Want To Bet? No One Will Act!
Want To Bet? Those words were the last sentence in Bob Braun of the Star Ledger’s column in this morning’s paper. That question refers to his opinion that nothing will change in Newark, even with the execution style killings of Dashon Harvey, Iofemi Hightower, and Terrence Aeriel. Braun says Newark is “a city neglected by the state for as long as I’ve worked there, and that comes close to 50 years. We build interstate highways around Newark to avoid seeing it and its people. We allow its property taxes to become confiscatory, and then complain about the city’s shabbiness. We allow it’s school to become useless warehouses of children until the state takes over – and then the state itself fails, so now talks of giving up”. In my opinion, Braun hits the nail right on the head. Newark’s problems don’t just consist of violence, but rather it consists of a host of different factors. Violence and crime is the after effect of all the ineffectiveness that takes place from the school system to the economic infrastructure. Newark is a nest egg of inconsistent “criminal” behavior that does not put anyone in jail. The failure to pay a large number our teenagers for the entire month of July and the first week of August is one of those criminal acts that goes unpunished every day in Newark, and we wonder why our children decide to sell drugs for money. Braun agrees, stating “We send our jobs overseas and wonder why so many young men are idle – the unemployment rate among black teenagers is 40 percent, not much better among Hispanic youngster”. And kids like these who have no jobs are the young individuals who were involved in the grotesque acts that occur August 4, 2007.
“We think an arts center and a stadium and a Starbucks represent a Renaissance, when what is really needed are jobs, health care and housing”. Newark, NJ is crying hard and loud and everyone is listening to a different tune. Many will forget the names of these young adults who were slaughtered much like the 160 before them over the past 18 months. We’ll go about our daily chores and meanderings until another 8-year-old is shot, or until another young promising life is stopped short. The New Jersey Devils, a hot latte, and a dance troupe will not ease the suffering of Newark’s poor minority population. Those Saturday night events and sports are simply entertainment to sidetrack the fact that no one really cares. As long as it looks like someone is doing something to make progress, then that’s all that counts. Baltimore has the Orioles and the Ravens; Detroit has the Tigers, Red Wings, Lions, and Pistons, yet these two cities like Newark are still among the most dangerous in the country. Renaissance is French for “rebirth” and is defined as the revival of learning and culture. What has Newark learned over the past forty years since the 67 riots? Where is the rich culture that was once Newark? Where is the Newark that Council President Mildred Crump spoke about on My 9 News’ show “Real Talk”?
That Newark seems to be buried under hardships, unease and broken promises by politicians looking to add more impressive markings to their resume. To police officers who would rather harass than help the citizens that they are supposed to protect. Under a desensitized public who is afraid to stand up for their rights because their street is cascaded with drugs and thugs who care nothing for the quality of human life. People have certain inalienable rights that cannot be taken away and should not be surrendered to mindless hoodlums, or to the government who has sworn to protect them and ensure that their rights are preserved. Martial law and the suspension of civil liberties is not the answer to the problem that plagues Newark. I can understand the sentiment of Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura, but if his intense feelings were allowed to prevail as police policy, then it would cause more harm then good. Racial tension would be at an all-time high, and teens would feel more abandoned then they do now.
Frankly, we need tough action, and for people to stand up like Ghandi, Jesus, Martin, Malcolm, the hippies of the 1960s, the college students of the Vietnam War, William Wallace, and John F. Kennedy who decided to “go-against-the-grain”. To retreat from the common thought of the masses for the benefit of the entire population. Most of these people were killed for their decision to be different or jailed and or doused by hire-pressured fire hoses. Yet, they got their message across and those images still ring true years after they made their mark.
Remember last summer? Do you remember who Brielle Simpkins, Eric Jackson, and Sandra Belush were? That horror was pretty much forgotten by the time Terrence Aeriel, Iofemi Hightower, and Dashon Harvey were killed. How long before those names will be forgotten, too? Lot of huffing and puffing Guys in law enforcement who can’t keep guns from the city want to suspend the Constitution. Grab a headline while the outrage is high. And, worse, lots of talk now about how this particular set of murders – so cold-blooded, happening to good kids- will change things”. Bob Braun and Ameer Washington ask together. Want to bet?