Word: youthe
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...sure, teenagers have never been angels. Adolescence is often a troubled time of rebellion and rage. From West Side Story to Rebel Without a Cause, the violence of youth has been chronicled on stage and screen. But juvenile crime appears to be more widespread and vicious than ever before. "Burglars used to rob a house and then run away. Now they urinate or defecate in the home or burn it up before leaving," says Shawn Johnston, a forensic psychologist in Sacramento. "Thieves mugged a person and ran off. Now they beat their victims." Or rape or murder them...
What is chilling about many of the young criminals is that they show no remorse or conscience, at least initially. Youths brag about their exploits and shrug off victims' pain. A Chicago case in which four teenagers raped and killed a medical student was solved because of good police work and what Pat O'Brien, Cook County deputy state's attorney, describes as "the defendants' inability to keep their mouths shut" about the crime. "It was a badge," he explains. "It was something they talked about as if it gave them status within that group of guys." Youngsters offhandedly refer...
...some cases, poverty can help spur violent crime. Many ghetto residents have little sense of hope or opportunity, and feel they have little stake in preserving society. Boys often have trouble forging a masculine identity without one of the primary accompaniments -- a job. Teen unemployment is endemic among poor youth, running more than 40% in many communities. Meanwhile, welfare and social programs suffered drastic cutbacks during the Reagan era. Says Chicago psychiatrist Carl Bell: "Violence is the weapon of the powerless." Agrees Professor Leah Blumberg Lapidus of Columbia Teachers College in Manhattan: "It relieves boredom and makes a statement, like...
...maximum-security facility for juveniles in Texas, murderers keep a daily journal of their feelings and act out their crime, taking the roles of both their victim and surviving family members. Sexual offenders meet with groups of victims every few months. At its prisons and work camps, the California Youth Authority runs voluntary classes in which inmates study property crimes, domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, homicide and victims' rights. Some offenders do eventually express remorse. Says one Giddings boy, a middle- class 15-year-old from Austin who raped his eight-year-old neighbor: "I realize how society really...
Above all, parents should take a long, hard look in the mirror. The values of today's youth are merely magnified reflections of the values of their elders. Parents should remember the words of the father in Harry Chapin's song Cat's in the Cradle, when he comes to a sudden realization about his insensitive, uncaring...