Chicago teen Derrion Albert was attacked and murdered by a street gang of thugs last Thursday as he walked home from school. In what appeared to be a wilding, other teens beat Derrion with 2 x 4’s until he lay senseless. He later died.

What motivated such senseless brutality? Derrion’s family has revealed that he was a good student, had certificates for outstanding attendance, played several sports and was the love of his family’s life. Police are reviewing a video of the beating and have told the media that it is too early to report any findings.

A make-shift memorial outside the community center where Derrion’s murder took place was burned in what police believe was further gang violence.   All of the momentos left by those wanting to pay their respects have been burned beyond recognition. 

 

There will be a vigil and march this afternoon, organized by the family of Derrion Albert, to honor his memory and to speak out against this kind of senseless violence. Security has been beefed up at Fenger High School today which has reopened today. Apparently school was closed on Friday. Many students are expressing their horror that someone could be murdered while others just stood around and watched. Is that the new sign of being cool?

There is speculation that Derrion refused to join a gang because he was very goal oriented. They made him pay. Is there a special hell for these killers? Why must kids who are doing the right thing penalized? What happens when parents cannot afford to move their kids away from the violence?

I am not posting the video. It is far too graphic and horrifying to be posted on Anti. It is very painful and uncomfortable to watch. I will provide a link for those with a strong stomach.

What possesses human beings to behave like this?

 

   WARNING

***Graphic Link***

[UPDATE: 4 men have been charged with murder in Chicago for the beating death of Derrion Albert. Police have determined that Derrion got caught in the cross fire between 2 rival gangs.]

15 Thoughts to “Chicago Teen Attacked and Murdered”

  1. Thank you for not posting the video, MH. I don’t know why or how people can do these things either except to say we have become so desensitized to one another.

  2. Moon-howler

    It was horrifying–and hit me every bit as badly as the opening battle scenes in Flags of our Fathers which gave me virtigo. I did link it for those who are interested but I don’t want that visual on a blog I have to look at all the time.

    Is this from video games or because human beings really are that uncivilized? The kids who participated in this incident (other than those who helped the victim) should all be in jail for the rest of their lives.

    Speaking of jail forever, I hope that is where Jean Smith’s killer is headed today. He waived his right to a jury trial.

  3. Yeah, I just read that. He’s probably in for life. The whole thing is sick.

  4. Elena

    If I am recalling correctly, Chicago has an epidemic of teenagers being murdered, highest in the country. It is VERY serious and troubling that any child should live in fear in the United States of America.

  5. This is a common scene for anyone who attends, or attended, a high school with a substantial Negro population. It has been standard behavior for decades and therefore has nothing to do with the influence of video games.

    The Press will gloss over the underlying issue by referring to these scenes as “inner city” schools, when the geography has nothing to do with the violence, the gangs or the use of clubs, knives and guns to murder classmates.

    Keep this video in mind the next time one of those social engineers tries to tell you that race is just a social construct, or color is only skin deep.

  6. Moon-howler

    Mr. Ballance,

    Every race in the world has some bad apples, including the white race. Most of us here would probably feel your remarks are prejudicial and are purely opinion.

  7. Elena

    “Negro”? What century are you in anyway?!!!!!!!!!!!!

    BTW, I get what you saying Ballance, loud and clear. Read the “Bell Curve” lately? I did, it was bogus, I would say it harkened back to eugenics. Is that what you are suggesting? I will not stand for that kind of B.S. on this blog, have I made myself loud and clear. This sentiment is absoltuley not welcome here on this blog.

    you said:
    “Keep this video in mind the next time one of those social engineers tries to tell you that race is just a social construct, or color is only skin deep.”

  8. This is not a matter of prejudice or “…a few bad apples…” By the way, Negro, is the proper descriptor when referring those from the Negro race, just as Caucasian is accurate and appropriate to describe those who are from the Caucasian race. The reason that I use the term is that it is more accurate; for example one can be, “African American” and be Latino (Sephardic like part of my family) or Caucasian, like many who formerly lived in South Africa, Rhodesia, etc.

    Here in the Twenty-first Century, we owe it to all of our citizens to have honest discussions about the behaviors of the various segments of our society. Men like Bill Cosby and former Ambassador, Andrew Young have bravely spoken out about the preponderance of violent, and gang related crime, committed by members of their community.

    Why are voices for civil behavior, from Men like Mr. Cosby and Ambassador Young, routinely drowned out, and these men labeled as “Oreos?”

