Teen 'sport killings' of homeless on the rise

CNN ^ | 2/20/07 | Ashley Fantz

[DogBarkTree]

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (CNN) -- All Nathan Moore says he wanted to do was smoke pot and get drunk with his friends. Killing Rex Baum was never part of the plan that day in 2004. "It all started off as a game," Moore said. The 15-year-old and his friends were taunting the homeless man -- throwing sticks and leaves -- after having a couple of beers with him. No big deal, Moore says, but he's sorry for what came next.

[Prodigal Son]

Europe is doomed...

[metmom]

I guess that's what you get when you raise kids to believe there's no right and wrong. This is the fruit of situational ethics and abandoning the concept if absolute morality.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

The headline uses the word "teen". This is so that they can excuse the conduct later.

Perhaps if liberals hadn't destroyed the family, there would be less of this sort of thing.

[TChris]

I strongly suspect that if one were to look into the histories of these punks, one would find that they rarely if ever had to face the consequences of bad behavior. When a child is raised with no consequences, he learns to ignore his conscience until it's gone.

[RobRoy]

I would support trying criminals as adults at age 12. This "18" thing is lunacy.

I also think statutory rape should take into account the relative age of the parties involved. IOW, my wife and I are six days apart in age. If, the day after I turned 18, we had had sex, it would have been absurd to call it statutory rape.

Maybe a two year spread would be more appropriate - and one has to be over 18 of course.

Just me.

Sometimes laws just ignore reality.

[fruitintheroom]

Being homeless threatens not only your property but your person, too.

Which is why, were I homeless, I would definitely be packing. And, when the good times turned to senseless attempted murder, I would laughingly blow the little retards away. Then, move on.

[RobRoy]

If a bad politician gets elected president. It is not his fault. It is an indictment against the voters.

Likewise with this. It is evidence of a rotting, self centered, godless culture. A few years ago I joked about it, but it is no longer a joke: We are apparently living "A Clockwork Orange".

[HarmlessLovableFuzzball]

Totally agree.

[Colonel PK]

A "Clockwork Orange" scenario if ever I heard one.

[frogjerk]

In a sad irony, she had adopted him; his mother was a homeless drug addict, a revelation he had learned not long before the beating and which his attorney used to explain his rage.

As I've always believed - Nature trumps Nurture. This kid had "bad" blood. Bad blood will tell.

How old was he when he was adopted?

[walford]

...were I homeless, I would definitely be packing. And, when the good times turned to senseless attempted murder, I would laughingly blow the little retards away. Then, move on.

Firearms tend to be expensive and thus the homeless will be the least likely to be armed. Besides, as the article I quoted also noted, the homeless tend to be over-represented in the ranks of substance abusers and the mentally ill.

Well, which is it - a mistake or a sudden primal urge?

Tragically, neither of those characterizations acknowledge personal responsibility -- nay, GUILT. You are what you do, kiddo, not who you 'feel' you are.

As has already been noted, the natural confidence and exuberance of young males can easily degenerate into self-centeredness and cruelty w/o proper guidance. What I truly dread is the all-too-familiar reaction of casting these perpetrators as victims of a harsh society that 'forced' them to do what they did. If they were members of an anointed Victim Group, that would be all but guaranteed.

[fruitintheroom]

Firearms tend to be expensive and thus the homeless will be the least likely to be armed.

True...and, I'm looking at it from the point of view of not currently being homeless, as well as being sane (I said so). But, were anything like that to happen to me now, the last thing I'd lose would be my .38 and some ammo.

[hellbender]

Amen. No one ever taught these punks that every human being is made in the image of God and therefore has value, regardless of his looks, economic productivity, or whatever. People used to know the meaning of the statement that "there but the grace of God go I." But the ACLU and its allies are still working overtime to wipe out the vestiges of Judeo-Christian culture in America.

[RobRoy]

IOW, it will get far worse.

[fruitintheroom]

"there but the grace of God go I."

There it is.....which is why it's inconceivable to me that anyone would go out looking to harm someone. Nevertheless, I feel I should protect myself against any moron who would.....without remorse.

[hellbender]

Well, when most of our leaders, including "front-running," "poll-leading," Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, think even infanticide (euphemistically called partial birth abortion) is OK, how can you expect rowdy young males to get the message that life is sacred?

Come to think of it, Rudy made much of his reputation getting "these nasty bums" off the doorsteps of the NYC elite, and the rich appreciated it. Some of the homeless are repulsive, but read the story about poor Mr. Baum. Not a bad guy at all. He may have worked more of his life than his spoiled killers.

"As you did unto the least of these...."

[ishabibble]

Who is to blame? Read it and weep. These "homeless" people all have a caseworker and an agency, thanks to American taxpayer dollars.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1788139/posts

[BullDog108]

You probably also blame rape victims it was their fault for dressing provocatively.

[ishabibble]

Excuse me? Are you unable to put two and two together? The homeless shouldn't be out on the street in the freezing weather, irregardless of their mental capacities. There is a ton of money for this issue, it is simply not getting to the truly unfortunate who are entitled to it by law. The money goes to the agencies, not the homeless, in too many cases.

Maybe you should have at least looked at the link, Bullllllldog...

[BullDog108]

Excuse me? The homeless shouldn't be out there -- so you blame the victim and not the murderer. The murderer is the one to blame -- not society, not his parents, not the taxpayers. Good grief and buh-bye, I have no reason to talk to you.