In our editorial meeting this week, we tried to understand what would possess teens to stage beatdowns on video and post them on the web. This discussion was spawned by stories circulating on the news wires last evening. We’re not linking to them here because we don’t want to perpetuate the nonsense.

The latest vicious attack posted on youtube was allegedly in response to slurs and insults the victim posted about her attackers on MySpace. Two years ago teens were arrested for beating a homeless person for sport. Where did they learn such violent behavior? Is their homelife an influence?

Part of being a teen is developing your own identity. It’s easy for feelings to get hurt during formative years. Teens face very complicated social issues today - like the types of friends, attitudes about sex and partying, and drug use. Trying to fit in with peers can cause severe emotional pressure. Teens fight for many reasons: anger and insecurity are two. With the plethora of beatdown videos showing up, a third reason - notoriety - may be postulated.

Are teens aware of the consequences of their actions when they engage in this aberrant behavior? Their apparent lack of social skills seems to be modeled after the behavior of prominent role models: Brittany Spears, Paris Hilton, Michael Vick. We can continue the list ad nauseam. It’s “fashionable” to  get arrested, spend time in jail, and have your video hit the top downloads on the web. Remember “don’t taze me bro?”

Are teens, and the rest of us, desensitized to violence? Watch the what the drive-by media shows on the evening news and count the violent versus non-violent stories. Music is filled with violence. There are more violent video games available and the rating system hasn’t stopped them from being sold to youngsters.

Don’t expect the liberal-laden school system to be of any help. Finally, we have to ask this question. “Where are the parents?”