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Editorials/Columns
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
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Black Folks, Can We Talk?
lack folks we need to
talk.
We are facing some serious
problems that are literarily tearing our race apart. This fission is only getting wider and wider. Some of our prob- lems are merely because of our skin color. Our most seri- ous problems are ones of our own making.
Our race has been plagued by the ills of segregation ever since we have been on the face of this continent. We have been denied decent housing, decent jobs and the lack of a decent education.
Unfortunately too many of us fail to realize that these fac- tors could and will eliminate many of our problems.
Black folks let us examine some of the outstanding pro- blems that prevent our race from being all it can and needs to be.
We start out by noting the huge number of unwed moth-
ers there are in our race. We have too many young moms who are no more than chil- dren themselves. These moth- ers are so young, until they know absolutely nothing about raising children. That explains why so many children grow up with out a mother’s love and so un-discipline. Too many of these young boys turn into criminals.
Black folks are guilty of committing too much crime. It is being committed by Blacks of all ages on Blacks of all ages. The crime is so varied until no crime is excluded. We need to talk about all of this crime and come up with posi- tive ways to reduce or elimi- nate all the Black-on-Black crime. This is especially true in Black neighborhoods. Black people do uncanny jobs of looking the other way when a Black kills another Black. It matters not how unnecessary or how gruesome the killings
may be. Blacks choose to play the old see, hear or speak no evil game.
When White policemen kill a Black we tend to go bal- listic and we should, but Blacks should get just as worked up when a Black kills a Black.
Black folks we must learn that we are not under any ob- ligations to protect Black criminals and especially mur- derers.
As much as we want to pretend, folks we don’t put enough emphasis on educa- tion. Far too many of our youngsters drop out of school unprepared. On the streets these dropouts have nothing to offer the job market. The only thing left for them is a life of crime and a trip to prison.
Speaking of prison, Black folks that is another thing that needs to be discussed. Every study in the country will tell you there are too many of us in jail.
Everything that I have talked about is a Black prob- lem that deserves Black folks’ full attention.
Black folks can we at least talk about fixing these prob- lems.
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
What If There Was No War?
eatles member John Lennon broached the subject
in 1971 when he sang, “Imagine there’s no countries . . .It isn’t hard to do . . . Nothing to kill or die for, ,” And he went on to sing, “Imagine all the people / Livin’ life in peace.” Two years earlier, Motown recording artist Edwin Starr stunned the listening world with the lyrics “War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!”
Like waves on a rolling sea, such songs rose to the Top Ten then plummeted into oblivion. Critics slammed Lennon’s piece because it seemed to attack world religion and implied the possibility of a one-world-philosophy. As for Starr’s mercurial piece, it streaked like a meteor only to burn out in a musical sky filled at that time with anti- war songs. And as the beat went on, so did the beat of war drums around the world.
Yet, we pause, today, to remember the brave men and women who through the decades and centuries have risked their lives for something they felt, but often could never see. Freedom and democracy are what they fought for. Quite often what they received was a wounded inno- cence and a vacant future. However, those of us who did not go had no reason to complain except for what John Lennon seemed to talk about.
What if there were no wars, no reasons to murder each other by the millions? Wouldn’t we still be human beings? Hippies used to say, “Make love, not war.” But given the comparison, what was so wrong about that?
And even now, innocent young men and women look eagerly forward to being sent off to Paris Island . . . to prove themselves by developing a willingness to die hero- ically?
But wouldn’t it be wonderful if war was only fictional? In the words of John Lennon, “You may say we’re dream- ers, but were’ not the only ones. We hope someday you’ll join us and the world will live as one.”
Just Get A Job
think I've finally come to the conclusion that some people are just too slow to pick up on current trends. It is either that, or they suffer from a serious case of the "It can't
happen to me" syndrome. Ithastobeoneofthetwo because, for the life of me, I can't seem to figure out why individuals still believe they can get away with making ille- gal money in 2015 without getting caught. I imagine that those who do must have missed the memo stating that cooperating with authorities is as fashionable as facial tattoos
right now.
The reality is that, these
days, no one is trying to leave the streets for any amount of time. That means if you're in- volved in an unlawful activity with another person, sooner or later, you're going to take a hit. It's inevitable.
Youmaygoonagoodrun for a year or two. But, when the day comes when one of your associates needs an es- cape from a long federal prison sentence, one phone call to an F.B.I. or D.E.A. agent will have you as an un- willing participant in the re- placement game that gets everybody into the mix.
And, to be honest, the per- son really doesn't have to be facing a tremendous amount of time. It is not uncommon for someone looking at a sen- tence as minor as a year be- hind bars to work with the government in an effort to have his time reduced to pro- bation.
The days of people standing up, accepting the role they played in a criminal activity and living by some kind of street code have gone the way of baggy jeans and Timber- land boots. A prime example of this can be seen in what happened in the case of the Jefferson brothers in Tampa recently.
After being caught in a multi-kilogram cocaine con- spiracy the oldest brother, who is reportedly an ordained minister, assisted the feds in securing convictions for his two younger brothers. One of whom is facing a life sentence.
These are three men who grew up together in the same home and who share the same parents. If they can turn on each other, what chance does a person have dealing with a casual acquaintance who sim- ply can't stand the thought of leaving his woman behind?
Unfortunately, this is how rotten the so-called "game" has become. It has been low- ered to the point where a man will sacrifice his own blood to save himself while, often- times, having the nerve to jus- tify his actions by saying God told him to do so.
If I offered the average per- son reading this an opportu- nity to make some money for a short period time and then proceeded to tell him or her that this opportunity came with such risks as decades in prison, potential injuries from attempted robberies and the possible forfeiture of the money they made, they wouldn't hesitate to tell me to hit the bricks. But, the crazy thing I'll never understand is that, there are those who've already experienced all of these downfalls and who still believe they can make it work.
There was a time when I felt sorry for these "can't-get- rights." But, after years of watching them strap on their helmets and crash into walls, that well of sympathy has dried up.
It would be one thing if they didn't know any better. But, once a man feels the heat from a fire and still decides to place his hand into the flames, he becomes the kind of fool no one should pity.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. Anyone wishing to contact Clarence Barr can email him at: realityon- ice@yahoo.com.
What Will It Take?
hough we sometimes feel like “a voice crying out in the wilderness,” we still send out a clarion call to you, our readers, to stand up and speak out to gov-
ernment officials, especially legislators and congressper- sons, regarding protecting our environment and reducing carbon emissions immediately.
Though news columns citing reports and warnings about our global warming crisis are often buried on back pages of newspapers, we remain convinced that the issue demands prominent and visible space on governments’ and our personal agendas.
Unwilling to witness what is happening in the forests of California to begin happening in the backwoods of Tampa-Hillsborough County-Florida, we remind you now of several recent environmental warnings by climate sci- entists.
First, global levels of carbon dioxide have reached 400.83 parts per million, a level not seen since the extinc- tion of dinosaurs (2million years ago).
Moreover, carbon dioxide is increasing at a record pace, 100 times faster than natural rises in the past. Sim- ply put, carbon dioxide is 18 percent higher today than in 1980, which means in the previous 35 years, carbon diox- ide levels rose to levels it previously took 6000 years to
reach during pre-human times.
Furthermore, because our polar ice caps are melting faster than was predicted, sea
levels are rising faster than was predicted. What that means is within the next 20 to 30 years, Downtown Tampa may be at the bottom of the sea.
Unfortunately, if we don’t speak up now, it will be too late.
FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5-A
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