Peer Pressure
Below are accounts of the destructive effects of peer pressure.
The Prosecutor in Central Booking
This day was no different from any other day as I went to scratch the logbooks and speak with the officers in Central Booking, in lower Manhattan .
"Hey Captain, this prosecutor wants to talk with you," said the officer. A few feet away in one of the secured holding pens, the prosecutor was talking to a prisoner.
He saw me and smiled, "Hey man, I need your help."
"Sure, what’s on your mind?"
"I really need to make a phone call and speak to the chief."
"What happened?"
"I’m going nuts . . . I need to ask for a day off, before my boss finds out . . . and my poor mother."
"What are you doing behind bars?" I asked.
He turned his head away for a moment, composed himself, and took a deep breath.
"I am living a nightmare, I need your help. I went to the concert last night at Madison Square Garden, and my friends persuaded me to hide their hashish behind my shield and, like a jerk, I did it."
His hands waving through the pen bars, he continued, "The cop, examined my shield, and the odor caught his attention. I need to resign before I'm fired, you need to help me."
In a matter of minutes, everything he had worked for, was thrown out the window.
It’s not hard to imagine the mother racing into court, "But he's a prosecutor!"
"The boy had book smarts but no common sense. I knew this would happen one day," adds the father.
"But I thought he stopped hanging with his college buddies . . . I still don't believe it, he was framed."
Another tragedy in the Big Apple.
Peer pressure hits all levels. Doing what is right is not as easy as it seems.
Discussion the following questions with your child. Help them recognize various forms of peer pressure.
- What would you do in a similar situation?
- When should he have said "No" to his so-called buddies?
- Think, can you name "Dare-Games" you have seen your peers play?
- Are "Risk-Games" fun?
- Have you ever been asked to do something that you normally would not do?
- What appeared to be more important in this story? His relationship with his friends or his career as a prosecutor.
- What is your theory?
- What would be the downside to saying "No" to his buddies?
- What effect would saying "No" be to his relationship with his buddies?
- Ask your child to list movie scenes or songs that involve peer pressure.
- Are these singers or actors our heroes today?
Contact us to tell us your story of peer pressure.
Peer- Pressure to join a gang and have sex
"If you love me, tattoo your arm"
A female officer and I sat in unbelief as we listened to the 13 year old girl tell her story to the court. Poorly raised by her uncle to work in sweat-shops in lower Manhattan; never hearing a caring word from anyone; the only people she ever saw express love was the local street gang.
"I saw those people so happy, I thought that was real love and fun, a family and I wanted to be part of it, so I did as they told me."
She followed them to see where they hung out, they noticed her and invited her to a party. The gang of 30 young men, slipped something in her drink. The so-called party went on for days. She said the tattoos were the names of her boyfriends, to prove her love. Along side the tattoos were scars of self-inflicted wounds.
'Manipulative gestures' according to DOC training, and cries for attention and help.
Although she was arrested for stealing in a department store, the Judge was inclined to place her in a shelter instead of a place where she would be punished again.
How successfully you handle peer pressure depends a great deal on how you feel about yourself and your place in the world.
There are certain "risk factors" for peer pressure; personality traits that make you more prone to give in to peer pressure.
Contact us to tell us your story of peer pressure.
More accounts will be added soon
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