With the advent of summer weather, Chicago, like a few other places, is now faced with what has become the latest problem involving urban youth, wherein masses of exclusively black young people clued and enabled by the telegraph of social media, converge and congregate at a given vicinity from where they spill out into the down town business districts and public beaches, dissolving into swarms of marauding crowds roaming around, yelling and dancing, creating disturbances, engaging in minor skirmishes and vandalism and occasional gun fire, offenses that have led to police intervention and arrests.

Talk about idle time being the playground of the devil!

This has really discouraged ordinary adult Chicagoans and tourists of all races from venturing out to enjoy the sights and sounds of Chicago's summer time festivities.

Similar gathering have been reported by white suburban teenagers on a smaller basis, while Hispanic mobs reportedly confine their swarming to their barrios.

No one seems to know how to deal with the situation other than to blame parents for not controlling their children.

This is a tickingtime bomb ready to explode into rioting and violent law enforcement intervention.

Chicago's black Democratic mayor is tip-toeing around the issue, not wanting to alienate his black base, resorting to the familiar litany of there not being enough resources to supply these young people with wholesome recreation activities, all the while continuing to discourage calls for a 10:pm curfew. Media coverage of these outbreaks are also causing controversy.

Needless to say, NOBODY is happy about the situation, but a certain segment of Chicago's black population is joining the chorus blaming "bad parenting", which they attribute to the "babies havin babies"plague that created a whole generation of young parents who are clueless about child rearing, and who empathize with, rather than discipline their kids.

The latest action taken emanates from the States attorney office, where threats are being made to serve negligent parents of cited offenders, with a fine of $5,000 or up to one year sentence in jail...

In addition to everything else, this is yet another situation to fan the flames of Donald Trump's campaign to blemish Chicago's image.

Point well taken.

10 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

The latest action taken emanates from the States attorney office, where threats are being made to serve negligent parents of cited offenders, with a fine of $5,000 or up to one year sentence in jail...

While a curfew may be harder to enforce, threaten a Black parents pockets & freedom & maybe they will put clamps on allowing their children to roam aroumd causing chaos & mayhem.😁

Social media is definitely to blame for stirring young folks up to act foolish.😎

8 hours ago, ProfD said:

Social media is definitely to blame for stirring young folks up to act foolish.😎

Lol....it just COULDN'T be their brains.

11 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

Lol....it just COULDN'T be their brains.

As I remind other old heads, every generation says the generation behind them is worse.

Young folks have always moved in mobs & packs & gangs to do dumb sh8t. It isn't new.

Social media just makes it easier for them to organize & also for everyone to upload videos reporting it.😎

I’m not familiar with the story @aka Contrarian related but it doesn’t sound like it’s a dozen or so kids—It sounds like it’s hundreds. I think that’s new, if if that is indeed the case.

Of course, social media has a hand in facilitating the sharing of this type of activity however, they are not completely the blame. I’m not sure the parents are either. It’s probably a combination of social media poor parenting, kids not knowing what the hell to do for fun.

Yeah, I can see every generation thinking the generation before them is worse. When I was a kid, all we needed was a slab of concrete and chalk and we could play all kinds of games all day long.

The issue is not about whether this generation is worse than the preceding ones or about finger pointing. That's all a waste of time.

It concerns what to do about what is currently happening.

Problem solving gets lost in the shuffle of idle reminiscing.

Maybe fines and jail sentences will have an effect.

Or perhaps these roving hordes of young folks will get scared straight, after a body count builds up at the hands of trigger happy cops...

Such is life.

59 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

The issue is not about whether this generation is worse than the preceding ones or about finger pointing. That's all a waste of time.

Or perhaps these roving hordes of young folks will get scared straight, after a body count builds up at the hands of trigger happy cops...

Agreed. Coming up with a solution that keeps 1) young folks out of jail & alive especially if trigger happy cops show up & 2) parents from fines & jail time is more important.😎

18 hours ago, ProfD said:

As I remind other old heads, every generation says the generation behind them is worse.

Young folks have always moved in mobs & packs & gangs to do dumb sh8t. It isn't new.

Social media just makes it easier for them to organize & also for everyone to upload videos reporting it.😎

Prof......YOU were a teenager before.
Did YOU run out in the street with a pack of other boys blocking traffic, grabbing your crotch, and throwing up a finger at the police and passing drivers with a big grin on your face?

Did you get together with other boys AND GIRLS by the dozens and go out invading liquor stores smashing up shit and snatching liquor and snacks out of the place with big grins on your faces?

These kids are different.
The Crack Babies have grown up and have produced children of their own....lol.

Perhaps the previous generations saw the next generation of youth as being worse because they actually ARE worse.

9 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

Prof......YOU were a teenager before.
Did YOU run out in the street with a pack of other boys blocking traffic, grabbing your crotch, and throwing up a finger at the police and passing drivers with a big grin on your face?

Did you get together with other boys AND GIRLS by the dozens and go out invading liquor stores smashing up shit and snatching liquor and snacks out of the place with big grins on your faces?

As a Gen-Xer, I did not act a fool but I had plenty friends who did the same sh8t & in some cases much worse.

Back in the late 1970s/through mid-1980s, DC had gangs. Many of them graduated to become drug dealers & killers.

Those same Gen-Xers are either stretched out in the penitentiary or no long longer with us. Some of them managed to reproduce too.

9 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

These kids are different.
The Crack Babies have grown up and have produced children of their own....lol.

It is true that Crack babies have become adults & reproduced.

These young people are doing the same dumb sh8t as their parents (Gen-Y) & in some cases...grandparents (Gen-X).😎