Parents, it's 10:00 p.m., do you know where your children are?

Every city has its equivalent to our South Street here in Philly. For example: In New Orleans it's the French Quarter. In New York it's East Village. In San Diego it's the Gas Lamp District. And, in Miami, it's South Beach.

So anyway, a couple of nights ago a bunch of knuckle heads decided to have an all out street brawl on South Street. Lately this has been par for the course in our fair city. Young people converging on a particular area and going buck wild before the po po can break it up.

I am just thinking out loud about these kids. Like if they can take the time and energy to rip and run up and down city streets, why can't they channel that energy into doing something positive? Like, for instance, marching up and down the street in an organized manner for a just cause. And just where the hell are the parents of these children? That was a rhetorical question, I already know the answer.

"Why are there violent "flash mobs" in Philadelphia?

In different settings, different teenagers yesterday offered a variety of views on the furor over flash mobs, including the very term.

They scolded their peers. The boys said they were looking for girls. Some did it to establish a reputation, they said, and some didn't like the label being applied to them. They said the swarming was pointless. They said it probably would continue.
Authorities can't "put some tape on it and it's finished. . . . It's not really that simple," said Martisha Hardy, 17, of Germantown."

Actually, Martisha, it is pretty simple: your mama and daddy needs to stay on your ass!

"At Overbrook and during the radio program, students also were asked what could be done to prevent the violence. Several mentioned more after-school activities and recreation programs, but one boy at Overbrook pointed out that those services were available now.

"I think if teenagers knew more about how it affects their future and knew about the consequences . . . that would prevent it," said Shaun Loadholt, a senior at Overbrook.
On the radio, Marques Carson, 17, said many groups of young people from different neighborhoods, when they find themselves in the same place, were bound to clash.

"Half of these neighborhoods are going to battle," said Carson, of West Philadelphia.
In these fights, or in causing other types of chaos, the youths are looking to "catch a rep," said John Laderer, 16, of Southwest Philadelphia.

"They doing this to get buzz, to ring bells," he explained.

"Image is becoming a big matter on the street," Carson added." [Article]

Yes, image is everything. I love the one of the sixteen year old in the morgue with half of his brains blown out.