Violence and Vandalism (1972)

how many more does he have to kill next candy and a gun whoever the killer is he's been walking around for three days with an untreated bullet please i've never chewed anything from our newsroom in new york the 11 o'clock report the news is next [Music] it may be true that neither television nor the mass media can be blamed for violence but i i think they do bring violence into the home and make it commonplace almost acceptable it's been found that young people and adults exposed to violence at an early age will often turn to violence when confronted with minor frustrations school will often be the first experience a child has away from his family for him it's his first contact with society often it's the first time he's forced to deal with others and suddenly he must play by the rules [Music] as he grows over he'll find that rules will seem to dominate his life [Music] while all of us are forced to live by rules or laws in one form or another if an orderly society is to survive and flourish but from time to time all of us are faced with emotions that to strike back we feel small frustrated or just plain bored with our lives [Music] um [Music] [Music] [Music] hey come on hey where [Music] today vandalism sometimes just for the heck of it and other times well directed is almost out of control why well i don't know i don't think anybody else does either there just doesn't seem to be any easy answer or magic formula the youthful years are a time of great idealism and energy and channeling that idealism can be very difficult to make matters worse sometimes we well we all allow others to make important decisions for us i don't know what's the matter with you man you never chickened out before we've never stolen anything before either hey are we friends or not well it's just not my thing i don't get any big kick out of busting into school big deal mike it'll be easy and besides i know it doesn't sell that stuff let's stick together huh look man it's getting late why don't you make up your mind you don't want to go forget it sam and i gotta get it on okay okay all right i'll go [Music] at one time or another all of us have been pressured into doing things we don't want to do a noted sociologist gives us some insight into other causes of vandalism every person must answer these questions who am i and what can i do there are lots of people who are interested in how we answer those questions because who we are and what we do has an impact on them it affects them to be young is to spend much time listening to the messages of people who tell us who we must be and what we should do in return for listening well we're rewarded by opportunities to do more satisfying things in a way society is like a great casting studio with a limited variety of roles villains fools heroes and failures in a competitive culture the number of starring roles are few and the auditions are not many if we file the early ones up we may be rejected from having any desirable part at all some of us find this unbearable so we say to ourselves if we couldn't make it into the script as good guys we'll force our way in as bad guys the one thing we won't accept is having no part at all so when we find the studio locked we say we couldn't make our mark in it so we leave our mark on it we'll deface the door with vandalism or smash it with violence one way or another will be in the play the question is is it the part we wanted for other potential vandals the reasons may be much clearer they feel they've been wronged and they may turn toward violence to get even gonna be over there now you go ahead i just want to get some air didn't you hear me i said jane's gonna be over there yeah i heard what you said what's bugging you i talked with coach springer today are you gonna anchor the relay team friday not quite not even running what do you mean rules man i don't want to play their games i went out for track because it's the individual i don't want to be a part of no team i'm me and they got to accept that they set up rules that i have no say in them when i don't play by them come on liv no kidding i'm supposed to be a troublemaker well maybe i'm gonna make a little trouble oftentimes all of us feel that society is becoming too mechanical that we as people are being ignored losing our individuality but we also know that freedom requires responsibility irresponsible acts or grandstand plays they do very little to improve society they can only destroy when i came to school this morning i found out that there was this explosion in the chemistry lab last night wow that's really great without chemistry how am i supposed to graduate this year they burned down the building that used to be our gym next year i was going to go to college on a basketball scholarship now i don't know what's going to happen i've lived in this ghetto all my life my only chance of getting out of here is the school today i come to school and i find this they bomb the whole place i gotta learn i gotta make something of myself i don't wanna end up with no education no hope no nothing another reason often given for vandalism is just plain boredom bored with her school family friends and life in general young people may turn towards vandalism merely for the thrill the excitement of destroying this brings us to a very interesting question are we violent by nature or do we become violent when we're aroused by some outside stimulation well this is a question that's been puzzling mankind for generations and there's still no agreement on it since violence is most common in crowded inner city schools many feel that environment is a factor now these dates are important to remember they indicate a sequence of events which are necessary to our understanding of american history it becomes readily apparent that at the beginning of the 19th century going crazy this place are going to drive me nuts nobody cares kids teachers nobody they don't educate you it's like a refrigerator they put you in here to keep you cool [Music] so [Music] i hate this place there's no feeling here no belonging it's like a rotten prison someone ought to burn it down no one can deny that frustration and a feeling of hopelessness are causes for vandalism but i don't think i don't think that anybody can agree that the way to resolve the problems of overcrowded schools poor teaching and relevant courses is to burn down the schools it's true that in the past school curriculum was geared toward the white middle class majority recently however changes have taken place there are more black study programs and more schools job training is being provided for those not interested in college and a head start program prepares disadvantaged children for the first years in school just a token in some cases maybe but progress yeah definitely progress you know the only way to bring about change is to become active in your school make your feelings known and work within the structure to bring about desired changes i think you'll meet with success if you do it that way because if you go outside well as far as i'm concerned somebody's got to get tough with these kids today they're just not going to get any more my tax dollars they say they want the right to determine what they study but so far they haven't shown any responsibility if they can't handle what they have now how can they demand any more hey i can hardly afford to pay my bills now vote for another bond to build another school not on your life the kids will just burn it down they don't care i wouldn't give those kids another dime it's time to learn the value of property i mean you know if the school's closed down it's their fault just a lot of phony words well unfortunately no the quality of education can't improve without the cooperation of the voters the establishment monies needed for new programs and facilities additional teachers will be needed to reduce the sun but as long as the public's image of young people is that of irresponsible delinquents burning and destroying everything in sight well they're going to be less than enthusiastic about supporting or improving the quality of education the time has come for you to decide what kind of a society you want to live in in the past violence was a defense against danger it worked well for survival now for the first time in man's history his survival depends on his humanity his ability to solve i don't you think it's about time we learn to work together in order to be able to live together think about it [Music] you