by Ken Walker
Where Do we go from here?
August 7, 2007
There has been an infestation of violence over the last week culminating into the gruesome mafioso style murder of 3 college students and wounding of another. I for one never a Booker supporter believe this not to be directly related to the Mayor. I do however he receives the blame for his own actions. The people of America Newark,NJ residents included believe what you say. He said he would clean up the crime and he hasn’t. Yet I digress this is not a rant about the Mayor. I am writing to wonder no one blames themselves. I will almost guarantee there will be one person after these cowardly murderers are caught who will cry because they can’t believe he could do such a thing. I wonder where were the tears of disapointment in ourselves as a society and community that continues to raise excuse me refuse to raise our children then stand back and be appalled when they are accused of horrid things.
I know that drugs wiped out almost a whole generation of parents, but when do we take responsibility. I say the next time a 16 year old boy shoots some one lock his mother up as long as he gets. If he failed as a member of society she failed as a parent and she be responsible. I know that sounds irrational and it probably is. I just think it is far time we as parents,men,women a people accept responsibilty instead of passing the blame. In all the only real weapon Mayor Booker has is the police and since we are not only severely understaffed but over budget it has become a hard task to select more officers.
I am a Newark lover and I know that most of the youth required to be police officers don’t like police officers. The problem remains that if the city brings in recruits who doon’t reside in Newark we face the problem that they may see Newark as a problem area and treat the residents as such. I propose going down to the unemployment office or the welfare office with the requirements to be a cop. I know it won’t bring in a thousand but maybe a couple more Newark residents. I know that is a flawed plan but it may be a start if it hasn’t already be done.
The issue at hand is the handling of our children and the possible death of our humanity. I knowthat is harsh humanity but when we kill each other like animals what else would you call it. We as a people need to dig deep and realize we can critique as many people as we want but remember. People who live in a paper house aren’t safe when it rains.
This of course is not an attack on your pondering about how to solve the issue of how to correct this violent behavior in teenagers. But at what age then do we say teens (who we sometimes call “kids”) have to take responsibility for their actions. In my personal life, my father died when I was a year old and I never really looked up to another man in my life. My mother was a great mom, and that’s a big part of the reason that I turned out well, but she passed when I was 16 and I’ve been without both parents for 8 years. And while I had a aunt who cared for me (providing a loving home and meals); I worked during my teens years and if my job paid enough at the time I could have lived alone and faired quite well; and probably could have effectively taken care of my older brother and two younger sisters. Not to mention, we grew up on Stratford Place and anyone who lives in the South, Central, and West Wards know about the infamy of that block. Drugs, shootings, stabbings, robberies and has or had the highest crime per capita for one block in the entire country. I am a youth development professional, my brother drive for Greyhound, one of my sisters is a Newark Police Officer and my youngest sister is going into her final year of college, studying education.
While we had a good mother, we did not at all have it great, being on welfare while my mother didn’t work, wearing hand me down clothes, etc. However, we had choices living on Stratford Place. We could have went and sold drugs and made easy money to get the name brand clothes and “hot sneakers or boots”, but we decided to go a different route. A 0-9 year old, 10,11,12, 13, maybe even 14 year old could be so impressionable. But even in Newark, many people know right from wrong, and 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19-year-old people have a choice of how they’d like to lead their lives. The owe ness is on them to determine the course they prefer to take. A parent can’t point you in the right direction, but you have to decide to choose the right direction. I do not at all take any blame away from parents. You are correct to put the blame on the parents. From the time that child is born until they are a particular age; the parent should work feverishly to make sure their child has the best opportunities and chances possible. But eventually that control is lost when a child turns 13 years or so, and in some cases a lot earlier; and many parents become lost because each person develops differently socially.
I like to use a saying that some people are thrown off by, but it is very true. “If I really wanted to, I could have never listened to my mother, slapped her, cursed her, and did what I wanted to do.” While for me the consequences behind such actions were not an intelligent course to take (losing a home, having to find food, fend for myself, etc). For many of these youngsters, they just don’t care because the glamour of new sneakers and street credibility is more important. Sadly, they have become a large portion of the criminal element and they too must be eradicated without sympathy. The truth of the matter is, whether you are a positive or negative person, life’s lessons must be learned through personal experiences and when the sentence of 25 years to life comes down, they have gotten all the experience they need but then it is too late. They call that “the hard way”.
And of course, people have to stand up and say “we don’t want this anymore”. But the fear is that not only are you not safe, but when the trial comes along; you have gang members starring at you with murderous intent. How often do we read the stories about witnesses being found dead or tortured or beaten into submission? That is a lack of effective police protection programs. For standing for justice and righteousness you end up starring down the barrel of a gun. All across this country people feel that there is no justice system, they feel corruption, and they feel that their voice just does not matter. Newark is not the only city with this gruesome murder right. We probably have one of the longest track records for such violence after the 67 riots especially. But this country has a serious problem. We murder so many people every year in America. Philadelphia had 234 people dead and counting as I write this and like Newark someone may have been shot yesterday. We have to ask if our local, state, and federal governments really care about the wellbeing as citizens of this fine nation. And that’s not just black people, but white, Chinese, Mexican, native, Hindu, and all the likes of people who make up the human populace. Maybe it will take a new Malcolm, Martin, Ghandi, Jesus, or someone of like mind and spirit who is prepared to lay down their life for the cause of life preservation. However I am reading this book called “The Biology of Transcendence” by Joseph Chilton Pearce; Author of “The Crack in the Cosmic Egg”. In his book he says; “Why, with a history so rich in noble ideals and lofty philosophies that reach for the transcendent, do we exhibit such abominable behaviors? Our violence toward ourselves and the planet is an issue that overshadows and makes a mockery of all our high aspirations?
This is really the primordial question that we must ask. We are the most evolved and intelligent group of human beings in the history of Earth according to science, and over the centuries, we have concocted more ways to kill more people faster than the last.
I concur with you I myself grew up in Newark under harsh conditions. I grew up and down 6th ave and Orange St. I just feel at some point parents do have to accept responsibility. Your child is who you raise them to be in a lot of occasions. We have to decide what is a child and what is not. A 15-17 year old is an adult in our neighborhoods but in affluent neighborhoods they are teenagers and are treated as such. I have been working to feed myself since 15 that made me a stronger person but that is not ideals conditions. I am 24 and have been out of my mothers home for 8 years there are things you miss out on. You and I may not have traveled that path or maybe just have been strong enough to persevere but there are many who see it as the path because thats what your family biological or created does. I just believe parents should take more responsibilty for there children and in turn for themselves.