Teenage Beating in Florida - Victoria Lindsay

[DaveL]

Guys,

I know this could get really emotional and tabloid, but the recent Youtube inspired beating of Victoria Lindsay in Florida by 8 school friends was really sad.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/702331/the_victoria_lindsay_beating_preventing.html

Regardless of what was she'd done/said, I don't think these kids were really thinking too well when they decided to beat the crap out of her and film the whole thing for youtube.

Youtube has inspired some good, edgy videos, but it's also inspired some real crap. This was really crap (and unfunny). What were they thinking?

[pieces o nine]

Site such as YouTube provide the 'fame' hook that sociopaths (established or in-the-making) crave, but I don't think they can be pointed to as a cause. In fact, videocams, camera phones, MySpace, video hosting sites, "citizen news footage" etc., have done a lot to force people to realize how much bullying, hazing and other violence cuts across ethnic, gender, and socio-economic lines, rather than allowing it to remain invisible and downplayed. With that forced awareness comes efforts to improve the situation.

On the one hand, keeping a journal in which one unloads any and all feelings can very healthy for teens and others undergoing stress. On the other hand, what one writes can be confiscated and construed as intent-to-act-on, depending on who comes across it and when. Unfortunately, the illusion of anonymity plus the fame factor for many (especially young people who have no concept of how their words and images will remain *forever* once posted to the web) creates problems whether they are the bullies or the bullied.

Elementary courtesy is sneered down as "PC run amok" in many circles. So many kids never had boundaries or experienced any consequences for their actions, due (I think?) to the parents in my generation trying to avoid the extreme punitiveness of their  parents. Blaming the victim is a way to avoid dealing with injustice, and it gets a lot of unintentional support from the "you create your own reality" pop culture. Sigh.

To cut what is becoming another essay short:
What were they thinking?
They were not thinking.
And they will be protected by outraged parents from learning to think now.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Years ago, a cute, petite, WASPy suburban coed at my college and her friends went on a spontaneous camping weekend in the Badlands/Black Hills area. While there they found and killed -- with their bare hands  and improvised weapons of sticks and rocks -- a non-predator animal on the endangered species list. Their crime would have gone undiscovered and unpunished had they not been overwhelmed with the desire to document their achievement with several happy snaps.

Upon returning to town they had the film developed at the local spot, overseen, unbeknownst to them, by a hunter-slash-wildlife advocate. He immediately turned them in to the feds without a qualm. I doubt petite WASPy girl's parents would have believed their daughter capable of hurting a fly, without unretouched photographic evidence of her blood-smeared, grinning face. I also suspect that they blamed the school for being so close to nature, the animal for crossing her path, the friends for egging her on, the film developer for turning her in, the authorities for allowing wildlife to live in reserves and for prosecuting her for committing a crime, everyone, in fact, except their daughter, herself, for her actions.

Ironic: sheep-killer girl is just about the right age now to be the mother of one of those cheerleaders...

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

I saw a news bit about that, but have not viewed the video.  I probabily won't see it, either.

It is sad.

But it is unsurprisingly pretty typical (except the YouTube tie-in) day in the USofA these days.

Kid-on-kid violence is up.   Gangs are up.

I haven't a clue what to do-- except for more education.

It's much harder to beat up someone you know well, than it is someone who you have "pegged" in a particular "slot".

*sigh*

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

So many kids never had boundaries or experienced any consequences for their actions, due (I think?) to the parents in my generation trying to avoid the extreme punitiveness of their  parents. Blaming the victim is a way to avoid dealing with injustice, and it gets a lot of unintentional support from the "you create your own reality" pop culture. Sigh.

To cut what is becoming another essay short:
What were they thinking?
They were not thinking.
And they will be protected by outraged parents from learning to think now.

One thing is the lack of understanding on meaning of 'correction' (not being physically or verbally abusive with a kid doesn't mean you don't have to correct him when (s)he needs it) and a different thing is simply not knowing/caring what your son/daughter is doing.

To me is perfectly clear that the failure of a kid is the result of the failure of the parents; if my kid comes home with bad grades and I 'let him be' I am failing as a parent; it doesn't mean I have to yell him once every quarter but to follow up with him every day. When I got into the trouble of being a parent I was aware of what the job implied and that it is an everyday/night job but many parents have this fuzzy feeling that somebody else is responsible for his/her kid's actions, as if providing (mostly bad) food, (shiny) clothes and shelter were the exempt of their responsibility. Let the XBox and a bunch of M rated games take care of his/her time... 

There are sooo many people who aren't ready to be parents...

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

There are sooo many people who aren't ready to be parents...

So true.

Fortunately, kids are amazingly resilient.  Able to come out of the most depressing of conditions and become useful adults.



Most of the time, anyway....

[pieces o nine]

I heard about this new travesty in this case and looked it up to make sure. 

