Children in Crisis
Growing up in America is different for most young people today than it was for their parents. Fear of violence and crime seems to be everywhere, from the streets of large cities to the halls of suburban and rural schools. Teenage boys, who once fought over their places in the drug markets, now shoot so readily that the reasons may be only sneakers, leather jackets, or insults. Bystanders are caught in the crossfire of drug wars and people can be shot just because a young person feels like killing someone. Some kids have become so desensitised to shooting that they laugh about it. On the streets in many cities, robbing the others is considered a symbol of honour.
There seem to be more senseless crimes done by juveniles that appear to lack a motive. For example, young people tried to set fire to homeless men sleeping in subway stations as many as twenty times in 1992. In these crimes, no one takes anything of value; there is nothing to take. The victims all appeared to be strangers to their torturers. One fire setter explained that he and his friends were playing near a man who was sleeping in the subway and they accidentally spilled some of their beer on him. Then they threw matches at him and when his blanket caught fire, they ran. Two other homeless men, who happened to come along soon after the fire started, threw themselves on the man and put the flames out. They called the police, and ran after the boys. At the police station, the boys were charged with assault and attempted murder. They gave no good reasons for the attempts, although the fun of it was suggested as a motive.
Almost everyone agrees that many young criminals are becoming more violent. The number of murders under the age of eighteen has climbed 93 percent since the 1980s. Murder is more common among today's children, many of whom are in trouble because of the violence around them. The Children's Defense Fund, a non-profit organisation, reports that two children under the age of five are murdered in America each day. In the same short period of time, about 7,000 children are reported abused or neglected. Many more cases are not reported.
Many adults are not, or do not want to be, aware of what is happening to today's children. They move farther from the cities, believing they can escape the problems of children in trouble. But even conservative magazines that usually devote their pages more to business than social problems are printing articles about today's "children in crisis". For example, in one issue of Forbes magazine, boys and girls from different cities talk about violence, hopes, cops, racism, drugs, school, and family. Others talk about suicide and abuse.
The Committee for Economic Development states publicly that it is concerned about whether or not children of today will have sufficient education, motivations, and undamaged brains to provide the needs of tomorrow's labour force.