Brothers Killing Brothers

One of the most frustrating truths when it comes to us (African Americans) is the harrowing truth that the perpetrators of crimes against black folks are other black folks. My heart goes out to the African American security guard killed at the Holocaust Museum last week. His family is in my thoughts and I want justice for him. But it is frustrating to see the countless other murdered African American men and women at the hands of someone who looks just like them.

Yes, “black on black” crime. I know. No one talks about “white on white” crime. But that argument still ignores the problem. Where is the outrage? Why is it only important when a black man is killed by a white man? If race isn’t involved, no coverage?!? Again, I want justice for the family of the slain security guard, but I also want justice for the hard-working African Americans killed by the hands of other African Americans. No excuses for problems in his childhood or “the man,” or his socio-economic conditions. Join the club. We’ve all had it bad. But we take our lumps and keep moving forward, channeling that frustration and anger into positive energy (or at least sweet revenge by succeeding).

And for years, social scientists and community activists have focused on the color of local, state, and national leaders as integral in raising African American test scores and decreasing truancy, crime, teen pregnancy, and general piss poor behavior. But now we have all of those things and it’s still the same ole,” same ole.’

To be clear, it isn’t President Obama’s job to clean up your particular family mess. That’s on you.

I’m not the only one frustrated to no end. Kenneth C. Rossignol writes in St. Mary’s Today (a local paper in urban/suburban Charles County, Maryland:

In Waldorf, the most frequent victim of muggings and robberies are blacks, many of them women who are caught walking to their homes from their cars after returning from shopping or work. In many of these cases, the robbers and muggers are young black males who live in their neighborhoods, looking for money to buy drugs. These black males are not satisfied that most of the income earners are black women who in turn support the males. They put on masks and steal from black working women and in many cases harm their prey.

Rossignol goes on to say:

The overwhelming number of success stories for blacks to be able to achieve runs rampant in this area with two of the five Charles County Commissioners being black, the Lt. Governor of Maryland, Anthony Brown, is a black fellow from Prince George’s County and worked hard to get through college, joined the Army and ran for public office. He is the state’s second black Lt. Governor, with Michael Steele, also from PG County, the first. Steele is now the Chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Blacks have held some of the highest posts in local government and law enforcement with Joe Lee Somerville, of St. Mary’s County, being elected the first black sheriff in Maryland in 1978. Vonzell Ward was the second, elected Sheriff in 1994 and 1998 in Calvert County. Then there is that guy who lives in the White House, elected president last year. His father was a African who came to America to go to college.

None of these blacks chose a path which started with a gun pointed at the clerk at the cash register of the Dunkin Donuts in Waldorf.

The black middle class has been hit hard by the sub-prime mortgage crisis but still retains the majority status of PG County and are a majority of those who live in Waldorf.

Many own homes well over $500,000 in value. Blacks work hard in a variety of jobs in the Washington area and enjoy substantial incomes, have children in college and suffer from the problems brought on by the upheaval in the economy as anyone else. But the great majority of blacks do not rape, rob and pillage.

Amen!

At what point are we purely responsible for our actions absent a media and majority acceptance that this is “just the way things are” in the city? That in and of itself is racist in its acceptance that African Americans are reactionary, violent with or without cause, and destined to an existence riddled with crime no matter what color the president is.

To be clear, the author has it right in his closing analysis:

But the fact remains that criminals, no matter what their race, who choose to steal, rape and rob and upon conviction deserve incarceration, not compassion.

Criminals who pass up taking compassionate assistance, entrance into trade schools, opportunity in the armed forces and higher education and who choose to commit violent crimes need to be locked up.

Read the entire column.

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