May 18, 2008Brutality crops up in silence at homeA week ago, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, a 29-year-old Roanoke man was shot to death as he stood in front of an apartment building on Hunt Avenue. Hours later, in an incident believed to be related to the shooting, a 50-year-old woman was attacked at a convenience store on Williamson Road. When an off-duty police officer spotted the suspects in the attack, he was viciously beaten and left unconscious. He remains paralyzed. The absence of values instilled at home is bleeding into America's streets in the form of a vicious and cold-hearted violence. Roanoke, as we saw last weekend, is not immune. Though police have not made arrests in the shooting, gunning someone down in broad daylight on a neighborhood block takes some audacity. "The ruffians have definitely reduced the quality of life across America," said Carl Taylor, a national expert on youth violence. "Young men think they have a sense of entitlement to take matters in their own hands." Taylor abruptly corrected me when I raised the specter of "urban violence" invading Roanoke. Location is not necessarily the issue, said the Michigan State University sociology professor. The issue is the type of violence. Everywhere from big cities to suburbs to small cities such as Roanoke, a brutal, anything-goes violence is cropping up, Taylor said. Last year, a 16-year-old Roanoke boy was sentenced to nine years for taking part in group beat-down that left a 41-year-old man dead. The 116-pound man was kicked repeatedly as he lay in a fetal position trying to cover his head, prosecutors said. The group's motive? The man owed one of his young terrorizers $5. "That's the flavor of the moment," Taylor added. It's a flavor that a civil society doesn't need. Some things can't be blamed on The Man or the system. I agreed with Taylor when he pointed out that "this still begins in the home base." When parents don't set expectations or instill values and young people lack a basic respect for humanity, society pays the price with this ruthless behavior we see being unleashed on neighborhoods. "Kids have no sense of right or wrong," he said. "There used to be shame. There's no shame." Taylor added that peers of today's violent young criminals "accept anything." He lamented the days when girls didn't fight, when thugs were ostracized, when some criminal behavior was just off limits. "We had a good fight -- if there is a good fight," the sociology professor said. But absent was the outright brutality that is becoming increasingly prevalent today. "You had an honor among thieves," Taylor said of "ruffians" during his era when he was growing up in the 1960s. "You didn't hit old ladies." By no means is 50 old. Yet the taboo that Taylor said once was shunned occurred in Roanoke hours after James Stokes was to shot to death in broad daylight May 10. The mother of a man who the rumor mill had linked to Stokes' death was assaulted later the same day at the convenience store. When Officer Bryan Lawrence spotted two suspects in the store attack, he began chasing them. He was in the process of catching one when the other assaulted the officer, leaving him paralyzed. A search warrant filed in Roanoke Circuit Court said a shoe print was found on his head. Police charged one man in the assault on Lawrence, and another man was charged with the assault on the woman. "Young men don't respect anything," Taylor said. "Chivalry is dead." And so, tragically, are too many young men. Shanna Flowers' column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. |
About this blog In her signature plainspoken style, Michigan native Shanna Flowers peels away the layers and gets to the heart of the issues. No pretense. Just straightforward perspective. Shanna writes about local people whose circumstances reflect decisions made as near as City Hall or as far away as the halls of Congress. Other times, she weighs in on a topic because it is incredibly ridiculous. Or heartening. Or fascinating. Read Shanna's column three days a week, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, at roanoke.com
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Comments
[May 18, 2008 8:27 PM]
TerryShanna the acts of violence teens commit each day leaves me speechless even as I look at the photo and read your article and story below I feel no sympathy towards these criminals nor their families.
'Justice was served, yes it was,' dead boy's kin says By JOHN F. BERRY
A gang member was convicted Monday on a dozen counts of murder and attempted murder for a drive-by shooting in San Bernardino that killed a 14-year-old boy and wounded three other people.
Keith Slaughter Jr., 20, of San Bernardino, was expressionless as the verdicts were read in San Bernardino County Superior Court.
The jury deliberated two days before convicting him on 18 of 20 counts, most involving the drive-by shooting on May 22, 2006. "Justice was served, yes it was," Ross said, crying. "Fourteen is too young for anybody to get gunned down."
"The big thing is they weren't biting on the 'let's blame it on the police' deal," Rogan said. "The evidence was clear, but they went through it closely."
Rogan is prosecuting Slaughter's parents, Julie and Keith Slaughter, on charges of witness intimidation and drug possession in connection with their son's prosecution. They will return to court April 25.
Keith Slaughter Jr. returns to court for sentencing on May 12. He faces multiple life terms.
[May 18, 2008 11:08 PM]
RoavaExcellent article. Taylor has hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately the violence that has captured the attention of Roanoke last weekend is not new or uncommon here. Our police officers see violence like this on a routine basis. Our police officers face the risks (and worse) suffered by Officer Lawrence on a daily basis. They have been fortunate recently, until now. The list in the lobby of the police department of dead officers illustrates the sacrifice they face.
Not only is Taylor right about the need for values being instilled at home, but the voters of this community can also make a difference. Voters must demand that politicians and judges bring down the full force of the law on violent law breakers. The police cannot protect the community when the justice system is a revolving door that criminals laugh at while being arrested.
We can only hope and pray that Officer Lawrence can return to the fine job he was doing of helping Roanoke. We can insist the courts help make sure more officers don't end up like him, or worse and end up on the list in lobby.
[May 19, 2008 6:44 AM]
Ed S.Shanna that was a good article on an important subject. However, there was one item that I found missing from the article and comments that I also feel is very important: the community needs to become re-involved in cleaning up this filth.
When my parents and grandparents would tell me of the days when children said "No, sir" and "Yes, ma'am", they also told me of how neighbors and the community supported and looked out for each other. When an adult witnessed a child break a window or say something improper, they would bring it to the attention of the child's parents, who would correct the situation. Contrast to what I see more frequently today: parents defending their child's actions and berating those who would question his "good nature".
The problems will continue until people come out of their homes and start looking out for the community. As long as citizens expect "someone else" to handle it ("that's only a job for the police" or "the government should do something about that"), this type of activity will only get worse. Sometimes I can't believe the things that people put up with in their own neighborhood just because they "don't want to get involved". It is unfortunate that they'd rather live in this filth than be a part of cleaning it up.
The most unfortunate part is that we all have to live together...and when someone doesn't take part in the clean-up, it's just more trash that we all have to live with.
Dr. Taylor noted media influence for some of the problems as well as the lack of a network of neighbors and extended family members who serve to correct a child. Additionally, this "no snitch" edict has made neighbors fearful to reclaim their neighborhoods, for fear of retribution.--s