Reply #12: is this the Jacob Robida of New Bedford's Junior Police Academy? [View All]

[NorthernSpy]

http://www.s-t.com/daily/07-01/07-02-01/a09lo057.htm

This article is from 2001, when the Jacob Robida who is wanted in the gay bar attacks would have been in the 12-14 year-old age group.

NEW BEDFORD -- Among the goals of the city's Junior Police Academy are building self-esteem in young people and cultivating a rapport between police and youths.
For some teenagers, it's too tall an order, but for the 18 who recently completed the academy's 12-week "boot camp," the lessons were well-learned.

(...)

Lt. Cordeiro said the course, which is for youths between the ages of 12 and 14, is run like a boot camp, and is designed to teach the value of discipline.

(...)

The graduates are:
James Baptise, Christopher Fernandes, Michael Sequeira, Marcus DePina, Ashlee Alexander, Jacob Robida, Ryan Melo, Angel Diaz, Lauryn Estrella, Krystal Shiek, Shaira Nieves, Jennifer Ryan, Robert Andrade, Mathew Rezende, Christina Coito, Daniella Reis, Christopher Camara and Jemaul Oliveira.

Supposedly, the take-home lesson of this program is that "When you give respect, you get respect". Yeah, whatever.


I really do wonder about the value of this program. The only lesson that I can see it teaching is the lesson of fascism: that the "disciplined" strong are entitled to pick on the "undisciplined" weak, and that the real function of discipline is to enable one to join the bullies in their war on their "soft" victims.


:think: