So far, news stories about two teens, 13 and 15, who botched an apparent carjacking attempt Washington, D.C. near the Naval Yard are unclear. The story I read said they attacked 66-year-old Mohammad Anwar with a stun gun and then said they attacked him with a taser. (Which was it? They aren’t the same thing.) There is video available, but I won’t watch it.
The family of the driver describe him in their fund raising campaign as a hard-working Pakistani immigrant working for Uber Eats. At present, the campaign appears to have pledges for over $900,000. Needless to say, that money won’t replace the man.
We know nothing about the suspects. They are underage and that means their names are generally withheld. We know that neither one is old enough to legally drive a car. Did they have a motive other than joyriding? We may never know. We can hardly say they “were just kids having fun.” Maybe that’s what they thought it was, but subduing a man with a stun gun goes past the harmless prank usually referred to by “kids having fun.”
I have zero tolerance form crimes like this. In fact, I don’t quite know what to make of this crime because, while I know there are a lot of streetwise homeless kids who commit various crimes in order to survive, killing a man to swipe his car is so much more than “mere survival.” One report–which I can no longer find–said one of the kids was more concerned about getting her phone out of the car that showing concern for the victim.
The fact that two teens would even consider doing this bothers me. Is their crime a symptom of an expanding souless society, and entitlement society, bad or missing parenting, or something else? Whatever it was, I’m tired of hearing excuses and other justifications because none of those bring back those who die or help those who mourn or stop the runaway lawlessness.
Perhaps such crimes have always happened and escaped our notice before we had 24/7 news. If so, the situation is no less sad.
–Malcolm
Malcolm's Round Table 
I watched the video without realizing what I was about to see. It’s in the video that we see the girl’s concern for her phone (as she – and everyone else, too – walks by the victim without sparing him a glance). “Is their crime a symptom of an expanding souless society, an entitlement society, bad or missing parenting, or something else?” Maybe all of it, but as you said, I’m tired of the excuses. We desperately need to fix whatever it is that’s so clearly broken in our society.
Ah, I should have known, the comment about the phone appears in the video. Whatever is broken in our society needs to become a higher priority in being addressed.
Yes. This is a super sad, dispiriting story. I am also reminded of the folks who continue to push down, knock over, and otherwise assault older Asian and Asian-American human beings. We human beings are capable of horrible words and deeds…
These instances of attacking Asians and others may be a symptom of the kind of horrible approach to other people exhibited by the girls.