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Black Boys Are Victims, Too
t an early age most
young Black boys are victims. They are victims of their family, communities and those who only look at the bad in them.
First, let’s look at the fami- lies of many of these boys. You will find that many of them have criminal history. Some- one in the family robs, steals, has a serious drinking prob- lem or uses drugs. If they don’t use drugs they sell them. Some of them have even committed murder. You will find that many of them have either spent time in jail or they are in jail. These are the kind of peo- ple some Black boys grow up around and learn from.
The problems young Black boys face, don’t end there. They find themselves growing up in ghetto neighborhoods that are loaded with all kinds of crime. Often their daddies are not around to give them
much needed guidance. They live in run down houses and their diets are limited. They don’t get much discipline and education isn’t a very impor- tant item. Church is definitely a no-no in the house. This is where Black boys get most of their early development.
With no education and no job skills, there isn’t much more most of these boys can do beside walk the streets and steal. Now I know that most of us tend to criticize these Black boys. But let us hold up on our criticisms until we have had the chance to walk a mile in their shoes. Then you will see from birth these unfortunate souls have been caught in a trap and it looks like they can’t get out.
You find that as kids these boys are very hard to disci- pline by anyone. The older these boys get the more diffi- cult they become. The more
difficult they become the more we dislike them and dislike is used instead of hate.
They come into your neighborhoods, litter your streets with garbage, play loud music and steal from you. Oh boy, we hate those things. We won’t admit it, but we hope these boys go to another area, go to jail and as a last resort get killed.
We tend to forget that many of us rose from those same kinds of circumstances. After we have walked around the block in their shoes you may not want to forgive them, but you can understand that just as they victimize your neighborhood these men were victimized by their families and neighborhoods. Other folks and the law have prob- lems with this group, but so do other Blacks.
We talked about boys being victims. I said they were in a trap and it seems they can’t walk out. Yes, they can walk out of this self imposed, lifelong trap. We will talk about how next week in an ar- ticle entitled, “Black Boys Can Go From Victims To Victors.”
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Scott And Wallace: Historical Twins
nd would it be a surprise were we to say that Gov.
Rick Scott and his stance on so-called Obamacare and his made-up Medicare extension alternative reminds us of another Governor, George Wallace of Alabama, who also blocked a doorway to common sense, humanitarian- ism, and the future. Gov. Wallace’s motto, which he said over and over again, was “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever?”
Instead, Scott’s motto is “No Obamacare now, no Oba- macare tomorrow, and no Obamacare forever!” Come to think of it, Rick Scott’s comments are carbon copies of Wallace’s words, almost half a century ago.
The only difference between Scott-as-now and Wal- lace-back-then was Wallace stood blocking the entrance of U. S. Marshals to the student union building at the Uni- versity of Alabama, while Gov. Scott stands blocking the entrance of tens of thousands of Florida’s poor from ac- cess to affordable and universal healthcare.
Perhaps, however, an even more unerring similarity between Wallace and Scott is their both being convinced that their caveman convictions in effect were not their fault. Said Wallace, “Integration is being forced down our throat.” Argues Scott, “Obamacare will cost millions of tax dollars for people who don’t want it or need it.” Both governors have been proven wrong, and history may at- test that both men’s comments have been dipped in the same ink of racism.
So, what will become of the governors who have stood in front of the doors of progress? Their names have gone down in the footnotes of history for having slowed, but not stopped history just as they would not be able to stop progress. Perhaps, Gov. Scott in the midst of his Obama- phobia should read up on the history of the past 50 years, then stop blocking the door.
His Day Is Coming
don't consider myself to be a malicious individ- ual. But earlier this week when I heard that George Zimmerman had been shot, a smile slowly eased
across my face.
The first thing to cross my
mind was that "karma finally came calling for what he did to Trayvon Martin." But, as more of the story began to unfold and it was revealed that he was only grazed by the bullet, I have to admit, I was a little bummed out.
The idea that the world's biggest piece of human crap had somehow managed to, once again, avoid a sched- uled appointment with his
reckoning left me highly dis- appointed. I won't go as far as saying I wish the man death. But, if some great misfortune were to fall upon him, I would definitely be the last person to shed a tear.
I know I'm probably wrong for harboring these types of feelings. But the fact that Zimmerman has been able to live such a reckless life without consequence, while Trayvon's body lies in a grave somewhere, just continues to leave a very bit- ter taste in my mouth.
Whenever I hear Zim- merman's name men- tioned it's always associated with something negative.
Whether it's beating up his father-in-law, jumping on his girlfriend or pulling his gun on some unsuspecting motorist, Zimmerman has shown time and time again that he has zero ounce of re- spect for anyone other than himself.
And it always makes me wonder why God chose to favor his life over someone like Trayvon's and the countless others whose lives were also cut short by unre- morseful a**holes?
Sooner or later, I imagine Zimmerman will eventu- ally have to pay dearly for getting away with cold- blooded murder. For me, though, that day can't come soon enough.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. Anyone wishing to contact Clarence Barr can email him at: reality- onice@yahoo.com.
Yes! Racism Is A Real Problem In Law Enforcement
ecent comments by Baltimore City Police Sgt. Louis
Hopson, chairman of the Vanguard Justice Society (an organization) that represents Black Baltimore police officers) may very well be the tip of the iceberg submerged in police departments throughout America.
Said Hopson, “There are two Baltimores, and there are two Baltimore City Police Departments . . . This depart- ment is a very racist police department. The issues that you see manifesting themselves on the outside are the same problems we have been dealing with on the inside for years.”
No, you didn’t hear him make such statements on major news stations. Go figure!
Much like history will record America’s experience with its first Black president, Baltimore has experienced its first Black mayors, first Black police commissioners and police chiefs, yet, little changed for Blacks in either
Baltimore or America. Why?
Just as in governments, power within most police departments has been invested and embedded in legacy, tradition and the Fraternal Order of Police, all hard to extricate. No doubt, retired and active duty police officers have experienced and witnessed racism on the job. So, what is the answer? Perhaps, it lies in the words of a Black man who spoke more than five hundred years ago when he said, “As I am human, all things human are common unto me.”
Before they isolate themselves from the human race, law enforcement professionals throughout America must acknowledge their connection to across-the-board humanity, confront their implicit bias and work from there.
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