The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

Morality in Richmond

Morality in Richmond

Peer pressure can cause people to go against their own morals

About an hour’s drive away, Richmond is the second most dangerous city in the state of California and eighth in the nation. I’ve met someone who grew up in Richmond, and he said that his best friends in middle school did drugs and got high regularly, and no, he never partook in such activities.

Last week, one girl from Richmond High School went to her school’s Homecoming dance and was gang raped.

She was church-going and hardworking. Then one wanna-be bad boy, desperate to fit into the “cool” crowd, lured her away from the eyes of security guards and into a cruel trap, where she was the entertainment for that night.

An outsider, she drank to try to fit in with this group of bad boys, wanna-be bad boys, and cowards. All of them wanting to be rebellious, and none of them wanting to be the targeted. One of their classmates said that these people were not taught to respect girls and think that the disrespect is cool. In essence, these people think that disrespect and violence will make them fit into society. 
How did they become so twisted?

Our morals are passed down from our parents and influenced by our surroundings. If morals are taught, then what kind of monsters has society created?

It is possible to  place the blame for this incident on the lack of security guards or parent chaperons. But ultimately, it’s these people with no morals who are at fault. Could the spectators of the gruesome act at least try to slip away? Of course, but these gormless cowards didn’t.

Our morals, not the people around us, should guide our lives. We try to fit in in high school, but there is a point where our gut feeling should kick in and point us in the right direction.

These spectators did not report the incident because of peer pressure, and this girl was heinously tortured for two hours because of their lack of action.

I hope she’ll be okay.

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