Depravity Takes a New Turn : Youths ‘high fives’ after slaying show sickening callousness

Few symbols of victory are as universally recognized as the “high five.” Lately, television screens have been filled with images of young people in Atlanta slapping each other high fives as they celebrate moments of triumph they’ve worked their entire lives to reach.

But the symbol was turned on its head last week in Glendale as police reported that a band of young thugs crowded around a sometimes homeless man, beat him, kicked him and stabbed him. That was bad enough. Then, witnesses told police, the thugs slapped each other high fives as their victim lay dying on the sidewalk. Police suspect that this sickening display of teamwork was motivated by nothing other than the perverse thrill of watching another human being die.

That the victim, John Vice, was among society’s most vulnerable members only makes the killing all the more craven. Witnesses said the four young men battered Vice and shoved him back and forth between them so everyone could get a couple of punches in. After Vice fell to the ground for the last time, the four scattered into the early-morning darkness.

Unfortunately, it’s not necessarily big news anymore when young people kill. But when murder is seen as a sport worth celebrating with congratulatory hand slaps, depravity has taken a new turn. We get from our youth what we put into them. For proof from the other end of the spectrum, look no further than the Olympics on your TV.