Youth Violence on January 13, Term Paper

The popularity of a "bum-fighting" series of DVDs serves as evidence of this culture. The show depicts actually homeless men fighting one another and getting beaten up. A number of the teens involved in violent attacks on the homeless have indicated that they enjoy the series. Even sports seem to play a role in the violent propensities. In the case of the Fort Lauderdale attack, one of the perpetrators was the captain of the high school hockey team, a game in which on-ice fighting is largely tolerated and whose spectator brawls have drawn recent media attention. A possible third suspect in the beating described the attack to officers in sport terms, saying that it felt to him like "teeing off" (Fantz).

Finally, the primary causal factor in attacks such as took place in Fort Lauderdale last year is boredom. Surprisingly, many experts in youth behavior, violence, and occupational sciences describe boredom as being nearly ubiquitous in violent attacks such as those committed by adolescents against the homeless. In a study conducted occupational researcher Timothy Hartnagel of high school dropouts, 21% admitted that they'd gotten into a fight at least once just for fun (Hartnagel & Krahn 428). Violent offenders often describe these behaviors as a form of amusement, as in the case of another attack on the homeless in Florida last year. When asked by police why he had attacked the homeless man, the teenage perpetrator answered, "I guess for fun" (CBS staff writer). Scott Russell, a Fort Lauderdale police officer, observed firsthand this release of boredom, saying "If you looked at these kids, it is almost like it was fun and games for them. It looked like they were laughing and finding great joy in what they were doing" (Weiner).This observation, taken at face value, might describe a group of kids on summer break, enjoying a game of football or some videogames, but it does describes something far more heinous. These children are relieving their boredom by beating a homeless man to death.

The disturbing trend in youth violence has exploded as the result of a conjunction these problematic factors, including opportunism and callousness toward the homeless, the inability to resist peer pressure, a pervasive culture of violence, and boredom in teenagers who have too much free time. This conjunction should give parents, communities, and social scientists reason enough to believe that slowing the growth of youth violence trends is no simple task. Before our vulnerable citizens can be safe from attacks like these, we must educate our youth to recognize the humanity of homeless individuals, we must help them develop appropriate social skills and resistances, we must fix an enormously flawed culture, and most of all, we must recognize the importance of productivity and creative release for adolescents. Only when we locate, recognize, and fix the underlying factors can we address the problem of youth violence.

CBS Staff writer. "Bumfight' Videos Inspired Joy-Killing." 2006. CBSNEWS.com.

Nov. 3, 2007. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/28/60minutes/main

2049967.shtml>.

Fantz, Ashley. "Teen 'sport killings' of homeless on the rise." 2007. CNN.com. Nov. 3, 2007. http://www.cnn.com/2007/U.S./02/19/homeless.attacks/index.html.

Moore, Mark H. "Youth Violence in America." Crime and Justice. 24 (1998): 1-26.

Weiner, Eric. "Florida Homeless Beating Caught on Tape." 2006. NPR.org. Nov. 3, 2007. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5156425.

Zimring, Franklin E. "Toward a Jurisprudence of Youth Violence." Crime and Justice. 24.....