By Michael Letts
6-5-23

As Americans prepared for Memorial Day last week, which is a holiday to remember the sacrifices our veterans have made for us, a group of California teens showed how little modern teens respect our veterans.

            A video went viral last week of a group of 40 teenagers in San Clemente, California, savagely beating three U.S. Marines. The Marines were walking along the beach. One of the Marines told  KCAL  that the fight began when the Marines asked the teens to stop lighting fireworks because a piece of debris hit one of the Marines in the face.

            "They were lighting off fireworks, they were being belligerent and obnoxious and annoying other people, so I went up to them and told them to stop," Hunter Antonio, one of the Marines, said.

            Antonio left to meet up with fellow Marines, but the teens followed him. At this point, the video starts and shows a teen punch one Marine in the back of the head. The Marine turned, charged the teen who hit him, and a brawl ensued. The teens swarmed the Marines, punching and kicking them, and at times shouting racial slurs at them.

            Luckily, the men sustained only minor injuries and refused to go to the hospital. However, one of the Marines later worried he may have suffered a concussion.

            Police investigated the attack and arrested five teens on suspicion of being in involved in the attack. According to the Associated Press , four boys and one girl were arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.

            While it is commendable that the police have made arrests in the case, it is sad that it happened in the first place. The teens are part of a generation that hasn't been parented. They haven't been told "no." They haven't been taught the difference between right and wrong.

            And they still might not learn a lesson from this incident. It happened in California, which is a Democrat-controlled state that coddles criminals.

            San Clemente police did their job. They investigated and made arrests. However, the case now goes to the district attorney and a judge. California's legal system has become increasingly soft on crime in recent years.

            There is a high likelihood that the charges against the teenagers will be dropped. What lesson will that teach them?

            It will be the same one they have learned all their lives. They are untouchable. They can do no wrong.

            It is that sort of attitude that has contributed to the increase of crime in the state. Criminals, and even people who haven't crossed that line yet, see that there are no consequences to crimes. They start out with minor crimes, and when they get away with it, they are emboldened to go a step further and a step further until they commit major crimes like rape and murder, all the while expecting that nothing will happen to them.

            And in a liberal state like California, sadly, that is often the case.

            The best thing that can happen to these kids is that they are prosecuted and found guilty if they participated in the attack. Only then might they learn enough of a lesson not to commit a worse crime next time.

Michael A. Letts is the CEO and Founder of In-VestUSA , a national grassroots non-profit organization helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bulletproof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs.