Fair or unfair
The Columbia City Council passed a rather comprehensive curfew for the famed Five Points section of its downtown last night in light of the recent savage beating of a young man by a gang of teens. The attack has gained international attention and led to a rather angry debate over hate crimes. The City Council's reaction is a strong one, but is it fair?
It appears to address the problem without really addressing the problem. These teens who went on the rampage were the same kind of kids who used to hang out the malls and cause fights. These were the same kids who would show up at festivals and get in a fight. These are the same kids who caused fights in schools. What happened to them? They were essentially banned from the mall. They were not allowed in festivals. They were kicked out of schools. So they did what they did best. They regrouped and found a new place where people congregate, went there and got violent.
So now they will be kicked out of downtown Columbia. And they will show up somewhere else. What is the solution? Who knows. The government, schools, churches, mentors, football stars and the like can all say there is a need to help these kids, but unless they break the stranglehold that gangs and drug dealers have on vast parts of America, we will simply be just moving them to the next stomping grounds.
Is it fair or unfair?
It appears to address the problem without really addressing the problem. These teens who went on the rampage were the same kind of kids who used to hang out the malls and cause fights. These were the same kids who would show up at festivals and get in a fight. These are the same kids who caused fights in schools. What happened to them? They were essentially banned from the mall. They were not allowed in festivals. They were kicked out of schools. So they did what they did best. They regrouped and found a new place where people congregate, went there and got violent.
So now they will be kicked out of downtown Columbia. And they will show up somewhere else. What is the solution? Who knows. The government, schools, churches, mentors, football stars and the like can all say there is a need to help these kids, but unless they break the stranglehold that gangs and drug dealers have on vast parts of America, we will simply be just moving them to the next stomping grounds.
Is it fair or unfair?
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