Send them to boot camp.
Lock down the high school.
Reinstitute the draft at 100 percent.
Whatever it takes, do it.
That seems to be the reaction to the recent attacks in the Country Club Plaza region of Kansas City, Mo.
And if you’ve ever spent any time there, you can understand why.
People travel to the Plaza to have a good time, and it’s not a cheap place to visit.
So when that visit is ruined by huge crowds of young criminals who show up to intimidate the visitors, it’s understandable that both the shoppers and the shop owners want action.
And they want it now.
And they deserve it now.
Kansas City Mayor Sly James got to see this most recent attack first hand. It was at the event this past weekend that three teenagers were injured when shots were fired by one of the mob members.
Enough is enough.
Anyone who believes this is just a cultural expression that got out of hand is living with their head in the sand.
This was intended, from its inception to the moment those shots were fired, to do one thing — to do what it all ended up doing. It was intended to intimidate the shoppers and the shop owners.
Why?
Because the young criminals involved want it. Nothing more. No great reason. They just want to act against people in a way and in a place where they will be noticed.
They didn’t come to the Plaza to shop. They came to intimidate. And it is up to the police of Kansas City, Mo. to do something about it.
Monitor: There have to be security videos of this criminal event. Get them all. Get the forensic experts involved. Start identifying these criminals and prosecute them.
Safeguard: The shop owners in the Plaza and elsewhere in Kansas City need to be protected. This is not going to be cheap, but it has to be done. Shoppers won’t visit where they don’t feel safe.
Fund: The money for this work has to come from somewhere, so why not lay the tab at the feet of those kids that get identified and of their parents? They had their fun, let them foot the bill.
The worst thing that can be done is nothing.
For some time now, convenience store owners around the nation have discussed the issue with large numbers of young people flooding into their stores, grabbing everything they can and then fleeing before the cops can arrive, with the store losing thousands of dollars in stock.
As those of us who are so stupid that we follow the law will soon learn, we will make up the losses in higher prices, so it would be a good idea for all of us consumers to insist that these groups are stopped — harshly.
— Chuck Smith