urbanSTL

^You all are entitled to your opinion, but poverty and economics do have a direct impact on (or escalation with regards to) crime.

And although it is not "NYC-style" Stop and Frisk, which was ruled unconstitutional, stop and frisk is applied by St. Louis police every day in the City of St. Louis. Stop and Frisk would not have kept the man in the article from getting beaten with a tree branch.

Even with all of the police murders happening across the country, instilling fear tactics don't work. It only makes people angrier and mistrustful of the police. Community policing - which St. Louis does very little - works in other cities.

I personally believe good samaritans (like the man and woman in the article) are trying to be helpful because they are disturbed by an event they were witnessing, but you also have to use wisdom - especially nowadays. People - in general - have become ruder and more violent. And more and more people are packing heat. CALL the police and stay close-by to be a witness. This is why the police exist. I will not be getting beaten down (or stabbed or shot) by a group of strange hooligans unless I'm defending family or friends.

Last, our country has become callous in how it treats the mentally-ill and those who are truly impoverished and are in genuine need of services and community resources. I agree with the Cherokee Business Association representative who suggested more has to be done to address poverty and resources for the poor in the city.

More targeted services and resources will not fix all of the problems, but it would certainly help mitigate a lot of them.

framer wrote:This is just unbelievable. It's not the kids committing the crimes and it's not the parents who raised the kids...it's always someone else's fault.

If a child/teen/young adults commits a crime, it is the fault of the person committing the crime. On the other hand, sorry, but kids/teens/young adults acting out and committing petty or serious crime is not always the fault of the parent(s).

As a professional who has worked and counseled with ALL SORTS of families (black, white, interracial, asian, Latino, Arab etc.), teens and children - I can tell you beyond any shadow of doubt that many parents raise their children well, but some children/teens/young adults simply go off the rails due to peer pressure and other negative and oppositional influences.

Sure..........without a doubt.........there are many parent(s) out there who are poor or non-existant role models for their children. In many homes - of all kinds - there are many absent parents who have not been available to these kids. This is not the fault of the those children. As a professional, I agree with Anne McCullough to a large extent. And how many times did you or any other person on this forum "go off the rails" counterproductive to the way you were raised by your parent(s) or their expectations of you?

Parents are not always responsible for their children's bad behavior. That is a fact. When you have children of your own, you may see things differently. If you have children, maybe eventually you'll see.

I don't believe Anne McCullough was excusing bad behavior. It seems that she has obviously met with many parents in the area in order to form her perspective. I think she was suggesting that based on the African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child." She's illustrating empathy - unlike some people. To a great extent, city governments fail their most needy and dire citizens and this neglect manifests itself in crime.

No sane person would ever excuse or explain away bad behavior or suggest there aren't consequences for bad behavior. There are consequences and should be.

But what I gathered further from her comment is that it takes all of us to make a difference - including our local governments. If the city (particularly St. Louis) can find money to "earmark" and greenlight certain capital projects, why can't it find money (or more of it) for after school programs, health/dental care for city residents, food banks, empowerment programs, jobs programs etc. etc. etc. Metro St. Louis is one of the country's largest metro areas in the country without a public hospital/clinic system.

Last, when did any of you last volunteer at a school during your free time, tutor a kid in a subject, become a "big brother or sister", give money to a food bank, senior center, rally for health care, etc. etc? All of those things make a difference in people's lives and in the vitality of your city - not complaining about how "liberals" enable crime.