Taking a Position on the by Leonard Pitts Jr - Essay Example

Taking A Position on the essay “Apostles of Hatred Find it Easy to Spread Their Message” by Leonard Pitts, Jr. Reading through the essay d Apostles of Hatred Find It Easy To Spread Their Message was a moving experience for me. As I completed reading it, I was left with mixed feelings of pity, anger and a sense of helplessness. I agree with most of what the author had to say in the essay. The essay concisely captures the circumstances that led teenager Jeff Weise from Minnesota to go on a shooting rampage in his high school. There are several sentences in the essay that was effectively constructed. These include the following: “I won’t subject you to a treatise on why these people are abhorrent. If you don’t already know, you need more help than anyone can give you in a few inches of newsprint”(9)....We recognize that while change is a challenge, it is also a condition of life”(12)...Makes you sorrow for the boy even in the midst of your anger at him”(15)”. But the one that made me reflect and think deeper is this: “We recognize that while change is a challenge, it is also a condition of life”. A basic Internet search on the subject led me to realize that this is not the first such shootout and unlikely to be the last. These indiscriminate shootouts have become so regular in the United States that it is easy to get desensitised to them, leading us to a feeling of despair and resignation rather than spurring us to remedy the situation. Considering that juveniles of the country are not mature enough to take complete responsibility for their actions, I realized that the onus lies with school and government authorities in taking preventative actions. In cases such as Jeff Weise, where parents have failed to provide adequate support, it is the responsibility of the government agencies and school authorities to fulfil the role of foster parents and help mould the child to socially acceptable standards. In the sentence that made a profound impression on me, “We recognize that while change is a challenge, it is also a condition of life”, I would like to place emphasis on the word change and further assert that it is the duty of school and government authorities to bring about this change for the better. If the psychology of teenagers like Jeff Weise are not changed to socially acceptable standards, the American society would gradually disintegrate and collapse. The rest of this essay will foray into various preventative measures that the governing authorities can undertake and thereby significantly reduce instances of juvenile crimes. Researchers Emily A. Mann and Arthur J. Reynolds have conducted comprehensive studies on juvenile behaviour in Chicago. They investigated the link between early educational intervention and its impact on juvenile delinquency. What is now referred to as the Chicago Longitudinal Study collected data pertaining to 1,500 children from low socio-economic group (Mann & Reynolds, 2006). And their results show that state-sponsored preventative actions are very effective indeed: “Preschool intervention was associated with reductions in the incidence, frequency, and severity of juvenile delinquency by age 18. Childhood classroom adjustment, special education placement for an emotional or behavioral disorder, and school mobility were also predictive of delinquency outcomes, as were gender and family and environmental risk status. Findings demonstrate the importance of early intervention and schooling factors in reducing delinquency and highlight the benefits of early intervention as one mechanism for delinquency prevention.” (Mann & Reynolds, 2006) This assessment is backed by research studies by numerous other scholars. Peter Greenwood had collected these supporting evidence in the form of data and statistics in his book Changing Lives: Delinquency Prevention as Crime Control Policy. In this Greenwood notes how the countrys institutions have let its children down by not heeding to proven intervention programs. Instead there has been an increase in the severity of punishment and expansion in juvenile detention facilities across the country, which does little in the way of reducing juvenile crime. As Greenwood succinctly notes in his book, “The conversion of scientific knowledge about juvenile delinquency to actual policy and practice has been dreadfully slow and even stalled at times. Criminological research consistently links such factors as delinquent peer affiliations, neglectful parental supervision, low school achievement, and adolescent substance abuse to juvenile delinquency, and juvenile delinquency itself is a risk factor for adult criminality. Despite this robust knowledge base, however, recent developments in crime-control policy often look strikingly like old developments. Tougher sentencing laws, expanding police departments, and construction of more prisons are promoted, supported and funded over proven evidence-based interventions.” (Greenwood as stated in Theriot, 2006) Many experts in the field of child development are of the view that a large percentage of troubled youths have a poor sense of connection to the communities in which they live and their role in that community. In contrast, youths who are well integrated and assimilated into their community display a better understanding of their own value and role, and as a result “are less likely to become delinquent or to exhibit a host of other behavioral problems” (Calhoun & ONeil, 2001, p.92) It is a well-established fact that many of the detainees in juvenile centers have a tendency to repeat their crimes once they are let out. This again shows the inadequacy of the educational program given to them during their detention. When we talk of juvenile crime prevention, it includes the prevention of repetition of crime as well. There are already institutions in place which conduct educational programs for children from high-risk demographic groups. The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) is one such organization and the reports published by them show promising results. For example, the NCPC report states tha there is substantial evidence that juvenile offenders can learn to connect with the broader community. The report also sttates that “those in the juvenile justice system can learn in ways that enable them rather than label them, help these offenders see their strengths, and understand the effects and consequences of their actions” (Calhoun & ONeil, 2001, p.93). These findings are concurred by independent reviewers as well. Hence, it is no more a question of what educational programs to device but how to effectively implement it. The two new programs initiated by the NCPC have also proved successful. These are Youth as Resources (YAR) and Teen, Crime and the Community (TCC). The aim of these two programs is to help troubled and high-risk youths in a variety of ways. Local newspapers and radio stations have praised the YAR program for providing financial grants for “ building day care playgrounds, conducting home security surveys for older residents, and designing and creating nature trails for people with disabilities and completing projects that met local needs” (Onwudiwe, 2004, p.154). The TCC program has worked with students in “beautifying schools and neighborhoods, teaching date rape prevention, running conflict-resolution programs and eliminating graffiti” (Onwudiwe, 2004, p.154). Finally, there is sufficient evidence that prove the effectiveness of early intervention and preventative programs. But it remains a disappointing fact that these measures are not carried out in a whole-hearted way. The federal and state level funding that goes toward these programs are minuscule when we compare other government budgetary allocations. To give the most obvious example, in the five years since the start of the Iraq war in 2003, the military expenditures have amounted to more than $850 billions. It is a shame that our policy makers spend so much on a vague military cause (a majority of Americans still dont understand how Iraq is a threat to their security, let alone the dubious connections made between Saddam Hussein and Osama-bin-Laden) while neglecting the well-being of its own youth. This essay set out to elaborate on the sentence “We recognize that while change is a challenge, it is also a condition of life”, with emphasis laid on practical measures that would bring about the necessary change. From the studies and findings that was perused for composing this essay, it is now obvious that there are proven mechanisms through which high-risk youth can be helped. It is also evident that events such as the Jeff Weise shootout are not one off events, but are rather the result of systemic flaws. What is now lacking is the necessary political will – a situation that is caused by misplaced priorities of our policy makers. Works Cited: Calhoun, John A., and Jean ONeil. "Making a Connection: The National Crime Prevention Council Joins Youthful Offenders with Their Communities." Corrections Today Dec. 2001: 92+. Mann, Emily A., and Arthur J. Reynolds. "Early Intervention and Juvenile Delinquency Prevention: Evidence from the Chicago Longitudinal Study." Social Work Research 30.3 (2006): 153+. Onwudiwe, Ihekwoaba D. "Theoretical Perspectives on Juvenile Delinquency: Root Causes and Control." Corrections Today Oct. 2004: 153+. "Prevention and Teamwork Key to Fighting Juvenile Crime." Corrections Today Apr. 1997: 42+. Theriot, Matthew T. "Peter W. Greenwood, Changing Lives: Delinquency Prevention as Crime Control Policy." Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 34.2 (2007): 219+. Read More