Downtown Homicide
Here's a series of stories from KEYT on the downtown homicide yesterday which killed a 15-year old from Santa Barbara Junior High. Unconfirmed word on the street is that there was another incident o the Westside near Foodland today.
Earlier readers wondered aloud whether doing a post on this would cause me to be hitting "delete" all night. An emotional subject for sure, let's try to keep it clean.
Earlier readers wondered aloud whether doing a post on this would cause me to be hitting "delete" all night. An emotional subject for sure, let's try to keep it clean.
Labels: Homicide, Santa Barbara, Youth
posted by Sara De la Guerra | 3/15/2007 05:46:00 PM
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18 Comments:
It is so sad that life means so little to those.
Perhaps someday they will understand what they have done and the pain is causes.
To lose a life at such a young age is so sad.
There are better things to do in life than harm it.
Where's the City leadership? I just watched the 5pm and 6pm KEYT News stories, lots about the Police Chief but NO WORD or mention of the MAYOR OR CITYCOUNCIL!?!?!? Helllllloooooooooo......where are you? What kind of tone do you want to set? Mayor Blum should be out there, with the Police Chief, with the School Supt----sending some sort of message.......leadersihp on this Council? not so much.....
It's about time there is a post here about this.
I see a direct connection between this and the NIMBY ground that filed suit to stop the St. Francis project. They are determined to keep housing prices up, keep our law enforcement priced out of the community and keep parents working 2 and 3 jobs preventing them from teaching and supervising their children.
They more than share the responsibility for this community tragedy. It is time we ask them to stop their actions or leave.
You are just seeing the same degree of street violence that has been going on in other neighborhoods in Santa Barbara for far too long.
Please don't think you just discovered this, because it happened downtown.
Where was the outrage when this was already happening in "those" neighborhoods?
Is a "Downtown" homicide any different than a "Eastside" homicide or a "Milpas Street" homicide or a "Hope Ranch" homicide?
How differently do we react to them if they are identified by the location in which they take place?
Honest answers only, please.
If the folly of youth can explain (but not excuse) this violent act, what explains the additional violent confrontation between the adults that took place at Cottage Hospital?
How much violence is tolerated in a culture that also raises a new generation who follow similar role models?
Should those role models be changed? And how?
This has been a problem for a long time in this town. Decades really. Several years ago, when my son attended Jr High in SB he was hit, kicked, shoved in the halls and on school grounds- it was all wannabe gang related. We received threating phone calls at home. I am sure there was much more going on that I was not aware of.
This, he says, is how the gangs recruit new members. They threaten, then offer protection.
My son is caucasion and I am certain that it is much much worse for those who are not.
It is so tragic that this happened but I am not suprised. Parents, ask your kids- I bet they are not suprised.
Whatever the solution, it has got to involve those who know. And, there have got to be other cities who have dealt with this issue successfully that we can look to for guidance.
I encourage other parents or kids or professionals who have had first hand experience with such matters to speak out and those who have not to please try and just hold back on the blaim and LISTEN.
It is not productive to blame: "parents working 3 jobs because it is so expensive to live in Santa Barbara."
That argument will get you no where .....fast.
How about some real insights here, not just patronizing insults.
What in fact do you know about the parents of this child who killed? Other than they got into another fight at the hospital.
Violent people beget violent children? Regardless of how many jobs they work or how much they pay for rent.
If the idea is to work 3 jobs to make a better life for your children, and your children kill I think the answer has to come from the parent's and their mistaken priorities.
If it is too expensive to live and raise your kids here who end up killing other people while blaming you as parents, then one needs to rethink what it means to be a parent ASAP.
Chief Sancehz was right - these gang murders have been going on for over a hundred years and 30 years ago this was NOT an expensive place to live yet we already had 70 prior years of gang violence.
We have a specific culture that is very self-violent and that is the issue. What the heck was Westside Story all about - gangs and murders and "boys like that".
So now what's ya gonna do? Besides lack of free housing and good paying jobs for every single person who wants to call Santa Barbara home.
The issue of blame rests far more in those who are willing to exploit a cheap labor supply and look the other way what in fact that means in downstream human costs.
Crack down on those who exploit cheap labor, or make them clean up the mess. And that means every person in this city who looks the other way when paying under the table for gardening, child care and dosmestic help. And there are thousands of them.
That is where the finger needs to be pointed, IF you foolishly look beyond the lack of sound parental values imbued in the children.
I sincerely hope the Santa Barbara School District accepts its role and responsibility for the sad events of yesterday - as many parents have decried, these excessive 1/2 days simply must stop. We do not live in a world where mother is home baking cookies and available to young teens - parents today are both out trying to survive, and schools must simply step up to the plate, stop allowing teachers to behave like blue collar facotry lineman, 'just workin' what the contract says' and get a real and grounded view of the families they allegedly serve in today's society. Shame on you, school administration and school board for being the proximate cause of our community's collective tragedy.
Instead of showing "leadership" as a public figure Travis Armstrong instead poured gas on the fire with a piece this afternoon:
You guessed it...the killing is Marty's fault.
I'm not sure where you heard about this but we should all consider it unsubstantiated until we see it in print.
I wouldn't be surprised, however. 10:1 it will also include something about emails at City Hall and maybe even Susan Rose, no? Talk about not letting a sleeping dog lie...
I understand Anon 8:26 is upset at the school district and kinda sorta understand their view. However, couldnt this same thing happen at 3pm? How about 4pm when all the kids are at the bus transfer station on Chapala. I don't think the school district is to blame in this one. OK, all the kids got out at the same time on a half day. Don't they all get out at the same time on regular days at well? From info gathered, this was a planned event. It happened around 2pm. But it very well could have happened at a later time during a regular day!!!!!!! It could have been planned on a different day for a different time. And by the way, planned gang events, although to a much lesser degree, have occured at 3:30 or 4pm at the bus transfer station and other places.
Remember, there a 8 major gangs in this area. One in Carp, two on the Eastside, 2 on the Westside, one in Noleta, one in Goleta, and one in IV. Something can flare up at any time, anyplace.
We are a violent society.
Why is it appalling to the public when two sides clash and kill each other for no good reason in the streets "here at home" and consider it a "flag waving" celebration when we send troops off with no training and no body armor to kill people for no good reason somewhere else.
We have continually taught kids that violence is OK. Don't talk. That's for "girly men". If you don't like what someone looks like, where they come from, etc. Don't ignore them, don't talk about it...just beat the living cr*p out of them.
Have you noticed that the Mayor and Council seem to be MIA?
Gang violence has been all over town for sometime. Now it happens on State Street and still silence from our elected officials. Interesting that they are turning their backs on the town and the precious tourists too!
Remember, there a 8 major gangs in this area. One in Carp, two on the Eastside, 2 on the Westside, one in Noleta, one in Goleta, and one in IV. Something can flare up at any time, anyplace.
Maybe we should crush the life out of these gangs, by using intelligence gathering. Find out who is in them, find out who runs them, find out who the parents are. Force the parents to get involved, and make them accountable for their children's actions.
BTW: It's not Marty's fault. It's not the NIMBY's fault. It's not the developer's fault. It's not the school board's fault. It's the parent's fault. They're the ones who gave birth to these kids and have brought them to this point in their lives. If I found out that my kid was in a gang, he wouldn't know what fear was until that day.
But alas, I don't see that in the eyes of the parents. They seem to be more concerned with that they're kids face was on television.
I must respectfully disagree with 'My Two Cents' - the more unsupervised time on young teens hands, the more opportunity there is for these events to repeat themselves. The schools MUST provide for summertime or after school in-service training for teachers and alternative schedules for parent-teacher conferences (when I was young they were in the evening when both parents could attend, and mothers did not work out of the home as a matter of routine) - so that one is completely out of synch with today's world. Teachers contracts must be re-crafted to comport with the pressures and realities of the society we live in - it isn't Ozzie and Harriet-ville anymore and it is time the schools forged contractual arrangements with their staff to support and answer the needs of the families and students they allegedly exist to serve - both parents are out in the workforce and schools must develop schedules around that fact, rather than caving in to contractual demands.
How sad and incredibly frustrating to hear community members point their fingers at teachers or minimum days and act as though youth violence is a new phenomenon brought on by the school's failure to pick up where parents leave off. Youth gangs have existed since as early as the 1780's. It is a reality for MANY of the children in our community and they face that reality EVERY SINGLE DAY. Poor Santa Barbara to have to stare this reality in the face when it lands before them at the Saks Fifth Avenue on our sacred State Street in broad daylight. Blaming and blogging is a nice way to spread blame and point fingers, but what are YOU doing to help solve the problem?
ReST IN PARADISe HOMIE CHUNKY A.K.A NACHO! U WILL NeVeR Be FORGOTeN!!!! SLK!
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