(ThyBlackMan.com) Not even my resolve to fight for the redemption of black men is firm enough to prod me into arguing against the reality that there is a segment of Black Chicago that is out of their mind. Hence, the recently taped abduction of a mentally challenged teenager is not as shocking as it would be under normal circumstances.
Over the past weekend, at least 72 people were shot, 12 of those victims of gun violence succumbed to their injuries in Chicago, a city that has unfortunately earned the right to change its moniker from “the windy city” to “Chiraq.”
I believe that I am speaking for the vast majority of Black America when I assert that this barbarian segment of our society needs to be removed ‘by any means necessary.’ Unfortunately for Black America, when the thuggish element within our midst is removed for some crime, the relocation is never for long. In fact, they are frequently hailed as heroes upon their return to a criminal subculture that has held Black America hostage for far too long.
When considering such matters, one is faced with a reverberating question of why aren’t the majority of serious crimes that occur in Black America solved by law enforcement agencies.
The most readily available, and incorrect, answer is that law enforcement personnel, including black officers, care little about criminal activity occurring in Black America. I will do my best to not stray and enter into a discussion regarding personal dealings with a few officers whose lack of interest in black-on-black crime was obvious. Such a debate would do little to explain why black-on-black crimes often go unsolved. Unlike many of my peers, racial loyalty does not constrain my ability to state that the primary reason that so many black-on-black crimes go unsolved is the failure of Black America to consider those who have used our communities as a safe-haven for their criminal exploits.
It is ironic that a warranted historical adaptation to protect black men from a lawless band of white terrorists is now serving as a hindrance to Black America’s progress. Make no mistake about it, Black America’s ability to react at a moment’s notice to protect one of its own has its roots in chattel slavery.
From the moment that stolen Africans encountered whites in the Jamestown colony, it became apparent to them that at any moment they would be forced to deal with an opportunistic marauding population of Anglo-Saxons whose sole purpose was bettering their condition. Hence, unprovoked attacks on stolen Africans were to be expected. Such a context birthed a survival strategy among persons of African descent on the North American continent. The alluded to survival strategy provided oppressed and dispossessed blacks an opportunity to protect themselves and their loved ones from marauding Anglo-Saxons. Such priorities are best reflected in Africans maximizing their chances to be an insular community; a difficult and awkward process while being enslaved by colonial elites. Put simply; blacks did their absolute best to close off the hostile outside world that existed at their doorstep as a desperate means to protect their own from the whims and peculiar tendencies of a population who needed no evidence to pass judgment and execute a sentence for even the slightest perceived offense.
Further illuminating contemporary angst between blacks and the police is the reality that for centuries the brutal, unjustified attacks from rape to lynching were led by so-called law enforcement officers. One could argue that it wasn’t an official lynch mob unless the long arm of the law was not involved. Such a context makes it understandable that the average African-American male will tense up when in the presence of law enforcement officers. It is this historical reality that must be considered during every conflict between black men and law enforcement officers. If black men know nothing else, they understand that they must avoid entanglement with the criminal justice system ‘by any means necessary.’ It is impossible to convince any black person that this grand tradition of law enforcement officers serving as a threat to the very lives of black men does not continue to the present day.
Unfortunately for Black America, this cultural adaptation aimed at protecting black men from a lawless, roving bad of whites who are scouring our communities to see whom they can consume is currently being used for purposes that will never benefit Black America. In many ways, this tradition of protecting black men from marauding law enforcement officers now manifests itself like a cloak of protection for a criminal element in our midst. Somehow an immoral and unlawful element within our community has co-opted this tradition and publicly demanded silence regarding their illegal activities and uncivilized behavior from upstanding black citizens. To my dismay, Hip Hop Culture has proven to be the perfect conduit for this campaign to make black-on-black crime permissible.
Although the mantra ‘snitches get stitches’ is poetic in a ghetto fabulous kind of way, it betrays the solidarity that generations of persons of African descent displayed against a hostile external enemy. The actions and activities of the criminal element within our midst at this moment are having the same effect that marauding white terrorist had on Black America throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries respectively. The only difference is that today’s black criminal demands that we not report them to the proper authorities. One thing is certain; the alluded to scoundrels have succeeded in getting their deplorable values integrated into the cultural diet and belief system of Black America. We now find elementary school children attempting to “persuade” their peers to ‘not snitch’ via violent attacks that they post on the internet.
The mantra ‘snitches get stitches’ has no utility for Black America and only serves as yet another prominent reminder that we have lost our way. I am confident that sensible people agree that there are many things that Black America should embrace, however, lawlessness and criminality are nowhere on that list.
Make no mistake about it; these words are yet another call for Black America to take an uncompromising stand against those perpetrating evil within our midst. Although difficult to accept, these people are aberrations whose criminality and immorality will never benefit our community. Put simply; they are uncivilized barbarians who must not only be shunned but run away from our midst.
If we are serious about cleaning up Black America, it is the time that we address those who have made black residential areas synonymous with areas where crime is acceptable. Failure to address these scoundrels in a significant manner makes us accessories to the destruction of our community.
Black America it is time that you “wake up, stand up, and clean up.”
Staff Writer; Dr. James Thomas Jones III
Official website; http://www.ManhoodRaceCulture.com
One may also connect with this brother via Twitter; DrJamestJones.