"Neighbors say they come from troubled homes." That's what the newsman said. I read this story -- about two 10-year-olds and a 17-year-old who beat down a homeless man and smashed a cinderblock on his eye -- and all I could say in response to the newsman was, "Ya think?"
You might read this story and wonder, "Where were the parents?" I look at it and think, "Where were the neighbors?"
These kids "terrorized" the neighborhood, one resident said. Troubled homes, missing parents (the parents never showed up in court when the kids were charged with assault), pint-sized crime sprees -- does it really take an act of violence before someone else gets involved?
I wonder what you can do, though? Just how involved in other kids' lives can neighbors be? Is it a neighbor's place to step up when clearly the parents aren't?
