Terror in Surburia: Campaigns Waged Against Neighborhoods By Antisocial Kids

Anti-Social Behavior of Young Children:
Turns USA Small Towns into Disturbia



A recent Dear Abby contained a plea from "Afraid in Wisconsin" who expressed concerns about the behavior of a new neighbor's 11-yr-old son. This letter highlighted the plight of many who live in a suburbia across America: antisocial kids who terrorize their neighborhoods, and the inability to deal with them.

"Afraid in Wisconsin" wrote how new neighbors had built a home on the lot next door and the "antisocial behavior" of their 11-yr-old son. How the boy had tried to coax "Afraid's" dog into his yard, played roughly with their three small children, and used vulgar language with their 8-yr-old daughter. "Afraid" noted that other neighbors had seen the boy abuse his dog and "other animals". When "Afraid" had approached the boy's mother, "Afraid" was told that her son "wouldn't behave that way".

Here is Dear Abby's answer to "Afraid in Wisconsin":

"DEAR AFRAID: You have described a child who is emotionally disturbed and parents who are in denial. Because the neighbors have seen him abuse animals, a report should be made to the police and the department of animal welfare in your community. This boy has no empathy for others and needs professional help. Until he gets it, you are wise to be concerned about your children. Keep a watchful eye."

Parents such as "Afraid in Wisconsin" face the same plight that countless other families endure in neighborhoods across America: the effects of an antisocial kid's behavior on the neighborhood where he resides.

Antisocial Behavior

According to Donald Black, M.D., Antisocial Personality, or ASP, is a disorder related to a "guiltless pattern of social irresponsibility" which begins in early childhood or adolescence. Antisocial behaviors range from "relatively minor acts, such as lying or cheating, to heinous acts, including torture, rape and murder". Black makes the observation that ASP is rarely acknowledged or recognized:

"As psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley once noted, the antisocial person is “the forgotten man of psychiatry who probably causes more unhappiness and more perplexity to the public than all mentally disordered patients combined.” "

This also applies to suburbia and the antisocial kids currently terrorizing neighbors and neighborhoods.

Clark wrote that the "causes" of ASP are still unknown. Evidence of ASP, a mental health issue, point to inherited traits, as well as a "hereditary basis", and environmental factors.

Theories as to the cause of ASP include abnormalities in development of the nervous system whose symptoms may include persistent bed wetting and hyperactivity. Another theory is mothers who smoked during pregnancy resulting in lowered oxygen levels to the fetus.

Abnormal brain function and neurotransmitter serotonin have been linked to impulsive and aggressive behavior.

"Social and home environment" may also be key factors relating to ASP: parents of antisocial kids "show a high level of antisocial behavior". Homes of ASP kids may include alcoholism, divorce, criminal activity, or an absence of a parent. Parenting may be "erratic or inappropriate discipline and inadequate supervision". Antisocial parents "lack motivation" in supervising their children. Children raised in this atmosphere can become "self-absorbed" and "indifferent to others" as well as have "little regard for rules". Lacking proper roles models, ASP kids solve disputes using aggression. ASP kids also fail to develop empathy.

There are many parents who raised their ASP child in a caring and loving environment. These parents face a bewildering and daunting task of getting treatment for a child who has a behavior problem whose cause is still unknown. These parents do not negate the concerns of their neighbors. It's when neighbors, who are dealing with an ASP kid terrorizing the neighborhood, find the parent, or parents, are in denial or simply "doesn't care" what their ASP kid is up to when frustration sets in.

The mother of the boy whom "Afraid" wrote Dear Abby about, claimed her son wouldn't "behave that way". The mother inferred that "Afraid", who contacted her about her son's behavior, was making up "stories" about her son. The mother, who in essence had called "Afraid" a liar, was in denial about her son's behavior.

"Afraid" encountered what many other neighbors across America have discovered to their dismay: some parents are unwilling to deal with their antisocial kids. This left "Afraid" with the problem of having to deal with a "creepy" kid in the neighborhood who may or may not harm "Afraid's" children. The dynamics of "Afraid's" neighborhood had changed from what was once a safe and happy haven to raise one's kids, to having to "watch" a neighbor's child in order to protect one's own children or pets.

Cases such as the one above are becoming more commonplace--or at least are more publicized.

What other recent cases have troubled quiet neighborhoods?

Continue reading: Terror in Surburia: Campaigns Waged Against Neighborhoods By Antisocial Kids

by LBG
Source: Terror in Surburia: Campaigns Waged Against Neighborhoods By Antisocial Kids

Boys Try to Rob Port St. Lucie Police Station

Located on the southern end of mainland St. Lucie County, Port St. Lucie is a recreation-rich paradise filled with pleasant pursuits. Home of the one-a-kind PGA Village, the PGA Learning Center, numerous other golf courses and Mets Baseball at Tradition Field, sports enthusiasts will find much to love. A wide range of affordable accommodations makes guests feel comfortable. Numerous parks and pristine rivers provide countless ways to explore and experience the best of natural Florida. And fantastic inland fishing will let you cast your cares away. Source - Visit St. Lucie FL.com



Wednesday, two boys, ages 12 and 14, walked into the lobby of the Port St. Lucie Police Station in Florida and "ordered an aide behind a glass enclosure to put up her hands and hand over all her money".

It was the 12-year-old who kept one hand in his pocket as though he held a gun, then picked up a telephone handset and barked out the "hand's up" order to the aide.

According to the Palm Beach Post, the 12-year-old then paced around the lobby, "pointing at his eyes then at an aide, as if to say, "I'm watching you"." It was then that the aide ran screaming to the back of the station.

A half a dozen officers had just returned to the building from defensive tactics training. They stormed the building, one had his gun drawn.

According to the police the boys laughed when they were arrested and neither showed remorse. Evidently the 14-yr-old was no stranger to breaking the law as he was charged with violating his probation. Both boys were booked into a juvenile detention center.

We looked at the data on Port St. Lucie, not a large city, the population in 2006 was close to 140,000, with the median resident age of 39.9 years with an estimated medium household income in 2005 of $49,296 while the estimated medium condo/house value was listed at $227,000.

The crime statistics seem to portray a relatively crime-free area with only one murder, 17 rapes, 27 robberies, 242 assaults, 770 burglaries, 144 auto thefts, and 11 cases of arson listed in 2007.

The average household size is 2.6 people with the percentage of family households, 75.9%. The percentage of residents living in poverty in 2005, 5.8%.


Was this a case of "dumb and dumber" or was it something else? And which of the boys was the "mastermind?"

Why would two boys who live in such an idyllic setting spend their time attempting to rob a police station instead of playing baseball or frolicking at the beach?

We may never know since they'll probably be tried in juvenile court where the records will remain sealed.


By LBG

Source - City Data
Image - Port St. Lucie Real Estate
Source - Palm Beach Post
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