    Do not confuse my point. The issue is, why there is a tendency among the Negro population, especially those living in urban areas, to quickly degrade into mob behavior? Only through an honest and objective examination and discussion of the causes and effects, might we discover lasting remedies.

    Being from the inner-city, just won’t fly as an excuse, anymore.

    There are crimes committed by all races and genders, but this recent event is very common and, as I wrote before, anyone who grew-up in that environment, as I did, knows too well, just how common these ambushes and gang-bangs are.

    When I was eleven, I had a gang of Negroes stick a knife against my throat, so that they could rifle through my pockets for my lunch money. When I was thirteen, another gang tried to steal my bike. When I resisted, they punched me in the face with rocks in their hands then kicked the wheels of my bike to make it un-rideable, then fled. Although the police were called and a trial held, nobody was punished because a social worker appeared to describe that the gang who punched me with the rocks, were all, “misguided, inner city youths…” Later that same year, my older sister was attacked by a gang of Negroes. Her only offense was that she was walking to the bus stop alone. She changed schools and carried a pistol in her purse for her final two years of High School, but she has real and mental scars from that attack that she will endure for the rest of her life. When I was fifteen, one of my football teammates, a Black kid who played halfback alongside me, was attacked by a gang from Lambert’s Point in Norfolk in one of the, now common, black-on-black murders. His body was found in the Elizabeth River with his throat slit.

    While, over the past several years, I have had to fight-off attacks by individuals from other races, those were always individuals or individuals with a few back-ups who were convinced to stand down when their guy got hurt.

    The bottom line to this issue, as exemplified by the video in this post, is that there remains a cultural acceptance of gang and ambush behavior among much of the Negro community.

    I join rational voices like those from Mr. Cosby and Ambassador Young in saying that NO! It is unacceptable for this to continue and we need more voices both within the Negro community and from the rest of America to acknowledge this problem, and work in concert to stop gangs and gang/ambush related violence.

    Elena: I live in the Twenty-first Century, where there are no banned words and no thought crimes (at least not yet, anyway). I also served as the Precinct Captain at the Bonnie Brae precinct (Henrico) for the Obama campaign. I also coordinated the Bike for Obama event that got about one thousand cyclists to attend, then candidate, Obama’s speech at the Richmond Coliseum. I have also served as a member of the National Naval Officer’s Association (formerly, National Negro Officers Association) whose mission is to recruit top performing members of that community for our Navy.

    Our society is mature enough to hold honest discussions about behaviors attributed to major racial segments, as long as we keep such discussions factually based and keep the focus on finding workable remedies to the underlying problem.

    BTW, had you actually read the Bell Curve, you would know that the premise of the book was that, by taking racial differences into account, rather than pretending that everyone is the same, program designers, educators and administrators could better serve all of society.

    I have no idea why anything written here, or on previous posts would threaten your existing societal paradigms, but then again, I must take into account that many people did not have to fight their way to and from school, like I did.

  9. Ann

    I refuse to look at the video; however, from what I heard through the media this was a horrific crime. I pray that Chicagoens will wrap their arms around this family and give as much love and support as they can. The law will take care of the ones responsible for this crime, but the family needs you all right now.

  10. Elena

    BTW Ballance,
    There falsehoods and unreliable hypothoses in the Bell Curve. If I were to judge simply based on personal experiences of a particular race/gender/religion (pick whichever), I certainly would never have gotten married to a man! Give me a break. You ARE suggesting that it is NOT a social pretext but a RACIAL pretext. Let me quote you again.

    “Keep this video in mind the next time one of those social engineers tries to tell you that race is just a social construct, or color is only skin deep.”

    You are implying that this issue is endemic and NOT a circumstance of social economic circumstance, that is prejudice. Violence is more likely in inner cities, it is rampant in places where there is poverty. You are on thin ice in my opinion. There is no difference with what you are suggesting than saying Jews are at the heart of the banking crisis and Bernie Madoff just proves that point in the minds of anti semites.

  11. Moon-howler

    Welcome Ann. I wish I had not seen it. It was violent, brutal, and it will forever be embedded in my brain.

  12. Moon-howler

    Tyler, you sound very conflicted. From my vantage point, it sounds like your language of choice falls along the lines of Good Blacks and bad Negroes. Only you know that.

    However, on this blog we ask people to use the current nomenclature that makes everyone comfortable. While ‘Negro’ (United Negro College Fund) isn’t rude, it is not what most Blacks prefer to be called.

