “concerned” parent. If the parents at that school were more concerned, gang violence wouldn’t be an issue. The culture promoted by the welfare society allows parents to leave children to raise themselves. Being “concerned” means raising your kids right – not shooting video like a spectator at a gladiator fight. The more I think about it, this is one of the problems – trying to get on you tube or TV is more important than protecting, talking to or disciplining your children. “Concerned” my foot.
Looks like all of the “community activism” in Obama’s hometown has been helping out a LOT. Seems like if only we had this sort of “community” throughout the country, what a wonderful place it would be. Wouldn’t it?
How many times did the intelligent camera-operator say “daaaamn!” as he casually watched this brutality. It was the sort of “daaaamn!” he no doubt says when he watches a big hit during a football game or someone being brutalized in some form of prize fighting.
This is the America Obama subsidizes and wants for all of our futures. These people have been engineered and hardwired to behave like this, and you can thank the stupidity and unprincipled nature of liberalism for the death of that young man. That young man never had a chance, not in Obama’s America, where only the mindless brutes survive.
Thank you, English Queen, for that clear, relevent, and well written post. We need to pray for our Country and its future.