Word on the street is our local mall is being inundated with rowdy teenagers. Lots of fights and general mayhem. The mall has pledged additional security presence, and SFPD promised more officer patrols. Things have definitely changed for the worse since my high school days. We used to go to the same mall after school all the time. I can’t remember even one incidence of fighting. Honestly, what Lowell kid would risk suspension and missing class time? No way.
While it’s understandable that teenagers will be rowdier than the average adult, causing fights and disruption is definitely unacceptable. We expect them to pull some tables together at the food court and be loud and rambunctious. What we don’t expect is dozens of them gathering together and duking it out. This isn’t West Side Story. Where the heck are your manners?
It’s good to see the mall and SFPD doing something now. What I would hate to see is nothing being done until some kid gets stabbed and killed. The lawsuit against the mall from the hypothetical aggrieved parents would be massive. As private property, the duty is on the mall to keep a pleasant, non-stabbing, environment. I certainly would visit the mall less if the unruly teenagers problem continues.
Who I most feel sorry for are the mall workers. They definitely do not get paid enough to deal with this shit.
There’s a general sense the San Francisco government, from the very top on down, simply do not care about fixing quality-of-life crimes. We are the car break-in capital of America, we can’t buy laundry detergent at Walgreens without asking a clerk to unlock the shelf, and open drug markets run unabated in one district. To live in a society where reporting a theft will only illicit a shrug of the shoulders from the police: it’s utter madness. Why can’t we have nice things?
New keys.