These creatures (they are not animals, animals don't behave in this fashion) are beyond the pale. How can our society have failed so badly as to produce beings so incapable of making such basic decisions about right and wrong?
Steel, they are animals in every sense of the word. Mike Tyson was an animal and he proved it by beating on Robin Givens and biting Evander Hollyfield's ear off and just being one mean s.o.b. Human animals with no sense of remorse or fore or even afterthought of what they've done. It was just something to do to vent out some rage, sexual frustration (they're kids...raging hormones), and felt they could get away with it because they were kids. But even then, they just didn't give a damn. It was just something to do. To me that makes them animals. Savage, brutal, predatory animals. They've (in my eyes) have lost their rights to be human beings. Same with the Nazi's of the 40's and their prison camps, the Japanese in Nanking, Saddam's personal guards, and so on. Human beings don't behave in this fashion.
But it is more than this. The crime is heinous, almost beyond words, and it has thrown a spotlight on a very unpleasant aspect of modern society: the neglected fringes. I am not going to put this forward as some way of justifying what was done, that simply is not possible. I don't care how bad your living conditions are you can still choose not to hurt people. What I am saying is that it has, once again, highlighted the fact that our society has its failures.
Is society really to blame? Probably but only a small portion of the blame goes to us (society). Again, the large portion of the blame rests with the parents or primary care-takers of these kids. Raised seemingly without morals, values and an appreciation of life and the sanctity thereof the kids sought out gangs to have that sense of belonging, of family. Sadly losing their humanity along the way. I've known very poor families and known very poor families who have taught their children to be good people, by not taking their frustrations out on their spouses (in front of the kids) or on their own children. Who taught their kids the value of a good education, of working hard and feeling honor in that they're doing everything they can to elevate themselves out. That the road is long and hard but possible. I've seen this and seen how good the kids are as a result. Is society responsible for them? No, the parents have taught their kids how to make choices, teaching them to make bad or good choices... lies with them.
Were the actions of these villains the product of their upbringing and lifestyle? Some would say yes, but I would rather point to a society that has let someone develop with such a warped set of values that would allow them to even contemplate such a grievous assault as this. As MA-C said they won't even lose sleep over it because it simply will not impact their conscience or morality. And yet there are others living in similar conditions who would not even begin to think about doing something like this.
I just don't know.
How are we to blame for a father's or a mother's inability to find a steady job. To find a steady GOOD paying job? Jesus Christ is quoted as saying "... the poor will be with you always..." he knew that. Throughout the course of history we've seen it and we deep down inside know it. Ceicei pointed out (in another thread) that there are some people who
refuse to elevate themselves out of their poverty. It's a psychological comfort zone for them. It's a self-esteem thing. Some of them feel they deserve nothing more than what they have. Though they dream of someday winning a lottery or sweepstakes or a previously unknown rich relative has died and will leave them everything to them. Those are the optimistic (hopeful) poor.
You've also got the pessimistic (hopeless) poor. The ones who have nothing but a constant litany at the (sparse) dinner table of hate, prejudice, bitterness and anger at the boss, the co-worker, the welfare case worker, the cops, and just about anyone else who "keeps them down". Heavy alcohol use (not necessarily alcoholism though it is usually but again not always the cause) the great un-inhibitor, the great exaggerator of tales and emotions is a great symptom of these negative monologues that these children hear on a daily basis at home. Then they may hear about what a ***** their mother is, how lazy and what a terrible cook and see Dad yelling and bitching at their mom daily, sometimes or all the time hitting her and yes, raping her (not necessarily in front of the kids but I've heard horror stories of it happening). These and countless of other things they see on a daily basis.
So what do these kids do? What examples are they learning. They get together with their friends who are usually from the same type of homes and hear the same type of stories. This must be what life is like. Never mind what they see on TV. That's fantasy with the Cosby family or Fresh Prince of Bel Aire and so on. Not real, not what it's really like. These kids know better.
So is society to blame? Maybe in part. Not creating outlets for these kids. Not creating places for these kids to go (escape to) and be exposed to role models that'll hopefully set them straight. Sure, Big Brothers and Big Sisters and the Scouts and Boys Club of America and so on... places where sometimes a predator lurks waiting for the right victim to come along... and these kids KNOW that. So why hang out there and take the chance of getting molested? They're frustrated, they want things their parents can't afford them. Selling drugs, shoplifting and the related thrills that go with them (even if they're caught). The easy money to be made, busting in houses and going to the fence/pawn-shops. Learning all types of criminal activity to escape the misery of what lies beyond the door at home, which is a crap shoot. Is Dad drunk today? Did mom get fired and is on one? Are they fighting? Did I get caught doing something I shouldn't have done and they're waiting for me to come home so they can bust my ***? A 1000 and one things which are all fearful unknowns. It toughens them up, it makes them resentful, mean, bitter and little by little their own humanity that they were born with is eroded to almost nothing.
So is society to blame for it? In some parts yes.
(off soap box)
?) there comes a point when society needs to protect itself against elements within itself that are, to borrow a medical cliche, cancerous i.e. not amenable to treatment. These 'people' (loosely applied term) were not driven to steal a loaf of bread because they were starving but entered an area of behaviour I didn't think could still exist in Western society in the 21st century.
