How police should deal with our undisciplined, wayward youth!

“Since you (parents) don’t want to raise your kids, I’m gonna start raising them for you. Every time we make an arrest, your kids’ photo is going to be put […]

How police should deal with our undisciplined, wayward youth!

“Since you (parents) don’t want to raise your kids, I’m gonna start raising them for you. Every time we make an arrest, your kids’ photo is going to be put out there, and if I can do it, I’m gonna perp walk your kid so that everybody can see what your kid’s up to.” 

Such was the commendable (albeit exasperating) words of Volusia County (Florida) Sheriff Mike Chitwood at a news conference Friday. 

Much to the surprise of many pundits, there was little outcry from ultra-left Missionaries whose friends benefit from the Culture of Poverty (and white privilege). 

But don’t hold your breath. 

The subject of the sheriff’s outrage was an 11-year-old White kid whose misconduct included threats to burn down a public school. Hours later, the sheriff released a video of two teens being handcuffed and led to jail for similar offenses. 

If you read between the lines, his frustration was not only with the wayward kids but also with their parents. 

While I haven’t read much about this unusual act of early world criminal ‘exposure’) outside of the Florida media, that may change after you read this column, and liberal organizations like the ACLU intervene to ‘defend’ the rights of teen delinquents who the sheriff said will no longer be coddled and hidden away from public discernment. 

(By the way, the kids in question—as I noted —were White. And given the history of Florida race relations, there would have been national outcries if they were Black. Which prompts the question of a local response if our Black sheriff or police chief had followed a similar policy for our local Black terrorist?) 

The criminal justice system has rarely given out names—much less publicized photos—of juveniles under the philosophy that they are too young to know what they are doing—delinquent vs. thuggish—and merely acting out. 

The rare exceptions are teens whose sensationalistic or brutal criminal acts of violence prompt public or political outcry. But even then, identifying them or their parents is rarer than beef tartare at a ghetto barbeque. 

If you’ve listened to local media lately, the tsunami of teen violence is prompting calls weighing the perceived rights of violent teens against community safety. And to a growing number of frustrated citizens—and victims—the status quo only encourages a continuation of the teen terrorism tidal wave. 

I can’t remember a day when the local news didn’t include a sensational crime committed by teens, who generally assume they will get nothing more than a slap on the wrist through a fur-lined glove. 

And you can’t scan a newspaper’s editorial page, listen to a Black radio station, or search social media without encountering a discussion on how to slow—not cure—the tsunami of teen violence and mayhem. 

Unfortunately, most ‘solutions’ are based on wishful thinking or hopes of divine intervention. 

Few of the ‘solutions’ touch on the core reasons for this generation of thugs and thugettes or how our rejection of traditional cultural values—including prioritizing nuclear families, Africentric values and mores, or Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Tao, Kemetic tenets–have taken the ‘v’ out of the village. 

Thus, it is no surprise to me that the folks I notified of the Florida sheriff’s actions were met with applause. 

In fact, my hands have only stopped slapping each other to type this column and use the bathroom. 

Why not publicize the mug shots of urban terrorists? 

According to one of Milwaukee’s most prominent defense attorneys, some of his clients would probably revel in their minute of fame. 

Some myopic thugs would probably post their articles/photos on social media. 

And don’t be surprised if their parents—make that ‘parent’—would do likewise, calling their girlfriends and baby daddies to proudly announce “my baby’s in the paper!” 

Even if that is an unintended consequence, it should not deter this innovative deterrence. In fact, I think the new floor should be used instead of the ceiling for the sentencing options. 

There is a growing call for corporal punishment and alternative penalties for our undisciplined and wayward youth. Or, to summarize the beliefs of my favorite Truth station radio revolutionary—Al–if they are bold enough to commit violent crimes and put fear in the hearts of our elderly, you should pay the piper. 

I don’t know how much leeway local judges have. Still, I would be thrilled to see one mandate a violent carjacker to parade around in a tee-shirt identifying themselves as a terrorist, with details of their crime as they ready themselves for a ‘turnkey’ stint in juvenile detention. 

For teens adjudicated as adults, the option could be a sentencing option or used as part of extended parole—after imprisonment–upon the recommendation of counselors or law enforcement. 

Along with their identifying orange tees, the punk or punkette would be required to pick up litter and serve as elementary school safety guards, for whom they could explain their actions while expressing their ‘remorse.’ 

When not ‘exposing’ themselves to the public, they can escort the elderly to grocery stores and senior activities. 

I don’t agree with one prominent community leader who suggested housing them in a glass jail cell, but I would require them to serve their time in isolation, with a television permanently set to the religious channel and Lawrence Welk reruns. 

Teaching Sunday school wouldn’t hurt. That’s if he or she can read. 

Additionally, force the male thugs to wear belts and take away the wigs and weaves from the punkettes. No cell phones, blunts, or candy. 

I also agree with those, including Sheriff Mike, who believe the parents—or ‘parent and sperm donor’—should also be held accountable. 

Hey, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying to blame the victims of poverty and institutional racism. But if you recall, the next president, Kamala Harris, aggressively responded to a controversial California law that penalized the parents of truant students. 

She said last week that if someone broke into herhouse, she would not hesitate to ‘blow them away.’ 

She didn’t make an exception for age. 

The bottom line is we’ve reached the point of no return. And there is strong evidence we helped steer the ship. Through complicity or apathy, we helped create the new norm and the resulting tsunami of teen violence and criminality. 

Blame my support for these farfetched ‘cures’ on my senior status. 

Some suggest the older you get, the more conservative you become. That’s true. 

But it’s only part of it. The other part of the equation is my unhealthy frustration with the status quo. With seniors locking themselves behind bars, innocent children being caught in the crossfire, absentee fathers, and a culture in which we view our history through the prisms of self-degradation and hatred. 

Maybe we should all wear a self-incriminating T-shirt, with some letters smaller than others. 

Hotep.