Sennheiser HD-25-1 headphones, Author Bizzarle (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)
WARNING: Graphic Images
Eight Las Vegas teens have been charged with murder, in connection with the beating death of a classmate widely distributed on social media [1]. The assailants range in age from 13 y.o. to 17 y.o. Their victim, Jonathan Lewis Jr., was 17 y.o. The altercation was apparently about headphones and a vape pen.
It is difficult to say which aspect of this crime is most disturbing: the age of the victim whose life was taken, the age of his assailants and their relationship to him, the trivial cause for this violence, or the fact the crime was shared on social media.
Causes of Violence
Most of us assume that children are incapable of violence, certainly incapable of murder. We are shocked when confronted with the facts.
In 2020, there were 930 arrests made nationally for murder or manslaughter where the perpetrator was 17 y.o. or younger [2A]. There were 19,140 arrests made for aggravated assault in that age range, and another 70, 940 made for simple assault [2B].
Gang dynamics, the psychology of crowds, and peer pressure all have bearing on the crime here. Abuse is likely, also, to have played a role.
A. Gangs
Gang violence in the United States emerged as early as 1783. In New York City, in particular, gangs were well organized by 1826 [3].
Dangerous street gangs, outlaw motorcycle clubs, organized crime (once actually termed gangland), and drug cartels are all representative of this underworld culture. Little has changed with time, except that drugs have been added to the mix.
Teens and young men are known to have been participants from the start (though girls and young women are not immune to the lure). Depending on age, young people serve as messengers, look-outs, bagmen, thieves, and thugs (some later specializing as enforcers or hitmen).
Although gangs may thrive on violence, they provide a sense of acceptance, security, inclusion, and identity to their members [4]. In effect, they substitute for the family structure many young people lack.
B. Crowds and Peer Pressure
It is well recognized that human beings will do in a crowd what they might never do alone [5]. The bounds of acceptable behavior are more easily transgressed in a group. Personal responsibility is abandoned. Morals are swept aside in the frenzy of the moment.
This applies to young people even more so than adults. Still trying to decide who they are, anxious to fit in, teens and pre-teens are more susceptible than adults to peer pressure. Continue reading →
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