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| One of many peaceful protests against racism (NBC) |
The question is, will these protests – as massive and ongoing
as they are - change anything?
I wish I could be as optimistic as some political commentators
seem to be. Which is that what is happening now is so different from anything else we have ever seen - it will surely end racism But I am a realist. I don’t think it will change the hearts and minds
of all that many people.
Unfortunately too many people are still going harbor the
biases they have always had. This is not to say that the vast majority of
Americans don’t sympathize with the message. I believe they do. I’m absolutely
certain that Black lives do matter to most people. Most people believe that the American motto of liberty and justice for all should apply equally to all
Americans regardless of skin color. Espeically when it comes to law enforcement. Which
has fallen far short of that principle in far too many cases. The latest of
which was the murder of a black suspect by a white Minnesota cop.
Police departments must be color blind. People carrying guns in
order to enforce the law have an increased responsibility to be just. But all
the protest in the world is not going to change the underlying racism (some of it overt, some of it covert, and some of it even subliminal) that has
existed for generations. Even though they
might believe in treating everyone equally in theory, in practice it doesn’t
always work out that way. And when the police are involved, it can easily
become deadly.
However, being color blind in light of centuries of prejudice and discrimination makes that virtually impossible. As unfair as this is, I believe it
is a reality. The best we can hope for in the short term is legislation to
prevent individual prejudices from influencing behavior. Especially when it
comes to law enforcement. That legislation should include serious consequences
for those that violate those new laws. No more equivocating. No more excuses.
No more ‘they were just doing their jobs’. Just swift action with punishments
that fit the particulars of each discriminatory act.
That is the short term solution. But that is obviously not
enough. I don’t think it needs to be said that the color of a person’s skin has
no intrinsic significance. Intelligence, ethics and morality have zero to do
with the race. The propensity to be kind or violent has nothing to do with skin
color either. Same thing with following or violating the law. However
because of entrenched biases - that is a lot easier to say that than to put it into
practice.
There has to sea change in attitudes by the American public.
Attitudes that are influenced by the nightly local news that features the death
and destruction going on in inner city neighborhoods that are predominately
black.
That can only come about if the culture of inner city black neighborhoods
changes. It is a culture of poverty that places little value on education. Although
there are many exceptions, it is not secret that education is not a high
priority in those neighborhoods. Generations of poverty accompanied by images
of financial success of the drug dealers and other criminals in those
neighborhoods make education seem like a big waste of time. Especially when it
was poorly executed in those neighborhoods.
How did they get to be that way? The problem is the fault of
a centuries old racism that began by seeing black people as subhuman. Even
though attitudes have changed over time, to some extent it lingered and carried
over into a lack of opportunity for inner city blacks to be given a decent
education. That in turn created a devaluation of education there. The combination of
poverty and the proliferation of criminals (like drug dealers) that became
wealthy and flaunted their wealth made that an attractive way to pull some of
them out of that poverty. Meanwhile the education provided to inner cities schools was - to put it mildly - terrible.
It is true that there is a substantial and growing community
of middle class blacks. A great many of whom come from inner city neighborhoods
and somehow managed to overcome the type of antipathy to education so many
others in their neighborhoods had. But
the culture of devaluing education and poverty that breeds violent crime is
still there – to be witnessed every night on the local TV newscast. The high
murder rate in Chicago is more or less limited to gang wars in those
neighborhoods
A culture that breeds crime does not excuse it. It just
explains it. As noted, inner city schools are notorious for not providing much of an
education to its local residents. It should be no surprise that the lack of
confidence in public school education has bred a culture of poverty and crime. Which
influences how many people generally think about the people that populate that culture: inner
city blacks.
I think it is fear rather than racism that makes even
good people treat inner city black people as second class citizens. My guess is
that the successful black people exemplified by former President Barack Obama
are seen as equals by the vast majority of Americans. If that were not the
case, he could have never been elected. Twice.
But the image a Black ghetto youth paints is entirely
different picture than the picture Black people like the ex President paint. Even those ghetto
youth that do not turn to crime and are as ethical and moral as any
white, will still be looked at with the prejudice. That is an unfortunate reality which is
exacerbated by the nightly news. There is a reason why many years ago, civil
rights leader, Jesse Jackson was relieved to see a white man following him in a
dark alley one night – instead of a black man.
All the protests in the world are not going to wipe away
decades of prejudice perpetuated by societal indifference, government
incompetence, which are exacerbated by the nightly newscasts.
It will take decades. There may not be that kind of change we
would like to see for an entire generation. But we can do it.
It is not going to be done by continuing the mistakes of the
past. Pouring more money into public schools that don’t work will not solve
anything. Educational indifference is by now pretty entrenched in the inner
city. Changing that attitude should be
the ultimate goal. But we can’t start there.
Instead of trying to academically educate people that have
no interest in the Pythagorean theorem, public education money would in the
short term be better spent on vocational education. In my view that is the best
hope for an eventual paradigm change. This does not mean we eliminate academic study.
There are still plenty of black people in the inner city that understand its
value and want to be able to access it. But that are too many people there that
don’t. Making their mandatory attendance in those schools a waste of time.
By focusing on vocational skills, there is a far greater
chance poverty and crime can be reduced.
Many inner city residents will be able to become productive citizens and
find jobs that will enable them to support their families without turning to a
life of crime. Which some now see as a way out.
An infusion of money into vocation training will result in an infusion
of hope into that culture.
At the same time there must also be a crackdown on crime in
those neighborhoods. Even though it is the culture that has created the crime,
it is still crime. The safety of the
residents of those neighborhoods is paramount. Chicago has more murders than
just about any other major city. But it takes place almost entirely where the
gangs hang out. Which is in those mostly black inner city neighborhoods. Too many innocent children have been shot and killed by a stray bullet meant for a rival
gang member.
Any criminal convicted of a crime using a gun should be given
a stiff prison sentence. Unfortunately the judicial system (at least here in Chicago)
is guilty of ‘revolving door’ justice. Violent criminals are all too often
given light sentences allowing them to get back to the streets quickly and
continue their violent criminal activities. That has to end. A culture where
crime is seen as highly profitable has to be changed to one that sees it as a guaranteed ticket
to substantial prison time.
Law and order should not be a cliché commandeered by
conservative Republicans. It ought be sought by all of us. The police must be
supported – even while ridding them of all prejudice. Or at least ridding them of acting on it.
The best way to protect black people living in the inner city is to assign those
neighborhoods to black cops. The idea that all police are supposed to treat
black or white criminals the same is a policy which has now all too often been proven not to exist in practice among white cops. An all black police presence
in those neighborhoods will go a long way to prevent another George Floyd.
These are my thoughts as I continue to watch the now mostly peaceful protests.
