Here's the thing: Where are these kids going to go now?

Some place WITHOUT good lighting, security guards, and responsible adults?

Where I grew up most gang activity I heard about happened in parks and playgrounds.

I basically lived at the local malls and the miles between them in my early teens, and the only encounters I ever had with dangerous people were in suburbs.

As for Fulton: If all the other malls are kicking kids out and benefiting from it, they have no reason not to.

I have a professional relationship with two anchor stores in the Riverpark area. (I can be up there as much or more than the average employee.)

Though I doubt this policy will be overly enforced,
-(I see an initial enforcement, then 'lessening up,')
the following should be noted:

-Riverpark is treated by a lot of people as a drop/off playground.

-A lot of kids (speaking of Pre-Adolescents, Young Adolescents, Adolescents, and even some Late Adolescents,) use it as a place to hang. (Even College Young professionals are there to an extent.)

-Shopping is not always on the agenda, (it's a 'place to hang.'

-There is a REAL problem with theft.

-REAL problem with 'gang,' and 'gang-like,' behavior.

-With virtually no parents on the scene,
(and employees themeslves being late Adolescents (also) SEVERELY limited in the allowable interraction that they can have with the kids (if the kids act out,)

I'm shocked that nothing like this has been suggested sooner.

There seems to be a marked trend when people go out:

-You have families who take responsibility for themselves, and their kids, and have raised their kids to behave in public, (as well as know when and where it's appropriate to take them.)
(It falls in with the Chris Rock line: 'If you're out in a club every night and your kid's at home?
-Your kid calls YOUR Momma 'Momma,'
-and is calling you 'PAM?'
your kid ain't going to college, your kid's going to jail,
-you ain't saving no tuition, you're saving up for bail..'

-And then those who have not taken the time and responsibility to raise their kids correctly, (the kids have now grown up with no sense of boundaries (nor) knowing what is acceptable behavior in public.

(Similar to how these people do not take responsibility for their own lives, -their kids behaviors are also 'somebody elses problem.')

-Though I'm old enough to have kids who've graduated college, (some of my former foster kids now have kids,)
-My siblings and friends often look at how parents let their kids act these days look at each other and shake our heads, knowing full well that 'when we were younger, if behaved like 'that,'
-we'd be up for swat to the rump,(when small,) or loss of privilidges or grounding when we were older.
(Which worked, btw, -we learned '...hmm, if I act like a little beast, life is not fun, If I act reasonable, life is good...')

-What I see most of the time these days?
People just give the kid something to make them happy or settle them down and 'behave,'
-This means parents negotiating with children, (or placating and encouraging acting out...
Then saying '...geez I don't know where we went wrong, we gave them EVERYTHING and still they're little monsters...'

Further?
No public facility, unsupervised, nor Shopping center is a suitable 'playground,'
-and if people think that
'the kids are going to just hang out and windowshop all day,' they're delusional.

-The reason why they're hanging at RiverPark is because the place is considered to be
'safe, well lit, well attended to (by security, etc.) -and it's close by to the residences.

But Think:
If gangs are about people interracting with other people (with dangerous behavior,) -why are they NOT going to go where lots of young people are?
(What.. they're supposed to like creepy areas because they're creepy? (like they're furniture that goes with the surroundings?)

-There's more going on at RiverPark -because that's where the people are.

-The reason that there are not as many kids down here at Fashion Fair, (I live next to it,)
is because the surrounding areas ARE dangerous, have been for quite some time, -and the parents know this.

Parents let their kids go to Riverpark because it 'looks,' safe, but in fact, (especially with a town that has such massive gang concerns,) for an unnattended kid or young person, no such area exists.

I found the following sentences in the Channel 30 article to most interesting.

'The "Six/18" program developed as a response to customer comments and suggestions.'
-and-
"We looked into it and found that a number of centers comparable to the Shops [at River Park] have implemented similar programs and they have been great for all parties: guests and center tenants."

Will I get carded?

"... a valid state driver's license or state identification card will be required to enter The Shops at River Park. Security officials will provide ..."

"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of State and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini

"corporations are unelected bodies with an internal hierarchy; their purpose is to exert control over their respective areas of social or economic life"

also see 'Corporate Feudalism'

man, that's...something. i wonder if i can make money as a "chaperone." i'll ride around all night on the 25cent train, and kids who pay me, say $5, can point me out when the security guard hassles them.

wait, is what i just said incredibly creep?

never mind. maybe mommy and daddy will have to drop them off at fashion fair instead of river park.