Rioting at St. Matthews Mall?

[TrueblueCATfan]

Press conference tomorrow to talk about putting a plan in place

Hearing it might be........ No kid under 18 will be allowed unless accommpied by a adult

[surveyor]

Press conference tomorrow to talk about putting a plan in place

Hearing it might be........ No kid under 18 will be allowed unless accommpied by a adult

Be interesting to see how they enforce that. Guards at each entrance asking for ID? Only ask for ID if activity is suspicious? Likely be one of those things that they won't enforce unless the occasion - activity warrants.

[Joneslab]

This is a from a tweet by political blogger Joe Sonka, where he pastes in a Facebook exchange about the incident.

[Joneslab]

This thing has opened up a lot of interesting debate online.

Some are saying that it either didn't happen, or that it was vastly overblown. Others are saying that it absolutely happened.

Here's a discussion between Terry Meiners and the blogger/attorney Joe Dunman where they argue about the incident and get at a little bit of the racial overtones. (The link is to Dunman's Twitter feed; the discussion with Meiners is near the top.)

https://twitter.com/JoeDunman

[Dwight Schrute]

I love malls too for the same reason Will does. I work in the corporate office of a major retailer in several malls. It's my dream job, and I hate to see the trend of malls dying, because they're so culturally important. Anyway, my few cents:

-Malls have always been babysitters for kids. I spent many an evening in the mall when I was a teenager. Hell, there's a bunch of 80's movies set in the mall. Complaining about it now is complaining about something that has happened for a long time.

-The no kids under 18 without a chaperone thing is going to either push kids back outside the mall to somewhere else (likely the mall's intent) or create a bunch of "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" scenario where you have a bunch of overzealous rent-a-cops.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Be interesting to see how they enforce that. Guards at each entrance asking for ID? Only ask for ID if activity is suspicious? Likely be one of those things that they won't enforce unless the occasion - activity warrants.

it will be interesting to see if this does happen....could get very costly and extra manpower in place

[Joneslab]

Press conference is going on now.

The officer in charge says that the 2,000 figure was handed down by mall personnel, and those guys usually are good at counting heads.

Says that disturbances have gone on over a period of time, including various places around Mall St. Matthews. Talks about things happening at the Taco Bell there. (We were just there night before last. No hordes of menacing kids that I could see.)

Says that damage was minimal. No arrests. But that the issue is really about social media and a lack of parenting.

[Joneslab]

He says that there was an armed robbery in the parking lot of the L.A. Fitness. Fifty kids loitering and "making a mess" in November at the Taco Bell. And another incident in October where kids came from the mall and were apprehended nearby. One had a gun on him.

[Joneslab]

Another incident where a kid tossed a gun into bushes.

And yet another in November where a few kids were jumping on cars.

Sounds like the thing this weekend was more about a response to previous things that had taken place and not so much planned or organized by the kids themselves.

[surveyor]

The movie theatre becoming a tenant has been a negative influence in that regard - at least as it pertains to Mall St. Matthews.

Jefferson Mall is an older mall in an older neighborhood which has had changing demographics from when it opened in the late 70's. Income demographics has changed in that area more than anything else.

[Joneslab]

The movie theatre becoming a tenant has been a negative influence in that regard - at least as it pertains to Mall St. Matthews.

Jefferson Mall is an older mall in an older neighborhood which has had changing demographics from when it opened in the late 70's. Income demographics has changed in that area more than anything else.

It's still a strange thing for that area of town.

I can read between the lines here and assume what we're talking about is "a lot of black kids."

I've been to Oxmoor hundreds of times. To St. Matthews a bunch. We used to live close to there. I've never seen a lot of blacks in that area. Occasionally, yes, but it's just odd, movie theater or no. We're still talking about the East End here.

[Joneslab]

Press conference still going.

The guy says that on November 28th the same thing happened and large numbers of kids showed up at the mall.

On this day kids were picking up rocks and throwing them at passing cars on Shelbyville Rd.

And again on December 5th large numbers of kids showed up.

The cop speaking says that it was "two hours of continuous runs." Says, "Amazing things went on that night."

This was I believe near the time of the mall fight that ended up going viral. I remember watching video of that and being amazed at how many kids were just standing around. It was extremely strange.

And, IIRC, it was mostly (all?) white kids.

[Joneslab]

Ah, we're finally to the crux: police started to notice gang members at a certain point.

Gang clothing, signs, etc.

[surveyor]

I can read between the lines here and assume what we're talking about is "a lot of black kids."

You're horrible at reading, then, lol. I'm talking about income and property value decline. This area of Okolona's proximity to Ford, GE and International Harvester back in the 70's was a prime location for a lot of those workers. GE is a fraction of what it was, International Harvester is gone and only Ford remains - and even Ford employs probably a quarter of what it did in the 60's and 70's.
With the decline in those well paying jobs, so went quite a bit of those families. Those who raised kids there have retired and likely moved away, or are retired and can't afford to move away. Home values in the area didn't pace with other areas of the county.

Until the age of 15 I lived in the PRP area - and it's the same there with the older neighborhoods. The home values didn't increase at the same pace as other areas of the county.

In short, the percentage of younger, middle class families living in the area has declined significantly over the past 20 years. The issues at Jefferson Mall are as much to do from within the community as from outside.
Jefferson Mall just had an incident in the food court yesterday involving about 50 kids.

At Mall St. Matthews, the movie theatre became the initial magnet for kids and it's got out of hand.

I've been to Oxmoor hundreds of times. To St. Matthews a bunch. We used to live close to there. I've never seen a lot of blacks in that area. Occasionally, yes, but it's just odd, movie theater or no. We're still talking about the East End here.

There are more blacks who live in the St. Matthews area than you realize - and many are middle class blacks, too. Kids don't hang out so much at Oxmoor because there's no movie theatre and no food court anymore.
The movie theatre at The Mall attracts a lot of kids who can go see a movie and then hit the food court after or before and it's all in walking distance.

I noticed a huge difference between the two after the theatre opened up.

The fight at The Mall on Thanksgiving day was between white dudes, by the way.

[surveyor]

Ah, we're finally to the crux: police started to notice gang members at a certain point.

Gang clothing, signs, etc.

And it's likely much more prevalent - noticeable at The Mall versus Oxmoor.