Myth of The Super Thug.?..

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(ThyBlackMan.com) After arriving in New Orleans nearly a year ago, the lawyer friend who encouraged it repeatedly warned against mispronouncing local street names for fear a super thug would swoop down on me! (lol).

We’ve built inner city “street pirates” ( thanks CF for the term ) into this mythological threat toward whom we must kow tow.

I’ve observed NOLA’s Hood(s) at close range and lived first in the 8th Ward, referred to as the ” worst part of town” by some.

Random shootings are rare here, with the epic exception of the accidental murder of two year old Jeremy Galmon due to bad aim at an outdoor event.

Personal disputes assume nightmarish proportions as macabre kidnappings and even witness assassination occur with KGB-style precision in local neighborhoods far removed from the old Eastern Bloc.

The Super Thug myth warns residents against attending (with good reason) second line street parades or frequent outdoor parties if they’re in the inner city. Headlines and local legend caution imperious violence can explode without warning when tempers in these locales flare.

I’m an old school product of the Southern Hood, a street scholar and peacekeeper who crew of local advisors have vetod continuing my practice of breaking up street fights and police ridealongs. These actvities began in my hometown of Savannah, GA long before coming here.

Their fear of super thugs and police corruption is tangible.

However, they have okayed the food giveaways which are a non-confrontational staple of my Capt Black outreach role. But, a proposed downtown bottled water giveaway was red flagged because “people might think you have money and rob you.”

What a bitter irony that my advisors aren’t paranoid White people from whom such inner city paranoia is expected. They’re Black and convinced of the immediacy of super thug attack at any moment.

I promote what I call “Hood conservatism” in a 20 year response to conditions creatings such hesitancy. Traditional values are marketed alongside crime prevention and self-development as methods for not succumbing to what is killing the Hood from within nationwide.

My corny, unashamedly idealistic belief is super love for ourselves is more powerful than than the myth of the super thug, here in New Orleans and elsewhere.

That said, I will break up fights here; pass out water and do anything possible to contribute to a better quality of life for the local inner city. Doing less means there won’t be much left for my Hood conservatism to conserve.

“Hero or hostage in society-choose!” is one of my Capt Black slogans that nicely sums up where I stand.