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In
the past crimes committed by blacks against other blacks
were often ignored or lightly punished. The implicit
message is that black lives were expendable. Many studies
confirm that the punishment blacks receive when the
victim is white is far more severe than if the victim
is black. The perceived devaluation of black lives by
discrimination encourages disrespect for the law and
drives many blacks to internalize anger and displace
aggression onto others that, of course, look like them.
They have become especially adept at acting out their
frustrations at white society's denial of their "manhood"
by adopting an exaggerated "tough guy" role. They swagger,
boast, curse, fight and commit violent self-destructive
acts. The accessibility of drugs, and guns, and the
influence of misogynist, violent-laced rap songs also
reinforce the deep feeling among many youth that life
is cheap and easy to take, and there will be minimal
consequences for their action as long as their victims
are other young blacks. And as long as the attackers
regard their victims as weak, vulnerable, and easy pickings
they will continue to kill and maim with impunity.
The other powerful ingredient in the deadly mix of black-on-black
violence is the gang and drug plague. The spread of
the drug trade during the 1980's made black youth gangs
even bigger and more dangerous. Drug trafficking not
only provided illicit profits but also made gun play
even more widespread. Gang members use their arsenals
to fend off attacks, protect their profits from hostile
predators, and to settle scores with rivals.
The Bureau of Justice report traces the recent escalation
in the black homicide rates to busted drug deals, competition
over markets and disputes over turf. When innocent victims
are caught in these shoot-outs, that fortifies the conviction
of suburban whites that black neighborhoods are depraved
war zones.
The Violence Policy Center says that the answer is to
get the guns off the streets. In other words pass even
more draconian gun control laws. That’s the favorite
liberal reformers panacea to the murder plague. And
while there are way too many guns on America’s streets,
all the gun laws on the books wouldn’t have stopped
the Mardi Gras shooting mayhem in New Orleans or for
that matter the killings in any other big city.
What’s an answer than? Black parents, churches and organizations
such as the NAACP that are quick to storm the barricades
against civil rights abuses must make stopping black
violence a priority. They can do much more to provide
positive and wholesome mentoring and role models for
at risk young blacks. And that doesn’t mean cheerleading
them when they buy $250 sneakers they don’t have the
money for, or turning a blind eye when they skip school.
In other words, they have to show by word and deed that
the lives of at risk young blacks count for something.
The rash of shootings in New Orleans during Mardi Gras
week is yet another tragic warning that the flower of
black youth is in mortal harms way. It’s time to do
something about that.
BlackNews.com
columnist Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a political analyst
and social issues commentator, and the author of The
Emerging Black GOP Majority (Middle Passage Press, September
2006), a hard-hitting look at Bush and The GOP’s court
of black voters. For order information, see www.blackgopbook.com
For media interviews, contact:
Mr. Hutchinson at 323-296-6331 or hutchinsonreport@aol.com
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