Cities Beg for Parents to Stop Violent ‘Teen Takeovers’
Dare to discipline? Major U.S. cities are now calling for “parental accountability” as “teen takeovers” become increasingly violent.
Ironic, considering many of the same cities spent years stripping moms and dads of their parental rights.
“Teen takeovers” are pop-up gatherings advertised on social media. The viral trend gained national media attention in March as takeovers in cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Orlando and the Bronx ended in destruction and violence.
“These are not harmless gatherings.” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro told reporters earlier this month after teens destroyed a local Chipotle. “They are violent and they are disruptive.”
Teen takeover violence reached a new level over Memorial Day weekend.
Five police officers were hospitalized trying to disperse a gathering in Chicago after 18-year-old Rashad Johnson allegedly hit them with a car.
Johnson only stopped the car after he hopped a curb and crashed into a police car, a pole and a fence. He is charged with attempted murder and five counts of aggravated battery, among other charges.
Thankfully, all five injured officers are expected to recover fully.
Johnson was one of 53 people, including 23 juveniles, arrested across two teen takeovers in Chicago over the holiday. Eight teenagers 17-year-old and under received felony charges.
Detroit police also broke up two violent teen takeovers — one of which ended in the shooting of a 16-year-old boy.
As teenage behavior spirals out of control, government employees are calling on parents to, you know, parent.
“Parents, we need you actively involved in knowing where your children are, because accountability extends to parents as well,” Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield exhorted in a YouTube video following last weekend’s violence.
Chicago Mayor Brian Johnson made a similar plea following the chaos in Chicago.
“I continue to call on parents and guardians to know where their children are and to help ensure they are safe and accounted for,” he posted on X.
Chicagoans want parents to take responsibility for their kids so badly that lawmakers have reportedly begun drafting “parental accountability” legislation in which parents could face punishment for crimes their children’s crimes.
Concerns about parental accountability aren’t limited to Chicago and Detroit. U.S. Attorney Pirro announced her office would prosecute parents of teens involved in destructive teen takeovers earlier this month.
“We don’t want your kids victimized, and neither should you,” Pirro addressed parents directly. “And that requires that you do something about this.”
“That’s why we’re going to hold you accountable.”
The Daily Citizen and Focus on the Family believe parents have the biblical right and responsibility to love, raise, protect and provide for their children, including:
- Teaching them to love and pursue biblical justice and morality.
- Teaching them to contribute to society.
It’s equally important to acknowledge the incongruence between legislation encouraging parental accountability and legislation stripping parents of their rights.
The left supports legislation and jurisprudence at the state and federal level giving parents less authority over the upbringing of their children, including:
- Less visibility into what their child learns at school.
- Less or no say over treatment of their child’s sexual identity confusion or same-sex attraction.
- Less or no visibility into their child’s social media activity.
- Less or no visibility or say into their child’s medical treatment or decision to get an abortion.
Yet, when teenagers act out, legislators demand parents engage — an abrupt change of narrative which sticks out in the conclusion of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s X post:
A role to play? No. Parents should be the primary actors in charge of protecting their children.
Johnson’s relegation of families to a minor role elevates his government to the largest “parental” authority in children’s lives. In the world he describes, parents are but a supplement to the opportunities and safe spaces the government generates for young people.
His thinking is entirely backwards — and precisely why we find ourselves in this conundrum.
In his Politics, Aristotle argues strong civilizations are built on strong family units. History proves him right — civilizations thrive when parents can fulfill their biblical duty to love, raise, protect and provide for their kids.
Shrinking the role parents play in their children’s lives only weakens society.
Supporting parental engagement while slashing parental rights is a similarly poor strategy for combatting teenage lawlessness.
No wonder it isn’t working.
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