Vicious Narcissistic Brutality

Is it seen as horribly immoral not to care about the welfare of others? Perhaps not in a sub-culture with an abysmal lack of values.

The larger problem is that the sub-culture appears on the brink of contaminating the larger culture. What other conclusion can be drawn when it is known that a vulnerable young person is being horribly physically attacked and this draws peoples' curiosity, not their sense of moral outrage. They gather to witness and impossibly, relish the attack, not to draw the attention of authorities to the scene, or to attempt themselves to halt the violence.

This lack of moral, ethical and empathetic sensitivities, the emotional disengagement from the plight of others emphasizes the emptiness of the self. Self, one's ego, one's entitlements, augmented by a general state of sociopathic desensitization, an absence of obligation toward others, appears to be the new reality. Born of a generation or more of people who think of themselves as different, individualists with a deeply-ingrained sense of self-worth, obsessed with the culture of celebrity.

Young peoples' aspirations gravitate toward emulating the celebrity of pop stars, of rappers with their gangster mentality. Facebook enthusiasts who celebrate themselves and invite strangers to admire them and become their 'friends' and followers. These are people devoted to the entertainment quotient of 'reality' shows, extravagant displays of social dysfunction that are the antithesis of reality in the world we all inhabit. Setting the stage for a hideous anti-social collective of sociopathy.

Which is what was on display on October 24 in a courtyard notorious for acting out, at the Richmond High School Homecoming dance, near Los Angeles, California. A repulsively atrocious scene ensued when a trusting young girl of 15 who aspired to be a social worker and felt sympathy for the school drop-outs and the junior thugs in her neighbourhood tried to be a conscious 'friend' to them. Trusting that her concern for their welfare would lead them to have concern for hers.

Six young men ranging in age from 15 to 21 have now been arrested for the gang rape and vicious beating that took place over two and a half hours of agony perpetrated on this young woman, a church-going honour student. None of which gave her immunity to being treated as a disposable object. It has been estimated by the intelligence gathering of investigating authorities that up to two dozen people casually passing by witnessed the crime, but simply went on their way, not bothering to alert police.

"The younger ones - they mostly just watched, and they are the ones talking and giving up names", according to a unnamed source connected with the investigation. "This was not a gang thing. It was just a mob that got out of control. It was the older ones who led it all."
The girl had left the dance at 9:30, calling her father to pick her up. When she was invited by a young boy she knew to go with him to the courtyard. Where a dozen boys and young men were drinking vodka, and plied her with same.

Despite the girl's refusal, one of the young men began to sexually attack her, and to beat her and he did not lack for help. A gang rape began, and intermittent beating, and continued for the next two and a half hours. Some of the onlookers called their friends by cell phone to swell the body of onlookers who found the scene entertaining and amusing and perfect fodder for photographs.

Around midnight, students from a house not far off, having heard of the situation, called police where the girl was found semiconscious under a picnic table. A young man living nearby who ran over when police arrived said "Her face was purple and blue and she wasn't moving when they finished and ran. I guess those kids thought what they did was tight, was cool. But it was terrible."

After her release from hospital five days later to begin recovery at home, police Lt. Mark Gagan commented: "This was a barbaric crime, and I find it hard to wrap my head around the fact that so many watched and didn't report it. That poor girl will have a lot of healing to do."

One of the school's teachers, familiar with both the victim and the arrested, mentioned that the girl was known for helping in conflict-mediation situations. She wanted to join the Police Explorers, a Boy Scouts group that encourages boys and girls to learn about law enforcement with local police. "She's an emotional, deeply caring girl, the type who would care so much if this happened to another girl", said the English teacher.

The girl's family have expressed their hope that public anger will subside and that something positive might come out of the dreadful event. Asking people to "please channel your anger into positive action". Young girls in the area appear to have busied themselves expressing their condolences on Facebook.