THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411230266
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Another View
SOURCE: Chris Kidder
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
There is a line between crime prevention and a flagrant disregard for our democratic principles and basic human rights. I am saddened that our community has chosen to cross that line in dealing with its young people.
For the past year, a retailer at the Outer Banks Mall has had a sign posted on its front door: No one under 21 allowed. Is the store selling something young people shouldn't have? No. The owner simply doesn't want ``children'' disturbing her peace. If the sign said no one over 55 could enter, would that merchant still be at the mall? I doubt it.
A police office patrols Manteo High School in uniform with his weapon in full view. New policies require students to leave their book bags in their lockers where school-controlled locks allow this ``resource officer'' and school officials to search students' possessions whenever they please. What does this teach students about our society and about themselves? Would the adults of this community allow the wholesale search of their own homes without cause?
Then we have our police officers on the street who routinely stop drivers because they're off the beaten path at a late hour. If the driver is young, they add insult to injury by searching the car. These young drivers may not be ticketed, not given sobriety tests (because there is no cause to charge them with a traffic violation), but they are intimitated and harassed by officers who search every nook and cranny of their cars. Should being young be ``probable cause'' for a search?
How do I explain this system of justice and these attitudes to my son? I believe that human nature dictates that almost all of us live up - or live down - to what society expects. We may think we are protecting our young from making mistakes with preemptive strikes but what we're doing is teaching them that we expect the worst. We're showing them that they don't need to be responsible because we will do the thinking for them. We deny them the opportunity to make the right - and, yes, sometimes the wrong - decisions.
Outer Banks communities have welcomed so many people to its shores - they have overlooked, accepted and forgiven so much from some citizens - that I am truly puzzled by the ``guilty until proven innocent'' attitude taken toward our youth.
Repression doesn't work. Repression and persecution of any group, has never produced positive changes in any society. It's a tool for systems that don't work. It's the mark of people who are too lazy or too morally bankrupt to deal with those few who behave irresponsibly. We can be better than this.
I urge Outer Banks citizens to re-examine their attitudes toward the young people of this community. Call the store owners, school administrators and police forces whose repressive policies set a bad example for our young people and urge them to take more affirmative actions. by CNB