(ThyBlackMan.com) We cannot police hopelessness and despair!
There are those who are angered and surprised by the violence of urban “Flash Mobs” (quickly forming groups of young people using technology to organize), especially crowds of young Black men, descending on mostly White, affluent downtown American cities. However, if we analyze this phenomenon, it is not so surprising. In fact, it is highly predictable. While there is no justification for young Black men to rob and beat people of any race, the activities of flash mobs are easily understandable in the context of recent social history and current economic conditions.
Most of these young men are poor, desperate and hopeless. They come from broken families and broken communities. They hav
Predictive factors for young Black males participating in the activities of violent flash mobs in Chicago are shown by recent data:
- This summer, 90% of young Black men in Chicago between 16 and 19 years old are unemployed.
- Only 44% of Black males graduate with a high school diploma from Chicago public schools.
- Only three out of 100 Black boys who start kindergarten in the Chicago Public Schools earn a bachelors degree by age 25.
- 70% of Black children in America are born into and live in single, female-headed households that are usually impoverished.
- Black males are 6% of Illinois’ population but they represent 60% of the state’s prison population.
The power and strength of a flash mob are in its large number of congregants and in its ability to assemble quickly and to disband equally as fast. The word “flash” is an allusion to social media — texting, smart phones Twitter and Facebook. Flash media, an effective tool for organizing a social cause, is the same media that brought down the government of Egypt. Now inner-city youth are using this same media, but instead of toppling governments, they “topple” Macy’s, Neiman Marcus and Old Navy, and they steal IPads and IPhones from defenseless citizens.
The message from the flash mob to us is even more threatening than the mob itself. That message is, “You can’t control us! You don’t scare us! Your police don’t scare us! Your prisons don’t scare us! We are mightier than you! We will take what you have because you have given us few other options in life for earning similar things. And most importantly, we will take your peace of mind. Just as we in our communities cannot ever feel secure, now neither can you! We are more afraid of continuing to live our lives as they are than we are of you locking us up. What do we have to lose? For once, we are more powerful than you!”
Flash mobs are not new. In Black communities across America for the past 30 years, large groups of Black males have attacked others. In the past few years, jobless, desperate, hopeless youth have rioted in France, Greece, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Tunisia, and Egypt in efforts eerily similar to America’s flash mobs, but on a much larger scale and with politically clear motives and demands. These youth have taken over business districts, cities and countries and they have destroyed billions of dollars in property while toppling governments. The same root causes for these youth riots and disturbances in Europe and Northern Africa are producing similar actions, and possibly similar politically conscious attitudes, in the youth of Chicago, New York City, Charlotte, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia and other American cities.
Politicians and the police are working under the false and dangerous assumption that hopelessness and despair can be policed. The police are out-numbered and out-maneuvered in this battle of minds, spirits, bodies and technology. Even as thirty-three flash mobbers were arrested in Chicago this past week, the communities in Chicago were producing a thousand more potential flash mobbers to replace them. When Black boys are not reading at grade level by the third grade, we are creating conditions for a flash mob. When Black teenagers cannot find meaningful work, we are creating conditions for a flash mob. When young Black boys do not have suitable role models and mentors, we are creating conditions for a flash mob.
The best way to deter a violent flash mob is to stop it from forming. The best time to stop it from forming is when the potential congregants are 2 and 3 years old, not when they are 16, 20 and 30 years old. The best weapons against flash mobs are jobs, not police with guns; education, not incarceration; and positive guidance and direction, not threats or curses. Can flash mobs be stopped? Absolutely. Is America working properly to stop them? Absolutely not.
Welcome to the year 2011 where ethics, sociology, economics, criminology, politics and technology cross! The flash mobbers are trying to tell us, “You can’t stop us, but with your help, we can stop ourselves!”
Written By Phillip Jackson
Founder and Executive Director
The Black Star Project
3509 South King Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60653
773.285.9600 office
312.771.1010 cell
Blackstar1000@ameritech.net
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Some people on here are blaming the condition on black people on slavery. Well that was ashame, but what are you doing now?
Jews are doing just find and they have been persecuted more than any other group.
Besides, the blacks ruled by blacks in africa aren't doing any better. As long as you blame someone else for your problems you will never take the effort to improve your situation.
Dealing with this is simple: put a couple shotgun shells or machine gun bursts or a few puffs from a flame thrower into these mobs and all of this will stop real fast.
Anything that does not kill you makes you stronger.
I see alot of posts about itchy trigger fingers and negative criticism. My mom taught me to not say anything if I have nothing nice to say. "The angry African American" flash mobs are simply getting even. Think about it, remember when white flash mobs were in style they would terrorize us and beat on our people. I figure 398 more years we should be even right?
