Local fight videos becoming part of a national concern

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee(WDEF) – The growing trend of video recorded street fights on social media involving kids has prompted national a petition.

Earlier this week, News 12 received a social media video clip of a female Brainerd High School student being jumped by five students on a school bus. The female student was 6-months pregnant. That video is the latest of several fight videos recorded on a cellphone then uploaded to social media.

It’s a national trend among youngsters that is now facing criticism by Change.org. and others who feel that youngsters, especially African Americans are doing themselves a disservice.

Many of the fight videos shot uploaded to social media all have one thing in common with other videos shot and uploaded all across the country.

“You got the baby momma fighting the momma, grandmother, the sister and the dog. The birds from the sky come down and start scrapping. The trees start scrapping; everybody in this neighborhood. We have neighborhood brawls, and we share these videos as form as entertainment,” said Youtube poster Shaquille W.

According to licensed clinical social worker Donald Hanson of New Beginnings Counseling Center in Hixson, kids find those videos entertaining because they have been desensitize to violence.

“Kids are looking for attention. They always will. If violence is one way to do it, I think psychologically you have to break that ambiance of violence,” Hanson said.

Law enforcement view fight videos as a mixed blessing. On one hand they’re concrete evidence that proves a crime has occurred.

“But on the other hand, the videos can harm individuals lives. They can cause psychological problems for some of the ones who are victims in these. It’s one of those things where if you wouldn’t want someone to do it to you, you should not be doing it to others,” said Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond.

Law enforcement officials also believe fight videos are dangerous because they fuel violence between gangs, especially when it comes to retaliation.