Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 10-22-19

Editorial/Columns
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
(USPS 202-140)
2207 21st Avenue, Tampa Florida 33605 • (813) 248-1921 Published Every Tuesday and Friday By
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHING Co., Member of National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)
S. KAY ANDREWS, PUBLISHER
C. BLYTHE ANDREWS III, PRESIDENT/CONTROLLER ALLISON WELLS-CLEBERT, CFO
GWEN HAYES, EDITOR
IRIS HOLTON, CITY EDITOR
BETTY DAWKINS, ADVERTISING DIRECTOR HAROLD ADAMS, CIRCULATION MANAGER TOYNETTA COBB, PRODUCTION MANAGER LAVORA EDWARDS, CLASSIFIED MANAGER
Subscriptions-$44.00-6 Months Both Editions: $87.00-Per Year Both Editions.
Opinions expressed on editorial pages of this newspaper by Columnists or Guest Writers, do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of The Florida Sentinel Bulletin or the Publisher.
Sometimes You Don’t Need Police
Last week rapper T.I. courted controversy when he called for people in the Houston area to identify the unknown assailants who were captured on video sur- veillance footage beating and robbing an elderly Black woman at a gas station. What made everyone uneasy about T.I.'s request for assistance was that he didn't want the perpetrators turned in to au- thorities.
To the contrary, T.I. sug- gested that the two individu- als in question be dealt with using street justice. Some- thing along the lines of a vi- cious beat down administered by the victim's family and anyone else who was pissed-off by what they witnessed.
For some, T.I.'s solicita- tion for citizens to play the role of vigilantes, while for- going the legal process, was irresponsible and reckless. But, personally, I couldn't find anything wrong with his position.
Though I still think that there's a place and need for the traditional court system, I also believe in the effective- ness of self-policing. To me, there's just something about holding your own account- able, who violate the most sa- cred codes of conduct, that carries more weight and in- fluence than any punishment that can be doled out by law enforcement.
The reason why these two knuckleheads felt it was okay to commit such a violent act on an elder is not only due to the fact that the lines dictat- ing what is and is not accept- able behavior have been erased but, also, because there is no fear of conse- quences from their peers. Since no one seems to know or care about the boundaries that exist, even when it comes to participating in criminal activity, individuals are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve a desired goal, including pistol-whip- ping granny.
There was a time when a man wouldn't think twice about doing anything for money that would bring harm to an old person or a child. Though his actions were mainly governed by his own principles, knowing what would be done to him by his closest associates if he ever got caught also played a role in him maintaining a level of self-control as well. With that dynamic no longer in play, it shouldn't be sur- prising that the predators roaming the streets today see everything and everyone as fair game.
T.I. was right to state that the two young men responsi- ble for this heinous crime should be penalized severely by the people within their own community. Not only would it teach them a valu- able lesson about respect, but it would also send a strong message, to anyone else who thinks it's cool to assault the most vulnerable among us, that such savagery will not be tolerated.
Hopefully, when the iden- tities of these two idiots are discovered, they can be made perfect examples.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbar- ronice@gmail.com.
POSTMASTER: Send Address Change To: Florida Sentinel Bulletin,
P.O. Box 3363 Tampa, FL 33601 Periodical Postage Paid At Tampa, FL
C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
An Incident At The Museum
y now, almost the entire world has heard about
the incident that occurred on the premises of the Washington, D. C. African American Museum, wherein a student from a visiting Northern public school harked and spat over the balcony onto the head of an African American visitor at the museum. Sources say not only was the juvenile delinquent disciplined, but the entire school was expelled from the museum.
The school’s principal apologized and swore what happened was stupid, but not racist. However, the die had been cast, or had it? Was a white male teenager’s penchant to clear his throat at the insult of a fellow American nothing more than a third-class prank, or does it seem to seed itself into a row of other obviously over-the-board and racist incidents ... situations in- volving police shootings, Latin-Hispanic immigrant situations, which saw children caged like unwanted dogs and cats, and has recently witnessed the blatant abandonment of Kurdish allies as if they were an un- fortunate oversight or after-statement?
Our suspicions is these incidents are all related, connected by a blind disregard of the right and worth of people of color, passed on by growing insensitivity of American leadership. Would that student have spat if he’d not expected his act to be seen as heroic? We doubt it.
Therefore, this incident at the African American Museum in Washington, D.C, was indeed a copycat curse leveled at all people of color around the world. Thus, we see the museum incident as a postage stamp to a larger letter addressed to the dissolution of Amer- ica’s democratic and diverse leadership.
B
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5