I am a dark green male nineteen years of age. Please stop passing judgement on lifestyles some of you will never understand. "Flashmobs" are made up of African Americans,white,yellow,...etc. white teenagers may stay in school a tad bit longer. Kudos, but most of the white race is fat and sloppy. I'm sure statistics would support, also white men are famous for rape and child molestation. Be very careful addressing an entire race especially African Americans. Get your coffe mug out of your ass we are not perfect neither are you. If your not part of the solution your part of the problem remember that. Also if you shoot unarmed citizens it will not go over looked. So fuck you, keep your comments online and Your weapons in your holster we just want nice clothes and shoes for free. maybe we should organize to correct alot of white bullshit but then there would be another problem. My last point before I finish my homework, let's but 50 white men and 50 white women who only Speak,read,and write in the most confusing language in the world(English) on a boat. Let us go somewhere were their is only "Black" people who speak who speak multiple languages(no English). Well white people don't make good slaves because they are weak and extremely lazy so they would make us look even better, let's fast forward 20 years the 50 white women had 25 kids these children grew up in a place that they don't belong or understand these are the people that will naturally resist everything the kidnapping party has to say or offer them. Let's fast forward 20 more years the white population has expanded the rebels incarcerated people who speak up are killed or beaten and the cycle goes on. Now everything is supposed to be ok? No apology, reparations. Fuck you, we adapted and overcame and now they cowards sit behind a keyboard you bring disease everywhere you go. Your calendar is fucked up your arithmetic is not your own and your language is fucking pathetic. You steal our money and try to keep us in disillusion read a fucking accurate history book we are the original people we are god among men but you do everything possible to try an make us forget.
400 years of:
1. Slavery
2. Raping our black women
3. Selling off our black children and breaking up black families (Slave Master)
4. Calling us the N-word
5. Intentionally making it harder for black men to be employed
---Fact: A white man WITH A FELONY can get hired easier than a black man with a college degree and NO FELONY!
6. The white slave masters had so many children by black slave women he could not count, but the black man had to take care of his WIFE's half-white by MASSA!
Let's do a little test:
---Let's capture 600 MILLION white people and kill over 100 MILLION of them on the slave ships like they killed us.
Then, let's use them as a source of free labor for 400 years.
Finally, in the year 2412, 400 years from now, let's how well the white race in AMERICA is doing!
White Americans have no right to say anything about blacks being unemployed, because the slaves worked EVERYDAY, 24/7, and STILL DIED POOR!
Don't pretend that hard work pays in America! Smart work pays!
I am a black man who is educated, but I still face racism in my profession.
These young men are wrong for doing violence, NO DOUBT, but,
don't act like the white race is better than us, because if they had to go through HALF of the Bull**it we had and still have to go through,
THEY WOULD GO JUMP OFF A BRIDGE!
Oh, and by the way:
I like President Obama, but he is also HALF-WHITE and his grandmother who raised him was white, and his mother was white.
You can't excuse poor parents having more kids than they can afford...That's really the bottom line, why have so many children if you can't take care of them? You are basically putting them through Hell and one day they will end up dead over something as stupid as being in a flash mob...If they can use a computer to track down flash mob locations, then they sure aren't all that poor.
Quit trying to provide any justification for this behaviour. I hate sad, poor me stories. I grew up as poor as possible. We often had a hard time getting food and even water (had an old shallow well that my father fixed regularly). We did not have a television until I was about 11 years old. We NEVER-EVER recieved government assistance. My father and mother worked their tails off. I was at church every week and we lived a clean life. I worked on a farm from about age 13. I was always at school or working a job. I graduated and went to college. My undergrad years I was a bit of a social outcast due to my finances. Med school changed that and now I am respected. I give that respect back to all my patients and care for everyone of them. QUIT BLAMING SOCIETY. YOU AND ONLY YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OUTCOME. America does not owe you anything. I don't owe you anything. Work hard, lead a respectful life (i suggest god/church), and raise your kids!
Articles like this, that tell a young black man that he has a right to behave badly due to his circumstances, are one of the reasons the culture is held down. This whole article is nothing more than one giant excuse and the same one that has been used year after year. When is the black community going to take a stand and rise themselves up. If you keep waiting on the government to do it for you then expect things to get worse, not better. And I can tell you this... if these black mobs continue to rise with violence expect retaliation at some point. Do you really think whitey is going to sit back and allow this for long? Not to mentions those black youths are setting the culture back years every time it happens. These are the facts. Stop making excuses. It is what it is. Solve the problem with the tools you have been given. The rest of society is tired of hearing the complaining and not doing. If I were a young black man that could not find work the first thing I would do is move to a mostly white liberal area and force my way into their world one smile at a time. I would get educated. I would not give up. I would not keep beating the same drum expecting different results. If my surrounding community is one of poverty I would get out from the flock and shine elsewhere.
It all comes down to being lazy and having a false sense of entitlement. No one owes any of these clowns a thing. They are violent and lazy by race. Always will be. Proof is in the pudding. I dont care what job statistics are out there. I can get five jobs within a day with no college degree. They might not be the best paying jobs but who knows, maybe if I work my ass off I might be promoted one day and get a nice pay, but they would rather be "sleepy". They want everything given to them. I work my two jobs just so I dont end up like these people. Not because I want to but because I need to afford to live in an area where I dont see any of these zombies