thedewsperspective

My Father Was Once Attacked by a Teenager

My father was once attacked by a teenager.

He was violently knocked to the ground by someone who blindsided him. The youth thought it’d be entertaining to knock my father to the ground, causing severe damage to his hip.

An ambulance had to be called.

A childhood friend alerted me by phone. He said, “Homeboy, you might want to come home. Someone hurt your dad.”

The video of the 74-year-old man being attacked by a group of armed youth made me recall that tragic incident.

It’s a travesty when the most vulnerable people in our community are victimized.

What is it then when both the victim and the victimizers are part of our most vulnerable population?

I watched what appeared to be a kid hurl his body into an elderly man with the same force as a middle linebacker sacking a quarterback.

Multiple times.

I watched what appeared to be a kid approach a 74-year-old man with an assault rifle pointed at his head.

I watched a youth antagonize this senior citizen with a sword.

A sword.

Then, when the elderly man was knocked to the ground, a group of five or more kids pummeled him—stomping, kicking, and striking him with objects.

He did his best to defend himself, using an empty crate to fend off the attack as best he could.

It was reported that the entire ordeal left him with a hand injury and multiple bruises sustained during the melee.

What were these kids doing in the wee hours of the morning, canvassing a 7-Eleven parking lot looking for a victim?

Who in the hell walks around carrying an assault rifle and a sword?

Why weren’t they home?

This entire incident is a conundrum for me.

You see, as an educator with nearly 30 years of experience working with a particular demographic, I love, understand, and work extremely hard to support our youth.

However, as someone who witnessed a parent suffer a fractured hip at the hands of a child who found pleasure in hurting him…

I’m livid.

I don’t condone criminal activity.

Nor do I respect unprovoked violence of any kind.

This attack is among the most despicable I’ve ever witnessed.

And it appears it was carried out for nothing more than their own enjoyment.

Sad.

Then people say, “Our kids need something to do.”

No.

They have things to do.

What we’re bearing witness to are the things our children are choosing to do.

They’re choosing to engage in violent and criminal behavior.

They’re choosing to become both the victimizer and, eventually, the victim.

Because they may not fully understand that they’re hurting more than the people they’re attacking.

As an educational professional, I’ve spent countless hours trying to understand the “why.”

And I’ve spent just as much time trying to help our youth understand their own “why.”

This video triggered me because it made me think about my dad.

My dad, who died in 2017 from complications related to throat cancer.

My dad, who years earlier was trampled by a child who thought it’d be entertaining to hurt him.

I pray someone is held accountable for the heinous attack on this 74-year-old victim.

No one was ever brought to justice for what happened to my father.

Unless there was some form of street justice…

That I know nothing about.

Here’s what I know…

Our children are becoming more emboldened to hurt people.

There’s no longer a moral compass in our community that forbids certain behaviors toward our elders.

We’re facing a moral crisis when children harm elders for sport.

We must do better.

We all must do better.

This is our problem to fix.

Everybody wants to be a “revolutionist.”

How ’bout we start by becoming “resolutionists.”

The Dews Perspective by Cornell Dews