Pick a topic, any topic, but here's a good place to start: by the middle of May, a certain small city had already had 15 homicides. This in itself should be enough to show your 'lifestyle' is not working. Instead of looking at each incident as an isolated incident, surely there must be someone who is capable of stepping back and looking at 'the big picture.' Unfortunately, though, it does not seem so. It's not about keeping young people busy so they have less free time to get into mischief and be in harm's way- it's about changing priorities.
When I first arrived in the city, two individuals I met were aged 13 (male) and 14 (female). My first thought: 'What kind of parents allow (yes, 'allow') young kids to 'hang out' all night, run the streets, spend their time in the company of much older 'friends'... and later learning the environments included underage drinking, illegal drug use, pornography, indiscriminate sexual activity, etc. I never heard about the girl again, but the boy continued his wrong-way path- years later showing up in the local news with a mugshot, arrested for weapons possession and conspiracy/intent to deliver heroin.
Awhile after I met those kids, I met two other individuals- both male, aged 19 and 41. Both remarked that they used drugs because they were 'bored.' The younger person, recently 'aged out' of the foster care system, was trying to give up his marijuana habit. However, when it became clear he was making genuine effort to improve his life, his efforts attracted older individuals who saw the fact that he worked hard at his new job and was obtaining his first apartment as something they could benefit from. Predatory behaviors do not always focus on specific genders or specific age groups.
Prior to recent years, I'd lived in three environments that were radically different from each other- different in terms of socioeconomic status, racial/ethnic groups, etc. But regardless of these differences, there were similarities that did matter. Not only did the similarities set all three environments apart from the city I am referring to, the results were better, too.
What I was familiar with: whether a person was a student, a housewife, or worked at a full-time job, after full days of school, childcare, or work, the place people wanted to be was home. When anyone 'went out,' it was for a specific purpose- going to someone's house, a school function, dinner or movies. While the first two environments mostly had two-parent households and most households in the third were headed by single mothers, kids had parents who were there. There were rules, and there was communication. And the general approach was be home unless you're somewhere else- 'hanging out' half the night with no legitimate purpose was not acceptable.
One of the main responsibilities of parents is, to the best of one's ability and within reason, to ensure one's kids reach adult age- alive, healthy, without a criminal record, without alcohol/drug addictions. And this outcome is not likely to occur when parents 'aren't there, or don't care,' or, as I've seen in recent years, actively encourage their kids to go in the wrong direction. In addition to not caring what kids do or what happens to them, there are those who supply their kids with alcohol and illegal drugs, and even those who use the substances with their kids.
An ad that runs regularly on tv is from a service providing addiction resources. The speaker comments 'Addiction is an epidemic!' and mentions how many people are dying from it. A top researcher on alcohol had the statistics that kids who start drinking when they are underage have a 40% chance of becoming alcoholics because their bodies and minds are not yet fully developed; and these statistics do not even reflect environments where even adults cannot grasp the concept of moderation. Is this really what you want for your kids- a lifetime of either battling addictions or giving in to it?
One current consequence of drugs- an innocent life ended, another life ruined- http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2017/06/01/des-moines-teen-who-killed-grandma-while-drugs-gets-50-year-sentence/361387001/
but instead of blaming young people, look at the influences they have in their everyday lives.
Update: after the city's 18th homicide of the year, the police department spokesperson remarked in a news article (paraphrased) that if there's someplace you think you need to go at three o'clock in the morning, and you think you need to carry a gun, maybe you should just stay home. That's kinda what I've been saying- but I usually get the retort 'We don't need you outsiders coming in here and telling us how to live...' Not only homicides but other violent crimes, drugs, etc., yes, that's exactly what some places do need.
When I first arrived in the city, two individuals I met were aged 13 (male) and 14 (female). My first thought: 'What kind of parents allow (yes, 'allow') young kids to 'hang out' all night, run the streets, spend their time in the company of much older 'friends'... and later learning the environments included underage drinking, illegal drug use, pornography, indiscriminate sexual activity, etc. I never heard about the girl again, but the boy continued his wrong-way path- years later showing up in the local news with a mugshot, arrested for weapons possession and conspiracy/intent to deliver heroin.
Awhile after I met those kids, I met two other individuals- both male, aged 19 and 41. Both remarked that they used drugs because they were 'bored.' The younger person, recently 'aged out' of the foster care system, was trying to give up his marijuana habit. However, when it became clear he was making genuine effort to improve his life, his efforts attracted older individuals who saw the fact that he worked hard at his new job and was obtaining his first apartment as something they could benefit from. Predatory behaviors do not always focus on specific genders or specific age groups.
Prior to recent years, I'd lived in three environments that were radically different from each other- different in terms of socioeconomic status, racial/ethnic groups, etc. But regardless of these differences, there were similarities that did matter. Not only did the similarities set all three environments apart from the city I am referring to, the results were better, too.
What I was familiar with: whether a person was a student, a housewife, or worked at a full-time job, after full days of school, childcare, or work, the place people wanted to be was home. When anyone 'went out,' it was for a specific purpose- going to someone's house, a school function, dinner or movies. While the first two environments mostly had two-parent households and most households in the third were headed by single mothers, kids had parents who were there. There were rules, and there was communication. And the general approach was be home unless you're somewhere else- 'hanging out' half the night with no legitimate purpose was not acceptable.
One of the main responsibilities of parents is, to the best of one's ability and within reason, to ensure one's kids reach adult age- alive, healthy, without a criminal record, without alcohol/drug addictions. And this outcome is not likely to occur when parents 'aren't there, or don't care,' or, as I've seen in recent years, actively encourage their kids to go in the wrong direction. In addition to not caring what kids do or what happens to them, there are those who supply their kids with alcohol and illegal drugs, and even those who use the substances with their kids.
An ad that runs regularly on tv is from a service providing addiction resources. The speaker comments 'Addiction is an epidemic!' and mentions how many people are dying from it. A top researcher on alcohol had the statistics that kids who start drinking when they are underage have a 40% chance of becoming alcoholics because their bodies and minds are not yet fully developed; and these statistics do not even reflect environments where even adults cannot grasp the concept of moderation. Is this really what you want for your kids- a lifetime of either battling addictions or giving in to it?
One current consequence of drugs- an innocent life ended, another life ruined- http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2017/06/01/des-moines-teen-who-killed-grandma-while-drugs-gets-50-year-sentence/361387001/
but instead of blaming young people, look at the influences they have in their everyday lives.
Update: after the city's 18th homicide of the year, the police department spokesperson remarked in a news article (paraphrased) that if there's someplace you think you need to go at three o'clock in the morning, and you think you need to carry a gun, maybe you should just stay home. That's kinda what I've been saying- but I usually get the retort 'We don't need you outsiders coming in here and telling us how to live...' Not only homicides but other violent crimes, drugs, etc., yes, that's exactly what some places do need.