BET = Higher Crime Rates?

[zeraze]

Recently, I read a Washington Post editorial about the resurgence in crime in the US.  This was one of the parts that caught my eye:

This thug ethos is spreading. It used to be that one learned how to be a gangster from another gangster. No more. Mass-market glossy magazines promote the thug life. One can learn from listening to rapper 50 Cent, or by watching music videos. And it is big business. When rapper Lil' Kim was convicted of perjury connected to a shooting by her posse, she got her own reality show on Black Entertainment Television, which promoted her intent to go to federal prison with her "mouth shut and head held high." Crips and Bloods have Web pages and profiles on MySpace.

All of this is spreading as well as amplifying the street definition of what it means to have honor. In big cities, the quest for honor reignites existing conflicts; in small ones, it brings big-city behavior and big-city problems. Working recently on Long Island with the Nassau County Police Department, my colleagues and I found Bloods, Crips -- and violence. But the gangs were homegrown, and the violence was almost entirely personal.

You can read the whole column:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/11/AR2006081101333.html

zeraze

[karaszero]

Z what's misleading about the article is there isn't a RESURGENCE of crime in the U.S. there is just more coverage particularly if whites are killed in what has previously been classified as Black on Black Crime. In D.C. there is now a City Curfew of 10pm for youth 17 and under off the street and in the house this occurred during a period where 13 black youths were murdered in a 2wk timeframe near the endof that period there were 1-2 whites who were killed and this prompted the sellout Mayor ( who spends at least 100 days out of town traveling) to enacted the curfew actually aloow me to back up the police chief issued a crime emergency only after two whites were killed

[Reginald Hudlin]

Ultimately, art reflects culture. 

'Cause there are a lot of love songs.  A countless number.

But there are more divorces than ever.

[karaszero]

Several parts of the Metropolitan DC, MD, and VA area has been overwhelmed by the presence of MS-13 murder has dramatically increased in latin communities which additionally sparked recruitment drives by local gangs fearing turf battles. The gangs held recruitment parties during school hours attracting many students who lacked direction or self esteem. For a brief period there were two teenagers one 16 and the other 19 who kidnapped other teens from School bus stops then forced the victims to Rob Banks!

[sunjata]

It seems like every form of entertainment has been blamed for street crime at some time in history.  That makes it easier for society to ignore the true roots causes of poverty, hopelessness and lack of opportunities.

[karaszero]

Aptly put and that's why our Image should always matter to us, we are painted witha broad brush i have lived in foreign countries and was astounded that while some foreigners didn't speak english they knew the word NIGGER!

[Curtis Metcalf]

Z what's misleading about the article is there isn't a RESURGENCE of crime in the U.S. there is just more coverage particularly if whites are killed in what has previously been classified as Black on Black Crime. In D.C. there is now a City Curfew of 10pm for youth 17 and under off the street and in the house this occurred during a period where 13 black youths were murdered in a 2wk timeframe near the endof that period there were 1-2 whites who were killed and this prompted the sellout Mayor ( who spends at least 100 days out of town traveling) to enacted the curfew actually aloow me to back up the police chief issued a crime emergency only after two whites were killed

Well, he does site a 5% nationwide increase in murder in 2005.  I agree, however, that there is not much evidence presented for his thesis or much real analysis.  I have seen studies that indicate that crime rates track demographics, i.e. the number of men in the prime crime age range.  I wonder if that is the real underlying cause rather than his cultural speculations.  He acts like gangster movies are a brand new thing.

I also agree that in DC, the recent well-publicized crimes committed against white folks on the Mall and in Georgetown were the precipitating events for the current curfew.  However, it appears to be a pretty popular measure.  That alone isn't enough to brand the mayor a sell-out.  I'm sure you've got more for that though. 

[karaszero]

Definately, Anthony Williams power base lies with the upper middle class/wealthy whites living in DC. Gentrification has been replaced by the military term Eminent Domain. 45% of the districts' residents (African American) are illiterate Eminent Domain is a term meaning that if the State or Local Govts need land they can annex it for their specific needs. DC just got a baseball team a couple of years ago ( formerly Montreal Expos) and MLB hijacked the district by saying the only way that we will consider placing a team in the Nations Capitol is if you build a brand new stadium we already had a stadium which was unacceptable to MLB so the DC mayor approved plans to level a section of city in SW washington along the waterfront to build this stadium, additionally, he spent millions renovating the old stadium so that the team could play there until this new stadium is built. Finally 60% of the school bldgs in DC are in such bad shape that they should be condemned toilets that don't work, windows which do not open, ceilings falling in on students, no air for the summer and no heat for the winter the list goes on and on. the poor and disenfranchised are encouraged to migrate to the MD or VA suburbs creating havoc in previously calm neghborhoods

[Curtis Metcalf]

Well, just for the sake of discussion, I'll raise the following counterpoints. 

Regarding baseball, a new stadium was one of the up-front conditions for placing the team in DC.  Although the wisdom of taking the deal is certainly debateable, MLB didn't misrepresent the situation or hold a gun to the city council.  The mayor was definitely a backer but the city council made the decision.

