Black Teen Murders See Sharp Jump
[Photo by Sean Stewart, Harrisburg Patriot-News]
Another proud legacy of the Bush era:
WASHINGTON -- Murders of African-American teenagers have risen 39% since 2000 and 2001, according to a report due out Monday..
Homicides in which blacks ages 14 to 17 years old were the victims rose to 927 over the two-year period of 2006-07, the last years for which statistics are available, compared with 666 during 2000-01, according to the study by criminal-justice professors at Boston's Northeastern University. The 39% increase is much greater than the rise in overall homicides, which jumped 7.4% from 2000-01 to 2006-07.
Murders rose among black teens in 2006 and 2007 as overall homicides dropped compared with the previous year. And the 2000-07 rate of increase among black teens was more than twice the rate of increase among white teens, the study found.
The authors explained that they compared two-year periods to try to limit a statistical skewing of the numbers that might have occurred if they had simply looked at differences in 2000 and 2007.
The data confirm a pattern identified earlier this year by The Wall Street Journal, which found that while most communities in the U.S. were seeing a decline in homicides, many African-American neighborhoods were continuing to see an increase. The Northeastern University research shows that the pattern is more pronounced among juveniles.
James Alan Fox, co-author of the study, attributed the numbers to a variety of issues, including cuts in funding for local law-enforcement programs that were credited with lowering the nation's record murder rates in the 1990s. "It's hard to pin down cause and effect," Mr. Fox said.
An overwhelming proportion of the killings involve black-on-black crime. The reasons for high rates of violence in African-American communities have been the subject of debate among criminologists. Some attribute it to the migration of prison culture, with large numbers of incarcerated young men returning to their communities.
Mr. Fox said the cuts in law-enforcement programs and activities geared toward youth disproportionately affect African-Americans because they are more likely than their white counterparts to come from communities where there is inadequate adult supervision, high rates of single-parent homes, inferior schools and widespread gang activity.
"Cuts in support for youth have a much greater impact on black families who don't have alternatives," Mr. Fox said.
This is one of the reasons why the proposed library closings in Philadelphia are being so strongly protested. These are neighborhoods that don't have much to begin with, and kids need a place to go.
"These are neighborhoods that don't have much to begin with, and kids need a place to go."
"Are there no prisons, no workhouses?"
It's all that rap music, freely available guns have nothing to do with all these shootings.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
And the video games!
I blame the video games!
I'm sure that Clinton can share in the blame somehow.
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/nonsequitur
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
pretty much sums it all up.
Proof that we still have a long way to go...
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
Imagine having an administration that ridiculed community organizers in power now.
That would be a nightmare.
....but he left out the many horrible examples the older generations in these communities set for these kids. And I'm not talking about some simple, boastful clown with nice clothes, a car, and a little money in his pocket with nothing relevant to say. Here in Chicago I always make sure that I conduct myself in a decent, humble, respectful manor because the kids I work with are constantly watching my every move.
The thing I admire most about Obama is his calmness under pressure and the way he seems to think things out before reacting. That demeanor is such a powerful display for young African-Americans to see.
"The thing I admire most about Obama is his calmness under pressure and the way he seems to think things out before reacting. That demeanor is such a powerful display for young African-Americans to see."
His demeanor is a powerful display for all of us to see and try to emulate. I know I am trying to take some pages from his book.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Obama's cool is a good example for all of us. It's just that violence starts with a mentality, and here in Chicago many members of MY generation of African Americans do not set the proper example for these kids to see.
The Corporate Government Media deserves a big thanks for continuing to portray black men as gun-toting, foul-mouthed brutes and black women as skimpily-clad, empty-headed hoes.
And Bill Orally ordered iced tea, and nobody even called him a mofo!
snark
that target black neighborhoods for drops of drugs. You get a man hooked on that shit and his whole family suffers. The kids the worst.
According to the article, the reason black kids kill each other much much more often than white kids is because they live up to these stereotypes. Their father isn't around. They grow up poor with little supervision and guidance, and without some sort of outside support, like the government or community organizations (that apparently need government money) they start killing each other.
So who do I give the sarcastic "way to go" award to? The fathers who aren't around? The mothers? The government for not giving enough money?
It's pathetic to live in a society where less money being spent by the government means more kids murdering other kids. Simply pathetic.
Murder is a-okay in your culture. For proof just look at the government and those who support it.
I know a couple of years ago 60 Minutes was talking about this new rap message if I remember aright was Don't Snitch. It was appearing on clothing as well. Police and the communities find themselves in an odd position, wanting the police help, but resenting how they're treated, while the police resent lack of cooperation when they are there investigating a crime.
