Modeling The Forces That Bear Upon UsLINK TO ARTICLE: The Daily Collegian: Black homicides highest in Pa.
For those of you who are reading this and are not Black - let me inform you on a secret - As a Black person, one good way to get attacked by other Black people is to FOCUS ON BLACK PEOPLE BEING MURDERED.
As counter intuitive as this sounds - it is the truth.
You see it is not the fact "that" Black people have been murdered in proportions that far exceed our population that matters. It is a matter of protecting the ESTABLISHMENT OF THOUGHTS that are present within our community which matters.
When the American South as an eco-system produced "hatred" which lead to the murder, economic stultification and general terrorized state of consciousness for Black people there was little concern for projecting nuances to describe the situation. "The CIVIL RIGHTS OF BLACK PEOPLE WERE BEING VIOLATED!!! We NEED OUR RIGHTS DEFENDED!!!!". This was the unambiguous message shouted from the moutain tops. They were proven correct.
At that time those who sought to PROTECT THE ESTABLISHMENT had the biggest problem with those who dared make note of these offenses and those who would DARE call them out on their COMPLICITY. The history books fully document the response that was projected by those who were entrenched in their bigotry and resentful of the demand for CHANGE, so that the Negro might live.
In as much as I believe that the Black American is 100% equal to everyone else - it also stands to reason that he is also given to the same flaws at the individual and group behavioral level.
In response to this constant violation of our civil rights - the Black community rightfully asked the government to ENFORCE THE LAWS which were being violated by the operatives who used violence to maintain the status quo. They were correct and brilliant in their response to the threat at hand. I indeed live as I do as a result of their advocacy.
In today's alignment of the threat matrix which steals away the life of Black people - as documented in the report below - the response could not be more different.
What if the operatives in the "White Establishment" of the past demanded that the government spend more money on WHITE PEOPLE so that they would no longer be "Poor White Trash" and thus economically marginalized by the upper class Whites as a PRETEXT for them to stop killing Black people? Seriously folks - what do you thing that the Civil Rights leadership at the time would have responded to such a request? I believe that they would argue that this was a "payoff" made to the killers of Black people.
Even beyond the hyperbole of the above example - lets look at the "New Deal" program. At the time even then Democrat Strom Thurmond supported the program because it offered government aid to this same population under discussion. The key question that must be asked is: Did ECONOMIC intervention stop White people from killing and oppressing Black pepole during this time (and/or decades after)?
I don't even need to detail the answer.
The only reason that there is a call for improved spread of economic resources as a means of addressing the crime and violence problem in these violent communities is because those who are suffering these losses and civil rights violations are mindful that the assailants are from WITHIN their own house. Their present state of consciousness is a product of the consciousness that has been allowed to fester.
The key debate that the warring parties have is: Which entity is responsible for implementing corrective action?
- The National Government - In as much as some see this issue as a void of opportunity and that violence and illegal commercial activity step in to fill the void. The call is for the government to redistribute resources into these areas so that the pump might be primed
- The Resident Culture And Human Resource Management Within - Others make note of the free state of the people within to choose the behavioral standards that exist inside of the domain that they now control per their ascension into power over the institutions that are present within
Why then can't we see that market based exchange of goods and services of value to the consumer is also a "flow of money" into the community? More so than government aid it also develops organic processes of wealth creation and competencies within the domain.
As I watch the nightly news in Atlanta there is no question that the "reporting from" location provided by the television reporter at a crime scene has a suppressive effect on an area that are frequently mentioned. I can rattle off a list of crime hotspots in the metro area right now.
The duty of the residents within these "desert zones" have the obligation to "take back their community". They are the main losers if chaos, lawlessness and economic decline sets in thus they must be the primary CONSERVATORS of their community's standards. A standard which must be enforced upon those who live within.
The key reason why the civil rights community does not and cannot take the same blunt "Law and Order" stance that they did against the Klan and apply it to today's Street Pirate is because they would be forced to echo the words of their most hardened adversaries. (I won't even bother to list them but many of them are on the radio and televison).
With the "hard right" position taken off of the table their only option is to "expand the police tape around the crime scene". "This crime is America's crime" - per their reasoning. By driving home the American bond that we all share they are able to demand resources for the "least of these" who suffer from "benign neglect".
If we were to consider the hourly wage rate that a person trapped in such an area should be indexed to - what elements should be included within? In addition to the value expressed to the "consumer of labor" who pays them - what is the value to the area in general as their people have job opportunities and do productive work instead of being warehoused in prison or resident in a "private prison" - the one that is made by the iron bars that cover all of the windows and door of their home?
The truth is that the economic justice advocates have carved out a wage floor which has gone beyond the real world value of the "goods" that the laborers have to "sell" to their employers in exchange for a salary.
If there is an aversion to have one capitalist benefit from this labor - why not set up private co-operatives by which these people can be "exploited" for their labor yet not by the capitalist OR the government? Aren't we "working for ourselves" when we do volunteer work in the community? Why not do the same but at a reduced wage rate via a co-operative? Did Marcus Garvey pay a "Living Wage" or were the people motivated by their own interests to work for their own freedom? Certainly it felt better than sitting idly without inspiration.
THE ARTICLE FROM THE COLLEGIAN
The state of Pennsylvania topped the list nationwide for most black homicide victims last year for the third time in four years, and student leaders say it's time to make a difference.
In a report complied by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) -- a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., focused on gun-related incidents -- Pennsylvania leads the nation in black deaths as a result of gun violence.
Kourtney Pulliam, president of Penn State's chapter of the NAACP, believes students need to share the education they receive at Penn State with their community at home.
Whether they take it on intentionally or unintentionally, there is a responsibility to motivate the people who may be affected by gun violence and help them to move past it, Pulliam (political science and sociology) said.
"Coming to a school like Penn State, we have high goals to come back and serve our community in some way, shape or form," she said.
VPC Executive Director Josh Sugarmann said the report is part of an effort to put a stronger focus on an issue that has been ignored for decades. Black homicides don't receive the attention they deserve, Sugarmann said.
"As a nation, we ignore gun violence unless something horrible happens," Sugarmann said. "That sharpens our focus for a brief period of time, then we go back to business as usual."
In 2007, there were 485 black homicide victims in the state, according to the report -- 36.36 per 100,000 deaths.
Nationwide, there were 7,387 black homicide victims, or 20.86 people per 100,000 victims, according to the report.
When the weapon could be identified, 82 percent of black victims were shot and killed with guns, according to the report. More than 70 percent were killed with handguns.
Sugarmann said he believes some of the problem in Pennsylvania can be attributed to the inability of cities to pass any local gun laws. (Bloggers Note: JESUS PLEASE HELP THEM SEE)
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have both expressed the desire to pass laws to curb gun violence but have been pre-empted by organizations like the National Rifle Association (NRA), Sugarmann said.
"Cities want to put tougher laws in place, but they're held hostage by the NRA and the gun industry," he said.
Gary Tuma, Gov. Ed Rendell's press secretary, said the state legislature has not had the appetite to address gun restriction recently.
However, the governor understands the impact of violent crimes from his time as the Philadelphia District Attorney and believes in the importance of education, something that cuts across race, Tuma said.
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