    Thanks.

  13. This will be the last post for this issue from me.

    When early practicioners of public censorship complained to Bess Truman that her husband, Harry Truman used the term, manure all the time, Bess reponded with a laugh and said, “If you only knew how long it took to get Harry to say manure, instead of the alternative.”

    Using the terms Negro or Caucasian or Asian/Oriental are proper and accurate; much more specific than colloquial terms. I still use gender specific references too, because to do so is more accurate writing. The recent editions of the St. Martin’s Handbook that advocate using non-gender or non-racial specific descriptors serve to muddle the language rather than to make communication more clear. Describing someone as, “…the Negro chairman…” is far more descriptive and not in any way racist, in spite of the propaganda and political correctness that has been standard fare in public schools in recent years.

    El, I was not “implying” that this gang violence is a major problem in the Negro/Black/AfricanminusAmerican community, I am saying specifically that this aggressive gang/ambush behavior is widely accepted by members of the community as, just the way things have been for a long time and therefore nothing can be done to change it.

    This problem can and will be solved if more voices will join in and not be afraid to discuss matters of race or, as in this case, a problem that has long festered in the American Negro community.

    I am not the font of all solutions for this issue, but one very positive step would be for previously self anointed leaders, such as Sharpton and Jackson to join with folks like Mr. Cosby and condemn this recent act and speak clearly and often to community groups and drive home the point that the gang/ambush status quo is unacceptable.

    El, your suggestion that my thesis is an example of arguing from the specific to the general doesn’t hold water. I did not propose that due to this instance, or even due to my own experiences, that there is a widespread problem. I cited that both Mr. Cosby and Ambassador Young had both spoken, at length, about this issue and they based their positions not merely on conjecture or presuppositions about their community. They based comments on both personal experience (Cosby’s son) and DOJ reported crime statistics (Young and Cosby). I add recollections of my own experiences and concur with the standing crime statistics that cover the decades since the 1960s.

    As for the false premise that growing up poor provides a ready made excuse to join gangs and ambush and kill your neighbors, a review of regions of the world, with the worst poverty, does not demonstrate a correlation between being poor and participating in gang/ambush violence. There are poor and violent places, such as Somalia, but most of the violence is tribal or war-lord generated. I lived in Kenya and visited many poor villagers, and they sometimes had tribal conflicts, but not local gangs that preyed on their neighbors, like we have here in the US, at least not while I was there. The same is true for Oman, Sri Lanka or the Phillipines. They all had plenty of poor people, living in close quarters in cities; they had some tribal conflicts (like the Tamil rebels) but they didn’t have the local mob behavior like we have here.

    What the Africans, Arabs, Asians and island people who I observed, did have, were relatively strong tribal or family rules that governed conduct. I realize that my observations are not all inclusive, and that is why I encourage everyone concerned with changing the gang/ambush behavior to lose their fear of discussing such issues and honestly explore the problem and help to identify lasting solutions.

    To help those who get squeamish about discussing race or gender, I suggest that we all simply accept the fact that we did not pick our parents or gene pool of origin. None of us get any extra points for being born one thing or fewer points for being another. However, by understanding inherent strengths and problem areas, our Twenty-first Century society may better adapt our education and training methods to allow everyone to have the best possibility of enjoying successful and happy lives.

    We must not accept, our citizens bashing each others’ brains in with two-by-fours, as simply an environmental consequence, over which we have no control.

  14. Elena

    “However, by understanding inherent strengths and problem areas, our Twenty-first Century society may better adapt our education and training methods to allow everyone to have the best possibility of enjoying successful and happy lives. ”

    “Inherent strengths and problems areas” so we can “adapt our education and training”.

    THAT is Eugenics and YOU are not welcome on this blog.

    No one is suggesting such behavior should be acceptable. YOU said it is NOT a social construct, NOT me, I understand CLEARLY what you are implying….”we did not pick our gene pool”. THAT is racist. You can’t run and hide from that statement, no matter how many stories of living overseas you care to share. I would argue IT IS a social construct and facts surrounding incarcaration rates,high school drop out rates, and drug abuse for poorer communities is an epidemic and there are certain common variables that demonstrate those outcomes, one is absolutley Socioeconomic. End of discussion.

  15. Moon-howler

    I will agree with Tyler that we need community leaders speaking out against gang violence and mob behavior as long as we direct those remarks at all kids of all races. Depending on ones location (back to geography again), one might find a different race doing the stabbing/timbering/shooting.

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