Violent Attacks on the Homeless: The Root of the Problem

Recently three teens who took part in the brutal murder of a homeless man in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were sentenced to prison. They admitted to having a few beers with Rex Baum, 49, when a "primal urge" suddenly came over them and they became violent. The three teens beat and murdered the man, tried to cover him up, and then went to Mc Donalds to eat.

The National Coalition for the homeless reports that there were 122 attacks and 20 murders of homeless people in 2006. One of the disturbing elements of this trend is that the majority of attackers are middle-class teenagers with no criminal record. What could possibly motivate these kids to suddenly release such brutal hatred on someone they do not even know? How are they able to completely disconnect themselves from the acts they are committing and the feelings, physical and emotional, of the person they are so heartlessly torturing? Is it possible that a person could want to go to Mc Donalds to get something to eat and make himself forget about the atrocious act he just committed?

In my opinion, this is all part of the downward trends of parenting in our culture. Parents have stopped taking responsibility for where their teens are, who they are with, and what they are doing. How is it that a fifteen-year-old boy can be drinking beer with a homeless man on the city streets? Children are children, whether they are five or fifteen. Parents have begun to view their fledgling, hormone-driven, mentally immature teenagers as adults, and have given them the freedoms which come therewith. This has been supported and reinforced by our government, which in many cases believes a fourteen-year-old girl is old enough to decide whether or not to have an abortion, though she is not yet able to drive a car.

Parenting cannot be compartmentalized. You cannot be a parent in that you provide food, clothing and shelter, but no moral or intellectual guidance. I believe that these teens are personally responsible for their actions and must feel the full weight of the consequences. They have the abilities to reason and know the difference between right and wrong. However, have the parents molded their child's ability to empathize and consider the consequences of his actions? Or has the parent left the child to be raised by video games, people they find meet on the streets and equally delinquent friends? Perhaps this was not the case with these three teen boys. Maybe they had involved parents who were taking their responsibilities seriously and simply could not help what happened. One thing is certain: The evidence suggests otherwise. Not just in this case, but in the violence and destruction being unleashed by teenagers across the country.