Published: July 06, 2008 12:04 am            

I don’t think it’s the teens that are the problem

For a couple of weeks we've heard through television news reports that Bonita Lakes Mall officials are trying to figure out what to do about the "teenager problem" at the mall.

I had not heard the problem explained until our staff writer Jennifer Jacob asked what the problem specifically was during Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith's press conference Wednesday.

Meridian Police Chief Benny DuBose explained that some people had felt "uncomfortable."

He said most of the complaints had to do with some customers feeling intimidated. It was stated that teens had been reported in groups, making inappropriate comments to women.

That's not appropriate behavior, no matter how old people standing in a group may be. When the police get complaints like this, they need to respond to that specific incident. The answer isn't to banish teenagers who are not under adult supervision.

What makes me uncomfortable at the mall is when I go there about the time the stores open and I nearly get trampled by a gaggle of senior citizens who use it as a walking track. I don't try to get in their way, it's just that they're so dang fast, and if they have to go around you, expect to have just as much sighing, stomping and eye-rolling directed at you as any teenager can dish out. You might even get a naughty gesture thrown your way.

I've heard from several people who were around Meridian before the current mall was built, who said the fact that it would give young people something to do was a selling point to the community.

A lot of teens are window shopping at the mall whether adults realize it or not. Believe me, they always come back after being at the mall with something to tell their folks about that they have their eye on. Then, they return with the money later, or with a parent to make the purchase.

If the mall doesn't want teens there without adult supervision it can expect to lose money at the theater, arcade, food court, many of its clothing stores and any place where music or video games can be bought. Even though reports suggest teen buying power has declined in recent years, the age group still offers an estimated $153 billion in spending power according to some market research analysts.

Shouldn't their civil liberties be respected, too? Why revert directly to ageism? I guess it's tradition mostly. Stomping on a whole group of people's civil liberties rather than having the courage to deal with disruptive isolated incidents is what makes us The Hospitality State.

There are still a lot of Mississippians with influence who are control freaks. They want to control all aspects of our lives, from who we can marry to what color clothes we wear.

Maybe we should let those people have Mississippi. They could offer up the state as one big detention facility to house all of this country's state and federal prisoners since they want to criminalize everything anyway. Then they'd have everyone in cages and would be able to tell them what to do, where to go, what to wear, what to watch, what to read and ultimately what to think ... full control.

If we did that we'd have to change the American flag a little, but not much. We could still have 50 stars, it's just that Mississippi's should be red.



Steve Gillespie is managing editor of The Meridian Star. E-mail him at sgillespie@themeridianstar.com.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.