FL: Relatives of Dead Teen Burglar Defend his Actions

It is common for the relatives of young criminals to find ways to justify their criminal actions, while at the same time criticizing as illegitimate, the actions of the person who shot them.  We see a clear example of this in the shooting of 17-year-old Trevon Slick Johnson in Florida, 10 March, at about 5:30 p.m. 

The 54-year-old homeowner had been repeatedly burglarized.  She was alerted by the alarm system that she had installed.  Police say the woman shot the young burglar after a confrontation outside the home.  She observed him crawling out of a window before he was shot.  Police arrived seconds after the shooting.  Here are some of the words of young Trevon's relatives. From cbslocal.com:

“What’s wrong with her,” asked Johnson’s sister Nisha Johnson. “She did not have to shoot him.”

“It’s no reason she should have waited until I think he walked out the yard to try to shoot him,” said Harris. “If she called the police already why would she shoot him?”

Relatives said they don’t believe Johnson stole anything from the home but detectives would not confirm that.

“You have to look at it from every child’s point of view that was raised in the hood,” said Harris. “You have to understand… how he gonna get his money to have clothes to go to school? You have to look at it from his point-of-view.”

Is it bad that a young man was killed in the middle of a burglary?  Yes, it is bad.  I know someone who committed a burglary in High School.  He was caught, returned the property, was frightened of the consequences, and became a productive and upstanding citizen.  I think that people can turn their lives around at 17.  But the attitude of Harris, a cousin of Trevon Slick Johnson, the 17-year-old that was killed, is likely to have the opposite effect.  The young man that I knew, was widely castigated for his actions.  His family chastised him; he realized that he had made a grave error.  He would not make that error again.

But that is not the attitude portrayed by Johnson's cousin, Harris.  She sees his actions as justified by his need for money to buy clothes.

Note that Johnson is far from naked; his clothes do not even look patched.

In many parts of American society, the attitude of wearing patched or worn clothes is a badge of honor.  Honesty is praised and honored more than material prosperity.

But not in the "hood".  How could a young man like Johnson hope to get back on the road to being a productive citizen, when his community justifies his illegal actions?  How can he be expected to become an honest citizen, when his dishonorable actions are rewarded and excused? 

Some have said that people in black urban ghettos see "burglar", "thief", and "armed robber" as viable career options; that they view concealed carry permits as an OSHA safety violation.

That seems to be what is being displayed here.  It is not a viable option for a civilization.  These attitudes have been fostered by leftists for generations.  They view private property as illegitimate, and theft as property redistribution.  They have assiduously propagandized the black community with these attitudes.

The death of young black men like Trevon is a direct result of the hostility to the Commandment "Thou Shalt Not Steal" that leftists have so fervently spread.


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