What do you get when you take a 40 percent out-of-wedlock birthrate, mix it with a 25 percent absentee-father rate, and sprinkle some social media on top?
You get feral kids.
Raised by their devices and peers, and educated not in the school of virtue but of virality, most of them are in their late teens to early twenties. Anybody living in our nation’s largest cities has become acquainted with these kids in recent years — from the teen takeovers in Chicago and illegal house parties in Nashville to the drag racing in Florida and the storming of malls in California. These kids have reached the age of majority, and they have been sicced on the world.
What crimes do they commit? Looting, assault, damage to property, illegal drag racing, setting off fireworks, obstructing traffic, violating curfew, arson, evading arrest — the works. On March 28, a 15-year-old boy was shot during a teen takeover in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. On March 29, a hundred-strong mob vandalized police cars in the Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens. That same day, motorists on three-wheelers staged a takeover of Washington Avenue in Houston.
On February 28, some 200 teenagers broke into a newly built home in East Nashville and threw a party with booze and drugs. Owner Kyle Grasser was alerted and called the police, only to learn that no officers were available. He was forced to break up the party himself. The teenagers caused $100,000 in damage.
In the last three months of 2024, Los Angeles County witnessed an increase of 88 street takeovers. In September of that year, the Ohio cities of Columbus and Cleveland endured street takeovers within weeks of each other. Police in Columbus arrested almost two-hundred people in a single night.
These are a few examples. Teen takeovers have plagued several other cities. For the most part, police officers have been unable to curtail the mayhem. For poorer residents unable to move to greener pastures, they’ve been forced to sit back and enjoy the fireworks, skid marks, gunshots, and broken windows.
How did an entire generation turn feral? What can be done about this?
As for the first question, one of the biggest indicators of future criminality in children is family structure. How were they raised? Did they live in stable families? Where are the parents during these takeovers?
Short of interviewing the kids themselves, we can rely on statistics and studies. According to the National Fatherhood Initiative, one in four U.S. children live without a father in the home. That includes biological, step, and adoptive fathers. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 40 percent of all births in the U.S. are to unmarried women. A study referenced by the America First Policy Institute states that 70 percent of juveniles in state-operated institutions are from single-parent households. When the Moynihan Report was published in 1965, the out-of-wedlock birthrate among blacks was 25 percent. According to the Center for Equal Opportunity, it’s 70 percent today. What would the late senator have to say about family structure now?
Obviously, these claims are controversial. Naysayers will argue that teenagers have always acted like teenagers. Besides, this country has a long history of unrest and rebellion. The anti-war protests, Woodstock, the civil rights movement, the anti-nuclear protests, the anti-Apartheid sit-ins. Kids have always taken to the streets and fought against the Man. So, just give them space and let them grow out of it. Right?
There are three differences between the teenagers of yesteryear and the feral kids of today. The first is that many teen gatherings in the past were purpose-driven. Anti-war activists protested the Vietnam War and burned their draft cards. Civil rights organizers marched for racial integration. Concertgoers at Woodstock went to listen to The Who, Hendrix, and the Dead. Today, 17-year-old girls storm Michigan Avenue in Chicago and twerk on top of police cars. What’s the political statement there?
The second difference is that of logistics and technology. Before the internet, it took days, weeks, and months to plan a protest. Organizers had to print fliers, make phone calls, hang up posters, and spread the word. This gave local governments and law enforcement time to prepare. Now, teenagers are able to chat on social media, meet at a specified location, and overwhelm the authorities — all within minutes. When police officers finally do arrive on the scene, most of the troublemakers have already fled.
The third and most important difference lies in family structure. In the 1950s and 1960s, American families were, for the most part, intact. The vast majority of women had children after the wedding night, not before. Their husbands stuck around and helped raise the kids. Some of them were good fathers, some were bad, and most were mediocre. But they put in the time for their families. At the very least, children growing up with bad fathers learned what to avoid when they became parents. Today, our feral kids have no such role models.
What can be done about them? Unfortunately, not much. Their brains are developed and their habits set. They grew up on social media, and they’re acting it out as adults. There’s no changing their behavior now. The only recourse left is in the legal system — enforcing law and order by arresting those responsible for these teen takeovers and prosecuting them for their crimes. But to prosecute someone, the police need to catch them. In most of our biggest cities, there aren’t enough cops to go around. The police departments in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Phoenix, Baltimore, and San Francisco have all reported officer shortages.
In the short-term, moving away from these crime-ridden areas is the only solution. These teen takeovers have been going on for years and will continue for the foreseeable future. The only way to avoid them is to vote with your feet. In the long-term, plenty can be done. Prioritize marriage. Bring back the stigma against out-of-wedlock birth and absentee fathers. Raise your kids without screens until they’re of legal age. Inculcate virtue during their eighteen years in the nest. Otherwise, we will continue to suffer the consequences and produce more feral kids.
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