Teen violence becoming bigger problem

Americans are obsessed with violence. We can’t get enough of it, with our first-person shooter games, wars, fights on TV and in movies, anger at home, and our lack of sensitivity for other human beings. But we’re not here to justify what these people are doing by blaming it on our messed up society. We may not realize it, but people are taking other people’s lives day after day. The victims and murderers alike are someone’s child, someone’s best friend, someone’s classmate. As a society, we don’t understand the intensity of this matter until it affects our personal lives. It’s the ugly truth; we’re so accustomed to hearing about fatal occurrences that we can’t even empathize with the victims or families damaged by these tragedies; it doesn’t even come as a shock to us.

            At least once every year, if not more, a violent act is committed in local schools. One of the most recent occurrences happened at Coral Gables High School where 17-year-old Andy Jesus Rodriguez allegedly stabbed and killed fellow classmate 17-year-old Juan Carlos Rivera. Not too long after that, Edward Jermaine Babbs was arrested for shooting and killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Rabsatt, and her unborn baby and leaving her to die in a parked car outside of a Winn-Dixie. Although this crime was not committed in a school, it still has everything to do with teenagers and the violence they are subjected to. Just last year, 15-year-old Teah Wimberly shot and killed Amanda Collette (another 15-year-old) whom she was supposedly romantically infatuated with.

             Another recent case involved five young teenage boys who allegedly burned 15-year old Michael Brewer alive over a bicycle.

Even the most well-trained counselor couldn’t really comprehend what these killers are thinking. No one knows the individual circumstances they endure or what would drive them to harm another human being. Our thoughts are that it goes deeper than video games or action/horror flicks. These kids are seriously troubled and usually show signs of psychological and/or sociological behavior beforehand. In some cases, these adopted behaviors of hate and violence tend to begin at home, whether it’s negative remarks ingrained into children’s minds or emotional and/or physical abuse.

Some are blaming the school systems for not having enough security on campuses. But really, people --not lack of metal detectors-- kill other people. There are even students who claim they are frightened and want to transfer out of the school. What we find interesting about this is the fact that this could literally happen anywhere, not just Coral Gables or Columbine. Where there are people, there is a chance, no matter how slight it may be of violence.

Oh, and one last thing: most students who are planning on committing a violent act against someone else usually tell someone. So do yourself, your classmates, various families, and the community in general a favor and tell someone. This is honestly a matter of life and death; imagine the pang of regret you’d feel for your entire life knowing that someone’s death could have been prevented by simply telling an adult.