CNN news correspondent, Rick Sanchez, is making his opinion known of the Chicago teens involved in the fatal beating of Derrion Albert. Sanchez invited a veteran Chicago police officer, Ronald Holt, to his show to discuss the issue.
The conversation between the two talking heads seems feasible until it reaches its climax when the discussion turns to the mentality of the youth involved. Mr. Sanchez asks a question to the officer about their mental state saying:
“Something’s got to be real wrong with a person who at that moment who continues to do something like that and almost revel in it as I saw in that videotape that goes beyond parenting and social skills, does it not?”
To which Holt responds:
“It goes beyond that but it has to start somewhere and that’s the nucleus of it. You have individuals like that who prey on good kids like Darien Albert, violent individuals in Blair’s case. You have unfortunately an unsalvageable criminal element out there that has made crime and violence a daily reality for a lot of law abiding citizens.”
Mr. Sanchez interrupts Holt to focus on one word; Unsalvageable.
“I’m going to stop you with that word, unsalvageable is what you just said, unsalvageable. You know what, I think you’re right. I agree with you, I think there are people out there who could very well be unsalvageable, and maybe we as a society need to start treating them as if they are just that, unsalvageable.”
That one outrageous word rocked viewers around the country who were shocked to hear such a heartless statement on national TV. A national television correspondent that believes some people are ‘just unsalvageable’, wow.
I completely disagree with Rick Sanchez but I completely agree with Officer Holt. There is an unsalvageable criminal element that lurks in the streets and homes of our misguided youth that makes them feel that doing ‘what you gotta do’ is okay, that not just defending yourself but killing another person is okay. They are sick. It’s wrong, it’s an illness, it’s a disease but that does not make them unsalvageable.
What makes them salvageable is the fact that they are human beings like everyone else. They are products of their environment and if they don’t know any better, situations like Derrion Albert’s are bound to happen.
No human life is unsalvageable Mr. Sanchez. Not a one.
The CNN video is here:
