Who is to blame for a family living in a Dangerous Section of the City? (Washington: 2013, high crime)

[justtitans]

Mother had tried to get D.C. teen off streets before he was slain - The Washington Post

So the other day I was reading this tragic story about this 16 year old teenager who was shot and killed during a drive-by shooting, and there are some things that jumped out at me.

This is what his mom said:

“I wanted to get him out of here,” the boy’s mother, Linda Cannon, 49, said Monday. “I didn’t move fast enough.”

But then this part jumped out to me:

Darius’s family members said they cannot think of a reason for killing a teenager they described as a quiet boy who liked stylish clothing and who they said wanted nothing to do with the drug culture. He was the youngest of 14 children, including three sets of twins.

Relatives said Darius spent most of his time in a mentoring program run out of Woodland Terrace’s recreation center that aims to help at-risk kids escape their dangerous environs. His mother said her son looked up to one of his older brothers, Rashad, who is attending Shaw University in North Carolina. She was planning to move Darius in with his brother.

Of course this is a horrible tragedy and no person should be a victim of this type of crime, but some of the comments on the article were a little bit interesting. Given how badly the mother wanted to move him out of the city, or at least that particular neighborhood, I am curious, do you all think it is fair to blame the mother for having 14 children as a condition of their situation? Of course there is a lot of things you would have to assume about her, but it seems as though the majority of the commenters assumed that she was on some type of government assistance. Is it fair to say that she created that situation for her child (as well as her children) or do you think that someone or something else should be to blame for a situation like this happening, where a child has to live in a dangerous neighborhood?

[brooklynborndad]

As a citizen, I think we need to assure a safe environment everywhere. Whether that involves "being tougher on crime" or having more midnight basketball, rec centers, drug treatment, etc.

Her family size may be implicated in the family poverty - but I don't see why we should accept that poor areas have to be high crime.

And an obsession with family size seems outdated. At this point, IIUC, average family size in poor inner city neighborhoods isn't generally that high.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by pgtvatitans

Mother had tried to get D.C. teen off streets before he was slain - The Washington Post

So the other day I was reading this tragic story about this 16 year old teenager who was shot and killed during a drive-by shooting, and there are some things that jumped out at me.

This is what his mom said:
But then this part jumped out to me:

Of course this is a horrible tragedy and no person should be a victim of this type of crime, but some of the comments on the article were a little bit interesting. Given how badly the mother wanted to move him out of the city, or at least that particular neighborhood, I am curious, do you all think it is fair to blame the mother for having 14 children as a condition of their situation? Of course there is a lot of things you would have to assume about her, but it seems as though the majority of the commenters assumed that she was on some type of government assistance. Is it fair to say that she created that situation for her child (as well as her children) or do you think that someone or something else should be to blame for a situation like this happening, where a child has to live in a dangerous neighborhood?

Honestly, I feel for the mother, but honestly having 14 children with all that is out there about birth control and the rising cost of living, is NOT a smart idea in 2013. I don't care if it is one father or 14. I think it is fair to call a spade a spade. Supporting 14 kids is obviously going to limit what you be able to do housing wise, especially in the DC area. Plus how close of a watch can you keep on all fourteen kids to make sure they aren't getting into any foolishness? I know many two parent households with less than 3 kids that cannot keep a close eye on their teens to save their life. Imagine a single mother trying to handle 14 kids. Good luck.

It is tragic what happened to this kid, but if answers are to be had about why it happened and how it can be prevented, hard questions have to be asked including the home life.

[btsilver]

Well the comments are par for the course. It is curious that they didn't allow comments for the 17 girl that was murdered by her 31 year old boyfriend.

[11KAP]

blame the killers of these kids.

[KStreetQB]

Just hope they catch the guy who pulled the trigger.

[Deeman804]

Originally Posted by 11KAP

blame the killers of these kids.

This may be the first post that I gave reputation for that was from 11KAP. So many are focused on the victim and the victim's family. He did not kill himself. I like the previous poster that asked about the Rockville teen. (With all due respect) She made a pretty dumb decision to help a mentally unstable man by herself instead of reaching out to trained professionals and she was not at fault nor criticized in a thread. The family situation and his mom's wanting to "get him out of there" are sad additional facts but the killer is still the only person at fault in this situation.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by Deeman804

This may be the first post that I gave reputation for that was from 11KAP. So many are focused on the victim and the victim's family. He did not kill himself. I like the previous poster that asked about the Rockville teen. (With all due respect) She made a pretty dumb decision to help a mentally unstable man by herself instead of reaching out to trained professionals and she was not at fault nor criticized in a thread. The family situation and his mom's wanting to "get him out of there" are sad additional facts but the killer is still the only person at fault in this situation.

Personally, I don't think the mother is responsible for the actual shooting obviously. However, by living in a dangerous part of town, this kind of tragedy has a higher chance of happening. You don't need to be Einstein to figure out a young black male teen in a single parent home has a much higher chance of being murdered in Congress Heights than in the Landmark area of Alexandria (not a great area in it's own right).

It is fair to call in the circumstances that caused the family to end up living in that part of town when the mother made it obvious she wanted to get the hell outta there. And I have to believe the challenge of supporting several children had to contribute economically to the family not being able to move.

[Deeman804]

Originally Posted by The Dissenter

Personally, I don't think the mother is responsible for the actual shooting obviously. However, by living in a dangerous part of town, this kind of tragedy has a higher chance of happening. You don't need to be Einstein to figure out a young black male teen in a single parent home has a much higher chance of being murdered in Congress Heights than in the Landmark area of Alexandria (not a great area in it's own right).

It is fair to call in the circumstances that caused the family to end up living in that part of town when the mother made it obvious she wanted to get the hell outta there. And I have to believe the challenge of supporting several children had to contribute economically to the family not being able to move.

A young black male living in a single household has a higher chance of being murdered no matter where they live, Congress Heights just has a higher concentration of them. Should his mother have chosen to have a non-black young male (I'm just saying). Regardless of the situation, he doesn't deserve to die. No if, ands, buts, or special circumstances. In short, no, I don't think it's fair to call the circumstances cause by the family. In my eyes, it makes it more of a tragedy and everything else that is being said is a sort of unwarranted justification.

What about the Rockville teen? Was she not more at fault by visiting someone that was suicidal and 14 years older her that she texted and called regularly. Were the parents at fault for allowing this communication or lack of transparency? Do you think it's fair to call the circumstances around this shooting.

I still blame the shooters.

[justtitans]

Just to clarify I'm not talking about the family being the cause of the actual shooting. I'm talking about the family being the cause of the environment in which these kids are being raised in.