While tuned into the “Jay Thomas Show” last week, some yo-yo called in with his contribution about why teens have been breaking into unattended, parked cars and stealing whatever is available. The guy who was calling didn’t sound like a teenager to me; however, maybe we should hope he actually is a teen with a much skewed point of view about who is responsible for his “entertainment.” Because the alternative means he is actually an adult with a very immature and selfish attitude.
And what did Mr. “I know the reason” for teenagers roaming the city, vandalizing and committing petty larceny determine to be the major reason for juvenile delinquents behaving in such a way? “They are bored because there’s nothing to do in Fargo!” Seriously – this is what the caller with the male voice actually said is the root cause of deviant misdeeds by those who are accused of breaking into cars stealing CD’s, money, ID’s and whatever else they could grab. The truly scary part is – he convinced me HE actually meant what he believed to be a viable excuse for actions commonly identified by most in our so-called civilized society with any intelligence as theft!
“There’s nothing to do.” “We’re bored.” The timeless and often-heard mantra of far too many teens and twenty-something’s who in this writer’s estimation have been coddled and “entertained” for the majority of their short lives. With every electronic gizmo and game system imaginable, not to mention computers, videos, television and movies, are kids “so bored” today and seeking any kind of adrenaline rush they can find, that some are resorting to breaking windows and car doors just because they can? Apparently. Unfortunately, being vandals and thieves are not enough for some. Murder has become the “end all “of excitement for some – to wit, the three teenagers living in a small town in Oklahoma who shot and killed an Australian baseball player, here in the United States on a baseball scholarship and out for his daily jog.
Christopher Lane was shot in the back while jogging by one teenager who actually pulled the trigger. The shooter was accompanied by two others who should, without a doubt, be the faces on pro-abortion posters and were quoted as saying they were “bored” and decided to go out and murder someone “for the fun” of doing it.
Prosecutor Jason Hicks said after the hearing “I’m appalled.” “This is not supposed to happen in this community.”
It seems to me we have already lived through something akin to this in the Fargo/Moorhead area. Sharon Tendeland was shot in her car in West Fargo when a group of teenage thugs decided to shoot her for no reason other than just deciding to shoot someone.
Is the question why, when or where will this type of unnecessary violence strike our Midwestern city again? Or should the question really be “How do we prevent random, nonsensical violence from staining one of our town streets again?” Our communities seem to be adamant in keeping their guns. I understand this, and for several reasons I agree. However, and this is a big “however,” how do we balance the right to arm ourselves as citizens with the same ferocity as making certain those who have guns are responsible, stable, sane adults with no desire or illusions to hunt down two-legged “prey?”
A former Prime Minister of Australia may have hit on the answer already. An Australian politician has urged tourists from that country to boycott the United States in response to the shooting death of Melbourne baseball player Christopher Lane. Tim Fischer, who served as deputy prime minister under John Howard from 1996 to 1999, urged Australians not to travel to the United States. He said that such a boycott would send a message about the need for tighter gun control regulations in the United States, according to News.com.au. “I am deeply angry about this because of the callous attitude of the three teenagers (but) it’s a sign of the proliferation of guns on the ground in the USA,” Fischer said this week. “This is the bitter harvest and legacy of the policies of the NRA…”
Banning guns in the United States is unthinkable to more than half of the country’s population.
What is even more unthinkable is having more and more unstable, insane or rogue teens seeking the “high” of a thrill-kill. Somewhere there has got to be a happy halfway balance for both sides of this issue.
The question is who will step forward to handle this hot potato? Or will we let the economics of slow tourist seasons and cancelled corporate meetings make the decision easier for Washington D.C. proponents of mandatory gun control end the reign of terror the NRA has created?
All comments and questions are welcomed and can be sent to Soo Asheim at: sooasheim@aol.com or to the FM Editor at: tfinney@ncppub.com