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They believe, as this group of young men did, that if they break the law they will be entitled to get away with it, since they are "special." All too often, moreover, that is exactly what happens. The main feeling that I have from reading Chapter 2, then, and from reading this whole book, is one of enormous indignation and outrage.
This case of these young men of Glen Ridge reminded me in some respects of the murder by the then-teenaged Michael Skakel (the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy's widow's nephew), of a girl in his own upper-crust New England neighborhood. After that killing Michael Skakel was protected by his wealthy family, for years, following his murder of this girl with a golf club when he was 15 years old. And the wealth and privilege of the family made it entirely possible for Michael's crime to be covered up. Only as a result of his own bragging to someone, as an adult, about how he had gotten away with murder because of his family connections, was Michael Skakel ever brought to justice for this crime. People like this are sometimes so arrogant that they feel they can even brag about committing crimes and remain scot-free, while poorer people, sometimes even those who did not commit crimes, go to prison for lack of a pricey defense in court.
This chapter made me feels angry about the sharp divisions among privileged and more ordinary citizens, when it comes to criminal justice. The successful Glen Ridge parents...
Lefkowitz points out, early on in this chapter, that actor Tom Cruise whose clean-cut All-American looks in many ways exemplify a place like Glen Ridge, grew up here. That resonated for me in a way that is perhaps, I admit, very unfair to Cruise himself - but somehow fits, at least in my view: Cruise, whom I consider n extremely over-rated pretty-boy actor, likely developed the self-confidence that led to his eventual movie star fame growing up in a place like Glen Ridge, where good-looking young white boys were encouraged to feel so special and "above others."
Overall, this chapter made me extremely angry, not only because of the crimes against Leslie that Lefkowitz described in troubling and excruciating detail, but also because the world has, unfortunately, changed so very little since Leslie was raped in 1989, and since the book Our Guys itself was written in…
This chapter made me feels angry about the sharp divisions among privileged and more ordinary citizens, when it comes to criminal justice. The successful Glen Ridge parents of these teenaged miscreants were always almost militantly determined, even long before Leslie was raped by their sons, to deny, deflect, hide, and obfuscate their children's misdeeds - at school, at the country club they nearly ruined, on the playing field, and elsewhere.
An underlying irony that Lefkowitz continually develops in this chapter has to do with the apparent outward civility of Glen Ridge as a community, as opposed to the acts of raw barbarity its high school athletes were clearly capable of, on the afternoon that they gang-raped Leslie. Lefkowitz points out, early on in this chapter, that actor Tom Cruise whose clean-cut All-American looks in many ways exemplify a place like Glen Ridge, grew up here. That resonated for me in a way that is perhaps, I admit, very unfair to Cruise himself - but somehow fits, at least in my view: Cruise, whom I consider n extremely over-rated pretty-boy actor, likely developed the self-confidence that led to his eventual movie star fame growing up in a place like Glen Ridge, where good-looking young white boys were encouraged to feel so special and "above others."
Overall, this chapter made me extremely angry, not only because of the crimes against Leslie that Lefkowitz described in troubling and excruciating detail, but also because the world has, unfortunately, changed so very little since Leslie was raped in 1989, and since the book Our Guys itself was written in 1997.
I was also disgusted by the jocks' inattention to their grades (or anything, for that matter, of serious importance - i.e., do any of these "special" adolescents ever so much as read a book; help a friend (with no "hidden agenda"); or volunteer community service? Of course not: they're all far too busy either indulging themselves; being indulged; and messing up other people's clubs; homes, and lives). Kevin Schertzer and
Adolescent Substance Use Screening Instruments: 10-Year Critical Review of the Research Literature Over ten million teenagers in the United States admit in a national survey that they drink alcohol, although it is illegal under the age of 21 in all states. In some studies, nearly one-quarter of school-age children both smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol. Over four thousand adolescents every day try marijuana for the first time. The dangers of use,