Cognitive Dissonance (mine)
I’m having a hard time mentally reconciling the change.com petition info* w the vid of assailant & KG.
How many teens achieve everything on that list?
For those w no compass guiding toward a better life than some demographics indicate for Hazelwood students, imo likely few. Why bother?
But for those intent on graduating from HS, securing college scholarships, attending college, graduating & eventually a better life, those accomplishments would form the foundation.
If the list is accurate (presumably a fam member claimed those accomplishments on her behalf or provided info for law firm to include in its releases, Mar 8 & Mar 18 IIRC), the assailant appears, on paper, to be a prime candidate for significant scholarships, etc.
WHY would such an accomplished teen
- agree to a fistfight (IF she did) and
- actually appear at agreed-on location (IF she did) and
- begin to engage (which she did) and
- continue engaging in serious physical assault (which she did) and
- cause serious physical injury (which she did)
while KNOWING it was being vid recorded, to be posted on SM, & virtually certain to come to attn of own family, school, & LE.
Seems she knowingly placed self at risk in an immediate/near-term sense (possible physical injury to self; potential juvie or crim charges; being grounded by parent/guardian; imo doubtful that school could suspend or expel for fight occurring off campus).
Yeah, a stereotypically aimless student, not envisioning even HS graduation or a job requiring it, may roll the dice & go full blast into a street fight.
But a student w her listed accomplishments? Why risk immed. or longer term consequences?
This has bugged me since seeing the petition & is hard for me to imagine.
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* From change.org petition, “Urge Chief Juvenile Officer”…
All verbatim, w a few snips by me.
“15-year-old
“honor roll student at Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis County, MO.
“multilingual, speaking four languages including Spanish and Korean,
“plays the violin in the school orchestra,
“played on her school’s volleyball team and
"recently selected for college-level AP classes due to her academic excellence.”