The Hard Truth – Is stupidity the answer?

23rd January 2012   ·   0 Comments

By Min. J. Kojo Livingston
Contributing Columnist

Political Principle #376: STRA­TEGIC OUTRAGE — Politicians only become “outraged” when they have concluded that it will be good for their image or offer some other benefit. Otherwise, they really don’t give a damn what happens to average people.

When Mayor Mitch Landrieu declares on camera that he is “sick” of the violence you know he’s not sincere. But you need not have memorized my “Book of Politics.” Just use common sense. What serious moves are being made to address the causes of the problem?

When you have an outbreak of murders, fear can cancel out reason. The result? You have a Black elected official calling for the National Guard to come in to restore peace to New Orleans.

You mean the same National Guard that abandoned, and then terrorized Black people after Katrina? The same National Guard that forcibly separated parents from their children and then sent them out on busses in different directions? The same national guard that pointed guns in the faces of people like 93-year-old Virginia Collins, telling them to shut the f—- up, all because they asked where the bus was going? The same National Guard that people watched as they looted homes in Black neighborhoods?

THAT National Guard?

THEY’RE going to restore peace to New Orleans? Really? Do you honestly believe that or is that just a good political thing to do? Is this just another case of a politician using the suffering of the people to boost his image?

What would a person who is really sincere do about the violence? First, they would be trying to identify the reason, cause or source of the violence. Yes, I know racist/conservatives and Blacks who are cognitively-challenged think that you should not try to identify a cause, just start jailing and killing folks, that’ll fix it. Their angry, emotional response to everything demands a quick, simple explanation or solution even if it’s one that never works.

Those who try to understand what’s causing violence, crime or other social ills are often accused of being “soft on crime” or “making excuses” for people who do wrong or fail in life. These people cannot discern the difference between a reason and an excuse. They are took dim-witted to understand the distinction between seeking a cause and making a justification. When a baby cries, you are not “making an excuse” for the noise when you try to find out why. The only intelligent thing to do to is to find the cause of the behavior so that it can be addressed.

Louisiana has never been “soft” on crime. In fact the state of Louisiana leads the U.S. in incarceration, while the U.S. leads the world. Has it worked? Hell naw! This state still has two cities in the top 10 of the most violent cities in the nation.

While the emotional, angry approach is popular, only an intelligent, reasoned approach will bring any real or lasting change. But a change is not what everyone really wants in this situation. Not everyone wants to see the violent “thug” become a responsible, contributing member of society. A lot of people benefit from the violence and crime…as long as it is contained to the Black community.

When you see the state government promoting a growing and increasingly privatized prison industry you should be concerned. When you see the same state government rapidly shrinking its financial commitment to public education at all levels, you should put two and two together and get angry at the system that has instituted a new form of slavery.

The real outrage is there are people in New Orleans who know how to reduce violence but the Mitch Landrieus of this world won’t be found financing or supporting them. He knows that feeding into hysteria will gain him more political ground than really trying to solve the problem. He and others already know that martial law is not the answer.

In New Orleans, as in other cities, the Black community is on its own. The best that any level of this government will offer us is the incarceration or elimination of our own children.

Within our own communities we have the knowledge, skill and resources to reach out to those who have become a danger to their own kind and show them a better way. In our neighborhoods, right now, we have the ability to create programs and even systems that will provide quality education, a wholesome cultural environment and a good, legal income for our own people.

All we have to do is come off the couch and make it happen.

So, Whatchagonna DO?

This article was originally published in the January 23, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper