All Too Common

While this beating death of a teen was caught and recorded on a camera phone - most are not.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/08/chicago.teen.beating/

But the thing is; this happens all the time.
Boys are taught from an early age that they must be aggressive.
That they must dominate instead of being dominated.
But the thing that is not being taught is when to be aggressive and when to stop before things go too far.

Back in the day, my youngest brother (a Blood) was involved in a gang fight with a group of opposing Crips.
He ended up in a coma for a few months but he lived.
The thing is; within the week after the gang fight, two of the most vocal Crips ended up dead and the others in jail.

Was I mad at the Crips?
No, not really.
I always told my brothers that the games they chose to play would have a huge impact on the events in their lives.
This time, it was just my brother's turn to be on the receiving end of a beat down.
It was just part of that game.
(And for the Crips, that was just part of the game too.)

Kids fight.
That's it.
Anyone who has gone to a hood school knows and expects this.
The days leading up to any break (Christmas, Spring, Summer,...) are often filled with fights and people getting jumped for something they'd earlier said or done, or sometimes for being in the right place at the wrong time.
And with crowds often encouraging such behavior, things often escalate to the point of death.

Is this beating case anomalous?
Nope.
These kids were taught and encouraged to act this way.
Sadly, it's all too common.