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Flash Mob Violence in Philadelphia and Throughout America: A Multi-faceted Social & Cultural Issue | National Policy Institute
Flash Mob Violence in Philadelphia and Throughout America: A Multi-faceted Social & Cultural Issue
Essentially these types of flash mobs are “gangs.” Coverage of the April incident in California described the event as, “A gang-organised ‘flash mob’ [that] caused havoc at a California beach resort and ended up with a man fighting for his life after he was shot in the head.”
Across the country, the current trend of violent flash mob uprisings is becoming an increasingly more serious and violent occurrence for communities. In Philadelphia, Mayor Nutter has acted quickly to try to reign in these “flash mobs” of young teenagers by addressing the problem head on.
His condemnation of recent violent acts called out the main perpetrators (teenagers), demanded increased involvement by parents, and offered a practical solution for the local government to act quickly by imposing a curfew that directly targets those most likely to engage in “flash mob” activity. The first weekend of the imposed curfew should give Philadelphians reason to stay positive, but underlying issues contributing to this negative evolution of flash mobs should be given further examination before declaring victory just yet.
Flash mobs vs. Gang Violence
Flash mobs aren’t supposed to be groups of teenagers getting ready to rob innocent bystanders. They’re supposed to be silly events coordinated through social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to gather in public and perform a quick and spontaneous harmless (obnoxious? Maybe.) act.
However, in recent months residents of California, Wisconsin, Ohio, Washington, DC and Philadelphia have been experiencing flash mobs in the form of what’s being increasingly referred to as “flash robs.”
Flash Mob Violence in Philadelphia and Throughout America: A Multi-faceted Social & Cultural Issue
Essentially these types of flash mobs are “gangs.” Coverage of the April incident in California described the event as, “A gang-organised ‘flash mob’ [that] caused havoc at a California beach resort and ended up with a man fighting for his life after he was shot in the head.”
Across the country, the current trend of violent flash mob uprisings is becoming an increasingly more serious and violent occurrence for communities. In Philadelphia, Mayor Nutter has acted quickly to try to reign in these “flash mobs” of young teenagers by addressing the problem head on.
His condemnation of recent violent acts called out the main perpetrators (teenagers), demanded increased involvement by parents, and offered a practical solution for the local government to act quickly by imposing a curfew that directly targets those most likely to engage in “flash mob” activity. The first weekend of the imposed curfew should give Philadelphians reason to stay positive, but underlying issues contributing to this negative evolution of flash mobs should be given further examination before declaring victory just yet.
Flash mobs vs. Gang Violence
Flash mobs aren’t supposed to be groups of teenagers getting ready to rob innocent bystanders. They’re supposed to be silly events coordinated through social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to gather in public and perform a quick and spontaneous harmless (obnoxious? Maybe.) act.
However, in recent months residents of California, Wisconsin, Ohio, Washington, DC and Philadelphia have been experiencing flash mobs in the form of what’s being increasingly referred to as “flash robs.”
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