I am not so much frightened as stunned by the outbreaks of violence, racism, and discrimination of all kinds occurring in the cities of Boston and Cambridge. But it is frightening that teenagers seem involved in much of it. There is a dark cloud of ignorance hovering in the air. There is not enough unity and sense of community going on. We all live here together, we are all in this together.

Gangs are stabbing and shooting victims. The gangs are not only black teenagers, but every kind of teenager. There is so much ignorance growing in schools, and being taught in homes.

I think it is really our time to step in and teach our generation and the next generation about priorities that definitely need to be reconsidered, such as the family. When teenagers can respect the family, they can learn to respect their community. Even though a large majority of teenagers today come from broken homes, there should still be a certain amount of respect for domestic situations.

People should also venture into their communities. Don't "stay away" from certain parts of your community because they're "bad." We've got to integrate these "troubled" spots. We should not hold so much anger for each other, because we are all in this world together. We are all brothers and sisters. We need to respect each other and keep open minds, learn about things before you become prejudiced to them. We're all in this together.n