What did this girl learn? (1) That she can get away with *anything* if she remembers that it is *her rights* being violated. (2) Someone will pay big time to hear her side of the story. Cause it's so relevant. 

I had little respect for these tv ratings ghouls, and it's slipped even lower. Even though a stunt blew up (again) in his face, and even though he's shoving the responsibility onto the people who were specifically paid to pull this kind of crap, both he and the teen hoodlum walk away with even more publicity. 

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Interesting Times.

It started when the TV execs realized that News could be done at a Hansom Profit.

I remember the long-lost days when the News was done at a LOSS, because the broadcast license they were GRANTED by the Gubment to use OUR collective airwaves, specifically required them to serve in the public interest.

In those days, TV news was news first.  Oh, it had it's moments of sensationalistic buggery, too.  But, by and large, I think the Journalists had more integrity and credibility.

Nowadays, it's just another Entertainment Channel.  Newsertainment. 

*bleah*

It's why _I_ choose to listen to an honest Newsertainment show. (The Daily Show) At least they don't pretend otherwise....

[Sibling Chatty]

There are times that I wish I had a time machine. Maybe if someone had 'removed' Geraldo Rivera at a young age, some of this TV geek show could have been avoided. (Springer, too...)

[DaveL]

The girl (Mercedes Nichols) that Dr Phil bailed out was one of the chief instigators - the bashing venue was her grandmothers house. She unapologetically trumpeted her actions over on her myspace site. Now she's being potrayed as the victim.

There's one part of the video where one girl (I think it's April Cooper, from the mugshot photos) is repeatedly laying into her. Where does a young girl learn to punch like that?

[pieces o nine]

I've been having uncharitable thoughts that perhaps *all* eight teens involved in beating up that girl are simply...unappreciated...

Perhaps they would find a more satisfying environment wearing fatigues, boots, heavy packs, and carrying rifles where their hand-to-hand mad fighting skillz would come in ever-so handy. Maybe we could swap them out for eight service people who are long overdue to come home from Afghanistan or Iraq...

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Maybe we could swap them out for eight service people who are long overdue to come home from Afghanistan or Iraq...

...surely working in one of the nice prisons where suspects are bitten by dogs, forced to do gay peepshows, receive electric shocks and waterboarded among other things.

As usual, beware what you wish...

[pieces o nine]

You are right, Zono. 

I realized after that swap-for-troops post that, even in the event of such 'justice' they would likely not encounter "terrists". Instead, they would be inflicting their violent impulses on even more people who have done them no harm, and suffered too much abuse already.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

You are right, Zono. 

I realized after that swap-for-troops post that, even in the event of such 'justice' they would likely not encounter "terrists". Instead, they would be inflicting their violent impulses on even more people who have done them no harm, and suffered too much abuse already.

I say put'em in charge of W's security.  24/7.   Either way, the US wins.... the kids may learn a thing or three that is useful.  Or else they fail on the security part, and learn from that.

Either way, it's a Win-Win for the US, yes?

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

There's one part of the video where one girl (I think it's April Cooper, from the mugshot photos) is repeatedly laying into her. Where does a young girl learn to punch like that?

Oh, there's a number of places.
My step mom taught her girls how to fight, and fight well (I've seen that woman fight--I have youth, dexterity, four inches in height, a much longer reach, and a good twenty pounds on her and I would go out of my way to avoid pissing her off). Not pretty to watch her girls use those skills. And it's possible that the miscreant's parents taught her to fight like that.
Karate. There's another place.
Years of just getting into fights. I've got a friend that gets into at least one fight at every show he goes to, and he's capable of doing some serious damage. No formal training at all. Just years of living in a shitty part of town.

I've seen things like this before. This little cretin I know (seriously, he's like five four and maaaaaybe 110lbs) got in a fight with some drunk girl. He wanted to show he'd fight a girl. I refuse to watch it, but here's the link anyway, in case you're curious (this is faaaar from the only one documenting fights and assaults). Be warned--it's some pretty savage stuff.

The lack of accountability is quite amazing. Brutally assaulting another kid gets a suspension (and if the victim defends himself, in the school district I attended, they get punished, too), and that's it. Maybe some ineffectual counseling, but no more than that. It takes a dang long time to get an expulsion, because the school wants the $100 or so bucks the child's attendance brings from the state.

[Sibling Chatty]

Some girls learn to punch from actual self-defense.

All it takes is one abusive parent.

By age 17, I was able to defend myself well enough that a would-be mugger ended up in the hospital with a broken nose and jaw. (Fists only, no weapons.) He was slightly psycho on some drugs, I was meaner'n hell. I won. He was about 7 inches taller, 10 years older, and not smart enough to back off when I turned and landed the first punch and broke his nose.

From the sounds of this bunch, they probably picked up the 'talent' by being bullies all their young lives.