Simplistic, but on point. The difference between a systemic problem, and an individual problem.
Which explains the vastly different numbers between the two groups.
Thanks for a thoughtful post Correl, I appreciate it.
I disagree about the term “systemic” applied to it however.
Does violent “gangster culture” permeate every level of black society? Or is it more to do with socio-economic status? Historically violent gangs have always been a problem…..at different times it was the Irish, Jews, Italians usually associated with the poverty of new waves of immigrants. I don’t hear mothers joyfully proclaiming their kid has joined a gang, instead I hear fear and concern that “the streets” will take their kids.
Man, I wish we could have an honest discussion of the issues, so that we could actually address them instead of having any real discussion shut down by demagogues.
I do too, but it means a willingness to listen to each other, and a willingness to accept disagreement and different points of view. That seems hard to do here.
Imagine if over the last 50 years, we had real policies directed at really addressing the causes of the different problems and had even moderate success.
Tens of thousands of people who are dead in our world, would be alive.
Whole communities, instead of being crime infested hellholes, would be poor but hopeful and good places to raise families.
The problem is you are looking at very complex problems that also happen to contain a lot of sacred cows. There are so many issues at the heart of this: poverty (in itself complex as it also involves living in unsafe areas, lack of access to many things, poor schools, the economic opportunities crime and drugs offers and the high visibility of “success”, the historic effect of racism in creating these places….etc).
Historically urban ghettos have always existed and crime within them. Typically one group eventually moves up and out and another moves in. Immigration history is full of that. I don’t think you can separate poverty and crime and there will individuals of all races and ethnicities who prefer the easy big cash rewards that drugs can bring (for example).
This is all strictly just my opinion…but real change has to come from the community level first and that has be supported higher up by those who have the power to legislate and distribute resources. We are too vested in top down, one size fits all solutions and they don’t work very well. The people in those communities know better than than ivory tower do gooders and arrogant “poverty is a moral failing” politicians.
Maybe we also need to look at what happened to once vibrant communities that are now failing. Maybe the political powers put in a super highway that divided it, effectively destroying connections and living conditions. Those who could, left, those who couldn’t stayed and those who moved in were not going to be home owners or grocers so instead of a grocery, pharmacy, restaurants or hardware stores you had before, but pawn shops, bail shops and hot spots. It doesn’t have to be a highway, it could easily be a landfill, aluminum plant, etc. And, race does seem to be a factor in that many of those things are put in traditionally minority neighborhoods.
So how should we fix? IMO we can’t totally but we can always improve it by empowing communities, increasing home ownership, expanding community based policing. It just seems to me if you only look at it as a large systemic problem solutions seem impossible. But if go at it community by community you can solve a tiny bit of it and improve lives in the process, but you have to listen to the people who are actually there instead of speaking to them. And listening may lead to some uncomfortable truths we need to acknowledge on all sides in order to move on.
I hope when we all die, that those that actively worked to fight against that, have to answer for the harm they caused their fellow man.
View attachment 594229
