Ill-Mentored Youth

I'm not sure if it was the screech of rubber, the nose-diving hood of the the car, or the fact that the cross-traffic light was still green that first grabbed my attention. There should have been no reason for the car to be slowing down, let alone climbing all over the the binders. No cross traffic in the way. No emergency vehicles approaching. Not even one of my fixie-riding brethren jumping the light again. Nothing.

Then I noticed the skinny black youth in the middle of the crosswalk, his female entourage of three tentatively hesitating to follow. Running to make it through an orange light? No. Hustling to get out of the way? Hell no. He proceeds to look the driver in the eye, stand right there in the middle of the road, and break into a dance, taunting him to get closer. At this point I check again just to make sure that it isn't a result of the driver not paying attention and running through a red light. Again, no; the light is definitely still green in his favor. It was then that I fully grasped the reality of the situation and my blood began to boil. What arrogance prompts anybody to intentionally tempt the laws of physics in such a reckless manner? It doesn't take a higher level of intellect to figure out that that Man-vs.-3000lb car will always end badly. Probably the more important question is: what are this kid's parents actually teaching him if it doesn't even occur to him that his actions are plainly put, bloody stupid? I'm all about taking responsibility for your own actions as an adult, but at a young age, a fair amount of responsibility lies with your superiors to teach you the difference between right and wrong. Or, does it go further than that, and this segment of society knows exactly what they're doing, but simply displays an “I'll do whatever the fuck I want” mentality. After all, I've seen adults act in the exact same care-free manner.

My personal opinion is that these individuals feel a lack of control over their own lives, and as a result, like to exercise a certain level of control over situations involving themselves, and others, in often bizarre ways. Eating disorders are another similar example. If you think about it logically, starving yourself, or even worse, binge eating and then intentionally throwing-up, makes absolutely no sense, no matter which way you look at it. Yet there are plenty people who do exactly that. Psychologists have long since linked this phenomenon to a lack of control over aspects in ones life. Youth, in general, are very perceptive; it's a natural part of the development process, and I have to believe that instinctively, the fight-or-flight phenomenon will always come into play unless it is cognitively controlled. It stands to reason then that this youngster was intentionally exerting his control over his immediate situation simply because he felt like it, and not because of a lack of understanding. This begs another question: if this child's society is teaching him to behave in such a manner, who's responsibility is it to correct his actions? Had I not been in the middle lane of traffic, I was sorely tempted to pull over, grab him by the ear, and read him the riot act just like my parents would have done with me had I chosen to perform his same actions. Would it have been my responsibility, however, to do so? That's the more difficult question to answer, because it brings a whole host of other equations into play, not the least of which is that it's always easy for one to sit on the outskirts and make certain assumptions about a given situation which may or may not be correct. I'm not going to elaborate any further, but I do urge you to think about the question, because the answer has a profound influence on the way in which society is held accountable for it's actions.