As for the schools, they are under the jurisdiction of the board of education, not the mayor.  The mayor's bid to gain control of the school system was defeated in the city council.  I agree that the schools are jacked, it's just hard to lay that at his feet.

As to the 45% illiteracy rate, is that right?  Dayum.

[karaszero]

That is abominable  that the schools function that way . I lay the majority of the problems at the Mayors' feet because the city is under his stewardship but as he is routinely out of town on a variety of trips for multiple puposes he finds out about situations and events after the fact. the major reason for the bad deal concerning MKB was due to the bad deal the mayor made the city council had no choice but to go along with most of the deal as it was presented to them because the mayor had already given away most of the bargaining chips DC possessed there were no other cities on the table that were geographically considered instant Gold mine and MLB knew it but they were arrogant and not used to being questioned business interests (Local, Federal, Lobbyist) all made their desire for this thing to happen very palpable so the council played what cards it had in order to have political careers after this , keep in mind some of the poorest wards in the city do not have grocery stores in them residents have to travel by bus or cab to other parts of the city to shop

[Curtis Metcalf]

One of the major problems with DC is the ridiculous government structure.  DC is essentially a city, state, and congressional protectorate all at the same time.  I basically agree with you about baseball -- DC could have gotten more out of it.  There is plenty of blame to go around including the council.  Some of the members who supported the baseball deal got voted out of office almost immediately after. 

I also agree that the school situation is tragic. 

I am not really a Tony Williams defender but I will say that I think on the whole his legacy will be positive.  I mean, when he took over, DC city government was the butt of many jokes -- Marion Barry was his predecessor -- and DC was under the power of the control board.  That said, it's probably time for him to go.  Apparently, he agrees.

[karaszero]

Well williams is forever linked to Barry in that it was Barry who brought him into Govt However, Sharon Pratt Kelly was a mayor who hired a majority light-skinned women in her administration and was ridiculed at every opportunity for doing so. Barry is crucified all the time and his failures as a man/office holder are blurred to the point that a casual read of DC would lead anyone to think that he did no good which isn't true he would consistently pressure/cajole local and federal businesses to provide summer/winter jobs for teens he paid attention to  the impoverished wards of the city and cut through alot of bureacratic red tape to solve problems and to this day although as Mayor he lived in a very beautiful part of the city now as a councilman he lives in one of the worst parts of the city and has/is fighting to bring a grocery store to the area .now that being said he did embarras us with that crackhead shiggity!

[Curtis Metcalf]

now that being said he did embarras us with that crackhead shiggity!

And got re-elected after the "Bitch set me up!" debacle (a fact that still stikes me as incredible, and I'm from East St. Louis and thus no stranger to political absurdity).  As I recall, it was the series of scandals and financial misdeeds during his last term that led directly to the creation of the Control Board stripping the DC government of almost all its power. 

As for his overall legacy, that one is beyond me.  I hope somebody does that justice someday.  Talk about your complicated messes.

[karaszero]

I was living in japan and I heard some of the stories and just shook my head Lawd what's he done did now? LOL about the drama in St Louis been through there a few times nice peeps!

[zeraze]

It seems like every form of entertainment has been blamed for street crime at some time in history.  That makes it easier for society to ignore the true roots causes of poverty, hopelessness and lack of opportunities.

Since I started this thread, it's time for me to weigh in.

Sunjata, you reflect my own feelings that you can't blame just popualr entertainment like BET for any spike in crime.  If that were true, I'd be a mass murderer since I grew up watching plenty of hyperviolent action flicks starring Sly Stallone, Ahnuld, and Clint Eastwood. 

The things that really contribute to criminal activity are lack of strong family support (which instills and reinforces morality) and easily accessible opportunities to be something other than a thug.  Interestingly, the column I linked to above acknowledges this:

Tragically, the code of the street -- and the community disorganization and disenfranchisement on which it thrives -- has been helped along by law enforcement. Profligate arrests and incarcerations, many aimed at drugs, have destroyed the village in order to save it. As crime has dropped, zealous enforcement has continued. A staggering 2 million people are now incarcerated in the United States, and about 5 million are on probation and parole. They disproportionately come from -- and return to -- the same neighborhoods. The Justice Policy Institute recently determined that a shocking 52 percent of Baltimore's black men ages 20 to 29 were incarcerated, on probation or on parole; nationally, the lifetime chance of a black man being locked up is one in three.

This enforcement breaks up families; it ruins the prospects of young people who now have little reason to finish school and take entry-level jobs, and of older people who find themselves virtually unemployable; it creates a street culture in which prison is normal and even valued; and it plays directly into community narratives that equate law enforcement and the white community with slaveholders and other historical oppressors. The "stop snitching" culture that recently made headlines has been brewing for decades, reflecting a conviction on the part of many that law enforcement is a racist enemy -- even though staying silent means protecting violent predators.

This is why I have mixed feelings about the crime emergency that is going on in my home of DC.  Besides the fact the emergency was declared after a White British guy is killed in Georgetown, I think that the DC Council overall wants to look "macho" by pushing for more cops without tackling the underlying causes of crime in the city.  When you have cops saying on camera that better parenting would be a more effective deterrent, you have to ask if this emergency is motivated by a cynical attempt to boost poll numbers.

zeraze