Having had my child at 33, and coming from a neighborhood where a lot of young women had babies early, I have to admit to laughing at a lot of these letters.

The urge to have sex is not the same as the urge to have a baby. I had no urge to procreate from 18-39. People want babies when the environment around them tells them to- there's no study, no hormone, nada that switches on. There's no evidence that biology cases baby want, and lots of sociology and anecdotal evidence that environment and family expectations play a huge role.

My parents friends all go in my face at 18 and said "don't you bring no babies home to your mother!". I have to say, stigma worked for me. They really put down the young women who had children and went on welfare, and played up how hard it was to have a child and finish school, work a job and do childcare. My mother used several single mothers as housekeepers/babysitters, so I saw up close how difficult and limiting it was.

The knowledge that it is limiting and not fun is what stopped me. I had things to do. My friends who postponed childbirth also had dreams. The ones who chose (as opposed to the unlucky ones who let it "happen" to them) didn't have the idea that they could go to college and live a Cosby life, or that it would be easier to do these things without kids. They were incredibly immature and unrealistic. The teens who had babies early were 12-16. We did not consider 18-21 teenage pregnancy, and most experts don't consider that "teen aged" and that age does not have the horrible outcomes of true teen pregnancy. Twelve to sixteen year olds who haven't had the experience of anything better, who have no understanding of how hard it is to raise a child, fetishize children or severely underestimate how hard it will be.

Notice the ages- 12-16. A 19 year old is in a better place and is more mature. Fourteen year olds engage in "magical thinking" and are just less disciplined when it comes to judgement or child rearing.

The girls need organizations like Girls Inc or Boys and Girls Club or the college bridge programs to help them see a future outside of their community that is not disloyal to their families (the "think you're better than me college grad" attitude that is used to persuade some to join the babymama crowd at the age of 14). They need more relatives in their faces, like they were for me and my firends, telling them how hard it would be, how much childbirth hurts and changes your body, how it ties you down, at an early age.

I think the teen mothers should be sent to alternative school. Right now, they infect the others. Although, the girls who hold back talk about having friends who can't go out, can't go to dances, etc. They talk about how their mothers tell them "You will raise the child, I won't babysit." If the high school and family does not facilitiate the teen's social life, she's isolated but she'll be forced to grow up more quickly and figure out how to mother. If high school and family smooths things over and provides too much support (like accomodation for dances, shopping, dates,etc) other girls get the idea they'll still be able to be teen girls, and the teen mother remains immature.

We don't need to bring back stigma, but we do need to ratchet down the social support and normalization of teen pregnancy in the public schools. That will make a difference.

Last summer 77th Precinct in Los Angleles, and a number of places across the US saw this spike in inner city violence (Baltimore is one example). The national media just ignored it for a year. Add the the other factors (GOP dismantling COPS, diversion of policing money into anti-terrorism, the lapsing of the auto ban, newere versions of crack, decimation of youth jobs programs and spending, etc) that there is a gang/organized crime war on. SOme of this is not "sensless". Add also that gangbangers are increasingly killing witnesses if they testify, threatening witnesses, and terrorizing communities. That makes the violence appear "sensless" to outsiders. Gang members incresingly understand that they do better when they don't give the police a motive.

We lowered this once, through targeted arrest and conviction of gang leaders, youth jobs and spending to prevent gang membership, COPs tactics and the 100,000 Police Iniative (killed in Bush's first term) to help pay for 100,000 more police on the streets, etc. We need to replace those programs, and raise the price of semi-automatic guns so only collectors and people who are trained will want them or get them. There's a number of things we can do. We need to political will to do them.

It took rich people in Brentwood getting shot to get politicians to get serious the last time. I hate to say it, but until some rich kids die outside of the inner city (and they will- it's only a matter of time), this Congress won't restore that funding. That may be the only things that will make these thick headed corrupt minions of Satan we politely call Congress today do the right thing.

We can't afford these tax cuts for the rich anymore. If you are dead, do tax cuts matter?