John J. Dilulio Jr.’s recent commentary (“Moral poverty,” Op-Ed, Dec. 15) on the imminent arrival of “superpredators,” youths who easily resort to violence, highlights the moral vacuum that spurs their crime. But there are significant technological changes that are making America’s inner-city youth more prone to violence.
– The technology of addiction. The drugs available today have an addictive pull and mind-altering power to both require and encourage violence. Compared to alcohol and previously available narcotics, crack and other drugs alone can explain the spiraling rise of inner-city violence.
– The technology of violence. The Sharks and the Jets that Dilulio views with a benign nostalgia fought out their gang battles with fists and blades. Today’s grade school students are found with automatic weapons–the real gang members with much worse. What 50 years ago would have been a schoolyard brawl with bloody noses leads to fatalities given the quick access to guns.
– The technology of work. The industrial blue-collar jobs that rewarded the muscle of the inner city with paychecks and eventual membership in the middle class are dwindling. Without economic hope and support for a stable and productive life, the exponential growth of violence will continue.
