In Chicago's toughest neighborhoods, some black men find themselves more likely to be picked up by an ambulance than a cab.
After last Thursday's deadly string of shootings, folks are scratching their heads about why this trend of violence won't cease. Meanwhile, folks argue in blog comment boxes about which solution is the best. Some are for gun control, while others subscribe to the mantra of "Guns Don't Kill People (People Kill People)". Whatever the argument may be, there has been a lot of talk and not enough action - that is, until you meet Syron Smith.
Syron Smith believes that we can fight crime by selling toilet paper. No, don't adjust your eyes or click on another blog post. There's a good reason behind this. He uses his non-for-profit organization, The National Block Club University, to create jobs for at-risk youth. One of those jobs involves selling and delivering toilet paper. But Syron wants to do more than "wipe away" crime one roll at a time; Instead, he wants to change the way young people see the world.
A few times a year, Smith takes children on special trips to cities like Atlanta and New York. He does this because of his past experiences in the military. For him, "exposure" is one of things that inner-city children lack in shaping their perspective on life. If children can see themselves going beyond the boundaries of Chicago, then they will aspire to do more with their lives.
He inspired me to see what I can do in my neighborhood to make it better. Sure, it will take much more than toilet paper and field trips to stop the violence. But the violence can stop, once we stop the excuses.
After 40 years its obvious.
Taxpayer dollars in the billions have been thrown at the urban ghettos.
Churches, schools, police, civic organizations, have all pitched in.
And the results are not favorable.
A growing trend of violence, teen-age pregnancies, welfare, crime, etc.
This will only be solved or improved with a change in the black culture.
Family values.
Social values.
Focus on education.
Discipline at an early age.
Elimination of the ebonic lingo and other "we must prove we're black" mentality.
Babies raising babies and grandmothers raising babies is the norm in the black culture.
So long as this is accepted and not frowned upon in the black culture, the problems will continue.
Put a condom on for christs sake.
Sure, there are some churches that have given back to the community but most haven't. This is why most folks are apathetic towards organized religion.
Ebonic lingo has NOTHING to do with success, just like suburban kids saying "like", "you know what I mean", and "as if" has no direct hinderance on their success either. It's not about proving we're black. The mirror does that for us. But we must look past the physical aspect of the mirror and see ourselves to be great people.
Condoms don't prevent pregnancies as much as common sense. But teen pregnancies are actually down as compared to the last decade. The current teens are most likely results of the pregnancies you speak of- which happened 20 years ago.
But thanks for your comments.
I'm honored to have you comment on my post. Thank you so much. ;)
Margaret Mead wrote about two peoples in the same area of New Guinea. One kept their babies isolated in wicker baskets, which they would thump when the kid cried, were war-like cannibals. In the same area, another village held their babies in slings with skin-to-skin contact, they frequently comforted their children, and did not discipline though fear. That society was peaceful, without the killings and blood feuds of the former. The same patterns is repeated across different continents and different size cultures -- compare and contrast German and Swedish history to their child care practices.
Richard Levine
http://hiddenowl.com/WisePractice/index.htm
But let's clarify your second point. How many of us are really "honest" people? Because if we are honest with ourselves FIRST, we'd know that concealed weapons might not do the trick.
You're judging men that have a mindset that escapes both of us. What if those men assume that EVERY citizen is holding a weapon? Could the gunfire increase? That could happen, but I'm not sure about that either.
What I want to do is attack the mindset. There's one thing that gun ownership activists have right on the money: "Guns Don't Kill People (People Kill People)". So, the problem isn't solved with MORE guns; It is solved when people have better sense.
Can we save the world? Heck, no. But the point of this article is to say that DOING something (helping the community) rather than HAVING something (a gun) is going to solve things quicker...in my humble, somewhat biased opinion. ;)
Godspeed. Despite my disagreement, great comments. :)
2) Allow honest citizens (and not just criminals) to carry concealed weapons
American with 2 trillion in domestic expenditures would look a bit different 10 years later than America having spent 2 trillion+ on moronic adventurism..