We all know that one of LA’s big benefits is its party scene. Whether you are in high school, college, or after that, you can always find your way into a house, venue, bar, etc. The obviously inviting, fun aspect of this quality, however, is juxtaposed by the danger that Los Angeles’ parties represent.
Unfortunately, Los Angeles’ parties frequently end violently and innocent party goers are hurt. A lot of the time, violence at parties is the result of gang affiliations and conflicts, but consequently, people who are not involved are also affected.
Recently, my friend and I planned on having a night out and were looking into going to a party in Woodland Hills. We tried and tried to get the address of the party, but we ended up not having it. He and I stayed home. The next day, however, I received a message from him telling me that the party was shot up, and six innocent people were affected. One 16-year-old boy died. None of these people had anything to do with the shooter.
I can only thank the universe for not giving me that address and keeping me home.
Similarly, around 8 years ago when I moved into my new house, there was a party two doors down at 11 PM, and 7 people were killed. It was a regular party and everyone sounded like they were having fun until three men came in with automatic rifles and started firing. Fourteen people, other than the 7 who were killed, were shot and hospitalized. 80% of the affected had absolutely no affiliation with the shooters.
These only stand as my personal experiences, but I could list 100 pages of examples if I wanted to.
As teenagers in high school, and young adults in college, it is a right of passage, a coming of age, to party our socks off. How can we, though, if we might be putting our life in danger while doing so? How can we leave teenagers with that kind of decision? How can we choose to stay home and never go out to have fun? How can we choose to go out if we might be walking into dangerous situations?
It is unfair for a teenager to be obligated to ask themselves these questions. We should not need to fear for our safety when we want to have fun.
We need to keep violence out of LA’s party scene. This is not an article about violence in itself, so I won’t discuss that, but if the violence is going to take place, let it only involve those who chose to put themselves in its way.
Stop putting people’s lives at stake who have nothing to do with the decisions you make in yours.
