Submitted by: Khrystal Rodriguez
What comes to mind when you think of flash mobs? Is it something positive or negative? Currently, Philadelphia is plagued with flash mobs. Flash mobs have gone through a drastic change. According to Wikipedia the term "Flash mob" means a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purpose of entertainment, satire, artistic expression or-in rare cases-violence. In Philadelphia's case violence is not rare. All of the accounts have been violent.
This is what flash mobs use to be:
This is what flashes mobs have become:
The question comes to mind why on earth are these kids doing this? I have yet to find an answer but, you can consider some factors. As I read articles and viewed videos surrounding this topic certain ideas kept surfacing. There is an idea that places parents at fault. Another, was this idea of searching for an identity. One generally tends to wonder are these individuals trying to make a point when they organize these violent flash mobs. From the material I viewed these individuals seem to not care about police authority. Mayor Nutter's response was to set a curfew. However, teenagers are still hitting the streets,no pun intended, past nine. Thus, arrest are continuing to be made and who knows maybe another flash mob is being organized as I write this blog.
To comment on the last two videos it was interesting to hear some citizens views. Basically, it expressed some ideas on how these flash mobs can be controlled. In the first to the last video a citizen by the name of Siles Smith talked about the identity factor mentioned above. He stated "They are lost" "looking for something to relate to". Which is interesting because when someone belongs to a specific group that is what they identify with. So is a group dishing out violence giving these individuals a sense of identity? Is this what they are relating to? Dr. Charles Williams' comments surrounded the idea of the parents being at fault. He states "Flash mobs will stop only when parents step up". He claims kids without structure, supervision, and activity filled schedules will act a fool and that is the fault of the parents. So what exactly can parents do if their kids are at a disobedient stage? In the last video some one commented warning parents to keep and eye on their kids.
To conclude, the term flash mob has certainly changed in meaning to the citizens of Philadelphia. This topic leaves one only with more questions. What could be the cause of these violent acts? Is it the parents fault? or are these individuals finding their identity in the wrong place. Whatever the reason I sure hope our authority figures can fix this soon so that kids can stay out of trouble and so that the term "Flash mob" can transform back into something fun as the third to the last video puts it.
What comes to mind when you think of flash mobs? Is it something positive or negative? Currently, Philadelphia is plagued with flash mobs. Flash mobs have gone through a drastic change. According to Wikipedia the term "Flash mob" means a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purpose of entertainment, satire, artistic expression or-in rare cases-violence. In Philadelphia's case violence is not rare. All of the accounts have been violent.
This is what flash mobs use to be:
This is what flashes mobs have become:
The question comes to mind why on earth are these kids doing this? I have yet to find an answer but, you can consider some factors. As I read articles and viewed videos surrounding this topic certain ideas kept surfacing. There is an idea that places parents at fault. Another, was this idea of searching for an identity. One generally tends to wonder are these individuals trying to make a point when they organize these violent flash mobs. From the material I viewed these individuals seem to not care about police authority. Mayor Nutter's response was to set a curfew. However, teenagers are still hitting the streets,no pun intended, past nine. Thus, arrest are continuing to be made and who knows maybe another flash mob is being organized as I write this blog.
To comment on the last two videos it was interesting to hear some citizens views. Basically, it expressed some ideas on how these flash mobs can be controlled. In the first to the last video a citizen by the name of Siles Smith talked about the identity factor mentioned above. He stated "They are lost" "looking for something to relate to". Which is interesting because when someone belongs to a specific group that is what they identify with. So is a group dishing out violence giving these individuals a sense of identity? Is this what they are relating to? Dr. Charles Williams' comments surrounded the idea of the parents being at fault. He states "Flash mobs will stop only when parents step up". He claims kids without structure, supervision, and activity filled schedules will act a fool and that is the fault of the parents. So what exactly can parents do if their kids are at a disobedient stage? In the last video some one commented warning parents to keep and eye on their kids.
To conclude, the term flash mob has certainly changed in meaning to the citizens of Philadelphia. This topic leaves one only with more questions. What could be the cause of these violent acts? Is it the parents fault? or are these individuals finding their identity in the wrong place. Whatever the reason I sure hope our authority figures can fix this soon so that kids can stay out of trouble and so that the term "Flash mob" can transform back into something fun as the third to the last video puts it.
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