I live in the murder capital of the United States, ironically the same place is the so-called City of Brotherly Love. It should be stated however that although Philadelphia’s murder rate is high it is not unique among America’s urban sprawl. What is worthy of note however in all large urban American cities is the murder of African Americans by other African Americans. Politicians appear to sidestep the issue or at least not mention this fact in the cold light of day. And there are many reasons for this. Consider the fact that no other group in this country has had so many negative images fostered upon it as African Americans. As proud as we would like to be and some of us are, our history in this country is that of a group that among other less positive aspects were bred, raped, lynched, tortured and otherwise physically abused and treated like chattel. Then after this, we were denied access into the American political process by an uncaring public. Words do not begin to describe the effect of being dismissed as less than a full human being by the dominant culture or having your history of said abuse trivialized. All of this we Americans know or are aware of at least on an intellectual level and for those of us who experience this truth on a more personal level the weight of it is sometimes crushing (Degruy-Leary, 2005). With all of that said Blacks are killing Blacks at a staggering rate and it’s not just the frequency it is the gruesome, horrific and remorseless manner in which it is done that screams for an end to it. Note the recent execution style murders of three college students in Newark, New Jersey. The fourth potential victim survived. Each was made to kneel down by unknown assailants who shot the group in the back of their heads (Freidman, 2007). These murders can be seen as nothingless than an example of the rampant psychopathy within many poor Black urban environments. It is a celebration of lawlessness and despair.
When politicians want to placate the masses because they cannot address the issue of Blacks killing Blacks and know of no solution to solve it they hold drug vigils and stop the violence marches. These marches are attended by Black women, Black children and a minority of Black men (usually older), mostly. Here is a newsflash…You can march until the cows come home! And nothing, nothing will change. “The Bind” is this, Black Americans, caught or trapped in this circle of urban violence are fearful of putting a spotlight on another negative issue that is about US. The fact of the matter is that help is needed; the help of Whites and any other color of humanity willing to get involved. American history is replete with heroic acts of other ethnic gorups supporting our struggle for justice, many of them giving their lives. John Brown, his two sons and 21 other men fought government soldiers after commandeering Harpers Ferry in 1859 because they knew slavery was wrong and gave their lives in that battle (DuBois, 1909). Before the murders of the “Freedom Riders” (students supporting the right of African Americans to vote in the south and desegregation) Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman all who were ruthlessly murdered there was Viola Liuzzo (May, 2005) who suffered a similar fate. Politicians hope this issue will go away.The signs are set for the urban landscape by poor Blacks to become a sociological minefield replete with the dynamics needed (social and environmental) to create remorseless individuals who are indeed a menace to society. This is not to say that every child who is the product of such an environment will become a remorseless killer but clearly the lack of patriarchal bonding, instability of residence, physical abuse, mental abuse, witnessing of violence are all the traumas indicated by researchers as the behavioral antecedents that lead to serial predation (Ressler et al, 1992). It is important to understand how this situation came to be but the luxury of blame requires too much time and the necessity of healing is slow. The other part of “The Bind” is that for White people there appears to be no immediate incentive; the random violence will eventually arrive at their door as victims or by perpetrators of any color. The reticence of Whites to weigh in on the subject of Blacks killing Blacks is understandable as they risk being accused of racism or worse. So for those unable to standup by due to point sof view that would render them targets of pentup misdirected historical rage they might consider aiding this reduction of violence effort in a more anonymous way.
As we examine this issue we cannot ignore the part violence has played in weaving the American fabric. Despite the supposed tranquility of the Mayflower landing, from manifest destiny to Wounded Knee to chattel slavery the history of violence by the dominant culture against other citizens has been well documented. When we consider social learning and modeling behavior as it pertains to violence in America we would do well to keep in mind that common theme of so many monster movies; that they always return to punish their creators for making them so. In order to address the problem of urban violence and Black on Black crime what is needed is an early intervention strategy which would include; a removal of the child from their environment in extreme cases and an alternative environment for less dire straits are needed (similar to N.Y. state’s fresh air fund in the 1960’s go to http://freshair.smnr.us:80/). This would be an effective way to combat the heavy bet that almost certainly ensures a child living in a sociopathic predatory environment will become a sociopathic predator. More advertisement for foster care parents and better monitoring of the existing ones is also needed. This needs to be an extended plan (a minimum of 5 years) requiring law enforcement and social scientists along with social agencies to create task force programs of early intervention. If you want your tax dollars to work for something other than corporate subsidies, weapons of mass destruction or the hunt for an international villain who is worth more propaganda-wise alive than dead consider diverting the 12 billion dollars per month from that war to funds “For a Safer America.”
Degruy-Leary, J.(2005). Post Traumatic Slavery Syndrome. Oregon:Uptone Press
Douglas, J., Burgess, A.W. & Ressler, R.K. (1992). Sexual Homicide, Patterns and Motives. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Dubois, W.E.B.(1909). John Brown. New York: Random House
May, G. (2005). The Informant. Pennsylvania: Duke & Company.
Freidman, A. (2007). The Star Ledger. Retrieved August 8, 2007 from http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/08/4_killed_in_newark.html
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