Scapegoating of Teenagers

* I found your Sept. 22 article about the “crackdown” on malingering teens near Disneyland to be frankly appalling. What it really boils down to is yet another instance of our country’s (and the media’s) scapegoating of teens.

While I do not advocate drug dealing or underage drinking, it’s quite obvious that local police are using this as an excuse to harass any teen whom they deem to be “threatening.” And in our increasingly xenophobic society, this seems to mean anyone who looks “different” than the police think they should.

What this is really all about is driven home late in the article. A woman hurries past a group of seated “Gothics” and complains that she “no longer feels safe” in the park. Never is there even an implication that these teens did or said anything to her or her charges. It’s clear that she doesn’t feel safe simply because of how they look. I’m sorry to inform her, though, that dressing in black is not against the law.

For a nation that wants to portray itself as being so concerned about “the children,” we certainly seem willing to cast them aside and condemn them if they actually display some independent thought. Shame on Disney and anyone else who supports this campaign, which is really just another heavy-handed lurch toward a police state.

NICHOLAS BULUM

Long Beach