Atlanta Daily World

The Town I Live In
BY GEORGE COLEMAN WORLD CITY EDITOR

The Desert Hawks; The Anger Of Cain?

The self styled Desert Hawks were making headlines in a manner that probably gave many a self respecting adult the excuse to exclaim indignantly. "Oh, this younger generation!"

A chain of neighborhood theatres had begun showing "Crime in the Streets," and this picture was being gleefully discussed by the young. adventurous, and sadistic people who haunt the many corners of Atlanta.

And while there was admittedly reason for and result of both. an ironic touch of sadness was ever present but little felt by the rest of those who occupy this world we live in.

They're the same, these two versions of civilization showing its dirty linen. You walk into a theatre remembering the two Atlanta motorists who were beaten and carved up simply because one of them dared to honk a horn impatiently at a group of teenagers who had jammed Hunter Street following one of those night high school football games when youngsters should be at home with their folks.

You remember the Policeman who was nearly mobbed when he arrested a youth during that same game at Herndon Stadium.

You recall how he had been surrounded at the police call box by an angry young mob until detectives intervened.

And in all these instances. the frightened whisper:
"THE DESERT HAWKS!"

You buy your ticket and collapse upon your spine in the midst of a crowd seemingly made up mainly of teenagers, although school is not out yet. And this picture hits you up from the beginning.

They are so alike. these two groups - the movie version and the real. So very much alike you could almost take the little tough guys you are looking at out of character and toss them into the slums here that we never show our visitors.

The guys in the picture - they call themselves "Hornets."

They wear jackets boasting their name.

They carry knives, sticks with nails sticking out. They use them often on other kids and adults alike

They laugh at civilization and ignore the adult concept.

They follow a leader who has shown himself to be by far the hardest and most brutal of the lot. And though they often doubt even his sanity. they seem to respect and be far more impressed by the philosophies of this 18-year-old boy than those of their own parents.

Each act on the screen reminds you of some similar thing in Atlanta - the two elderly men, mercilessly beaten this past Friday by two separate gangs of teenagers the boys that carried off a woman not too many seasons ago.

But each time self righteous indignation builds up within you, you suddenly see the hundreds of adults who come out of the Auburn Avenue clubs each night, intoxicated. using vile language. and obviously not at home teaching any kid to do better.

And at this moment the leader on the screen is revealed as a twisted. hurt, bewildered animal who needs really to cry and let the hate he has for humanity flow out and make room for something better: a boy whose father is a faith-less jailbird. and whose mother produces a little brother without a known mate.

And these youngsters, sitting around you in the theatre, they laugh gleefully each time a bit of deviltry is planned on the screen.

They urge the "Hornets" on as they follow their leader into one bloody madness after another. (No doubt many of them are busy right now cooking up trouble for themselves from what they learned in that picture.)

There are so many youngsters like these today, roaming about; hurting and being hurt Hurting themselves far more than anyone else. And the problem. This big thing. Everybody has an answer.

. . All but one answer; spending gruelling, heart breaking. reward-less hours, trying to solve it with an understanding heart and open mind. Seriously trying to remove the desolation some adult left there; attempting to eject the sharp blade of loneliness from a damaged spirit.

But who is strong and complex enough to rise above human failing and refrain from piling up even more hate after facing the savage anger of youth: to refrain from striking and asking questions later when it has been learned how easy a youth's blade can kill?

One remembers the officer who chased the youthful leader of a car theft ring into a darkened parking lot, and the resulting blow that sounded like a pistol shot. One recalls the frightened contempt shown by both white and Negro officers who took a long time before even bothering to take the boy to the hospital and have his bleeding, broken head mended.

I believe that God made Man in His own Image. I believe that Man himself has distorted that image. And this is said without forgetting the bavoc a group of angry boys can wrought These same youths, or others like them stand on corners and hurl vile. indecent epitaphs at old ladies and young girls alike. They carry knives

They'll stab you.

But when you look for an answer, look into the capabilities of their parents and society, and at least say this; that if you don't want them acting that way. stop making such morbid examples for them to follow in this crazy. twisted place we call a world civilized enough for us all to live in and swear we are God fearing people.