4 Comments:

At 7/16/05, 11:56 AM,  ronnie brown said...

police shootings in Watts?...shocking!


when white lives are in the balance law enforcement can (and do) exercise extraordinary levels of patience and restraint in the use of deadly force...the fact that Black and Brown lives don't generate the same level of consideration is not new.

Why are we stuck in the cycle of asking questions that we already have answers for?

Why are we expressing "outrage" over issues that we are overly familiar with?

 

At 7/18/05, 10:15 AM,  Anonymous said...

One thing to consider is that ultimately this is a choice made by the kids. According to the article, the most volatile of these kids are in the age range of 13-16. Their homes are broken. Their friends and family are in and out of jail. They lack peer guidance. They drink and use drugs.

The breakdown of the shot-caller system (where a gang leader approves killings) is given a lot of responsibility in the article. But is gang "mismanagement" the real culprit?

Another view, endorsed by cooler heads, is that economic and educational revival is the answer. This is supposedly the practical, scientific, long term solution. But will it happen? A solution is not a solution if it never happens.

There is another option that doesn't require big budgets and decades of bloodletting. That option is community outreach, whether social, cultural, spiritual, athletic... whatever form it might take.

These gang banger kids are socially, culturally, and spiritually sick, they medicate with alcohol and drugs, they seek a way out... they have few options... and so they choose death, for themselves and for their peers. I would liken this to a sort of slow, group suicide. In a twisted way, it might even be thought of as mercy killing.

Sure, a billion dollars and a bulldozer might fix (aka move) this problem, but that solution will arrive too late. And this has been going on for decades.

My view is that this is not about Watts, it's not about a particular gang or project... it's about getting a positive, hopeful message to individuals. We should focus on grassroots efforts to get positive, hopeful messages to these kids.

In my opinion, the only debate is how do we get positive, hopeful messages to these kids. What is the most practical and reliable way to get positive and hopeful messages to these kids.

_eric

 

At 7/18/05, 10:17 AM,  ronnie brown said...

the cycle of "incident", "outrage", "calls for calm", "investigation", "quiet settlement", "incident" have been going on in Los Angeles for over 40 years...it's obvious that the "squeaky wheel" has yet to get the grease of justice or reform.

 

At 7/18/05, 5:22 PM,  ronnie brown said...

lynn,
i'm not venting from a place of pessimism, i'm just sayin' our current methods of holding the powers-that-be accountable for their actions have bogged down to the point of just treading water.

Resistance is necessary, but it must be effective.

 

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