"Team fighting" sounds better than gang fighting I guess. (St. Louis: fit in, 2015)

[MUTGR]

rah rah siskoom bah...

15 youths arrested this weekend for team fighting in Delmar Loop | FOX2now.com

[flynavyj]

Team Fighting...not gangs...

folks from one neighborhood, block, or school are fighting folks from another neighborhood, block, or school...and it's not a gang?

According to Dictionary.com a Gang is:

a group of youngsters or adolescents who associate closely, often exclusively, for social reasons, especially such a group engaging in delinquent behavior.

or

a group of persons associated for some criminal or other antisocial purpose

I think both of those definitions would fit in this circumstance. Jeez, we didn't shy away from the word gang with Gangs of New York. Just because the kids aren't selling drugs, or in a dispute over "turf" doesn't mean they're not a gang.

[mjtinmemphis]

What can be done to solve the problem?

[flynavyj]

I don't think there's a one size fits all solution here.

You have problems in the home lives of these teens, socioeconomic problems, disenfranchisement, lack of education, and lack of goals.

I'm sure parental involvement is a key take away, and I mean TRUE parental involvement.

Flooding the area with police CAN make some patrons feel safe, but heavy policy presence often reinforces the idea that an area is unsafe. Curfew for teens works well, has done so at the Galleria and this is especially true when that group if the one causing problems.

At the end of the day, people will follow the money. If businesses start suffering at the hands of rambunctious and dangerous teen fighting, then you can bet you'll see SOMETHING done to combat it.

[mjtinmemphis]

I was in the area before all the mess went down. My friends and I agreed that they seemed to be up to no good.

Walking up and down, back and forth without a purpose being there (food, bowling or shopping) is bad.

It's gotten to the point that there seems to be a permanent underclass with no hope for a decent future. The Black kids who has a stable home life, jobs and a solid future clearly don't want anything to do with the kids who are not from their same background. They don't have time to hang out with them.

What can we do? Community programs? Mentoring programs? "I've got to do something to help them" attitude from people like me? The answers are there but we have to find them. Labeling only marginalize them more. They clearly need help.

[FrankMiller]

Community programs are good, although if there aren't jobs it doesn't really matter. Economic equality. Reduce racial prejudice.

[flynavyj]

I think this requires true community building. But that's a somewhat ambiguous term. When you think of "what constitutes a community" it's all the items present in a prosperous or stable environment. To often, people will say "we need community programs" and stop with a basketball court, or an after school event program. This is part of the answer, but it's not the whole answer.

The community needs stable households, predictable routines, access to education and healthcare, community businesses and jobs, career training, trades training, industry, income, and a path to prosperity.

All in all, the community needs leaders to assist where they can. It's not one person who builds a new gym but people who can re-purpose an abandoned building, creative use of available land, and adding a true value on education. It's a microcosm in which we need to establish and build a solid middle class that will better the individuals living in the neighborhood along with the rest of the region.

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

I was in the area before all the mess went down. My friends and I agreed that they seemed to be up to no good.

Walking up and down, back and forth without a purpose being there (food, bowling or shopping) is bad.

It's gotten to the point that there seems to be a permanent underclass with no hope for a decent future. The Black kids who has a stable home life, jobs and a solid future clearly don't want anything to do with the kids who are not from their same background. They don't have time to hang out with them.

What can we do? Community programs? Mentoring programs? "I've got to do something to help them" attitude from people like me? The answers are there but we have to find them. Labeling only marginalize them more. They clearly need help.

I don't know. You raise good points and questions. I don't know how you mend multi-generational broken families. In any event, here is a follow up on what the police are going to try to do:

St. Louis police trying to crack down on teen 'fight teams' : Business

I'm sure it is just a temporary band aid - if it does anything.

[aliasfinn]

Originally Posted by MUTGR

I don't know. You raise good points and questions. I don't know how you mend multi-generational broken families. In any event, here is a follow up on what the police are going to try to do:

St. Louis police trying to crack down on teen 'fight teams' : Business

I'm sure it is just a temporary band aid - if it does anything.

They'll get bored of it eventually and find something else to do.

[From Mizzou to the Lou]

I guess "Team fighting" is a way to discourage these kids away from thinking that they're in gangs.