But this isn't new. In the early 60's, in a white neighborhood, a girl was murdered on the street, and was screaming for help. There must've been dozens of witnesses in nearby buildings, but not only did they not help her, when questioned by the police they no longer knew anything. Back then the mantra was Don't Get Involved.
It's my understanding that the early 60's was a time of a weakening economy, before the war in Vietnam. I wonder if there's a correlation between hard times and people cutting themselves off from each other. Regardless, they also say if you want to see the future of America, look in the more economically depressed areas to see what's happening there.
Of course that would raise the question, how sharply is the murder rate increasing in the suburbs right now, and who's involved?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
I'm going to have to look into that now.
I should mention that as our economy crumbles around us, we might expect to see more of this in the near future in ALL neighborhoods.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
just cause problems for the libraries. A library is NOT a dumping ground.
No one in Dallas goes to the Central Library anymore. Twenty five years ago it was going on line and going to be state of the art. Starting twenty years ago it became a place to see homeless using up all the outside benches, shitting and pissing on themselves, clogging the periodical section, and even standing naked in the bathroom washing their nasty clothes in the sinks.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Every Tuesday, local artists hold a class where they examine trends in manga and teach kids here how to draw manga characters. They also learn how to make images more dynamic and how to create pages that are visually stimulating to readers. Others teach students how to put together interesting characters with plots that pull on their own life experiences.
Every other Thursday, kids get together to play video games and discuss the positives and negatives of the games. Students can write critiques of the games that the library uses to recommend games to others.
Some libraries can't afford to sponsor programs that bring in youths and teach them useful skills. Those libraries do indeed become dumping grounds that can't handle the crop of kids that need it. Ours is lucky to have such community support, but then again, we're a small community with a good amount of disposable income (sorry your library sucks, ysbaddaden).
Kids do need places to go after school: latchkey kids don't get much in the way of intellectual stimulation after school. If your community supports after-school programs, it's a good place to start. Support after school programs through a donation of time or money to your library or school. Have an interesting hobby or job? Volunteer to lead a club at your local school. Donate sports equipment to local clubs. Something, anything, even donating your favorite children's book or reading to elementary school kids (you'll be glad you did: 6-year olds are adorable and pathetically happy to have an adult pay attention to them).
programs for kids. Keep up the good work!
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
But I imagine their problems are partly why you were elected, Obie. So you'd better give them a reason to follow in your footsteps, man. They can't succeed without help.
So what are they trying to say?
...are so fragile that they can least afford additional law-enforcement related cuts. This social and economic deterioration in these areas began with that awful POS Reagan and his ruthless and blackhearted Government spending cuts in the early eighties when he and his henchmen decided to "get the Government off the people's back."
Why are the AA communities so fragile? Who is responsible for keeping them together? Or at least who is responsible for keeping kids from killing each other? Ronald Reagan?
L&L is from Chicago, like me. I think he may be from the Westside but I am from Woodlawn on the Southside. For a large part of my life, I grew up in the same house my mother grew up in, but in the 80s. It was a very nice place to live when my mother was coming up and even when I was a little kid, some of the same men and women that were her neighbors still lived there. It was a mixed income black community where there were regular working folks and professionals. Then things started to change. Firstly, far too many young black men were drafted into Vietnam and came back with all kinds of problems. Then, all the jobs started drying up. Almost everyone I knew had a relative that worked in the steel mills, auto companies or something like that. Those jobs left. So, here is a generation of men with no jobs, no prospects, messed up from a war, and some of them had bad drug habits. I haven't even got to the out and out racism that affects the black people. So, a lot of people with no jobs and no prospects turned to drugs and when drugs come in, the neighborhood goes down. I'm sure you've seen "The Wire;" that shit is real. Do you think it's fair that you get more time for being busted with a couple bags of crack than one gets for being found with the same amount or more powder cocaine? Who uses coke and who uses crack?
I don't know why so many young black men are killing each other but it breaks my heart and makes me scared. My nephews are 16 and 18, and while they are good boys who do well in school, work and keep out of trouble, you don't have to be looking for trouble to find it. People act out when they have nothing to lose, and I guess these young cats feel like they have nothing to lose.
I can't speak on the father thing because my father was there for me and my siblings. I don't think that it's as big an issue as it's played out. It's all good having a father in the house, but he has to be about something to make an impact. There needs to be more done period. The reason why there is no adult supervision in the house is because Mama is working two jobs sometimes to make ends meet and if Daddy is there, he is working his ass off too.
I am not going to let some black folks off the hook-- some of us need to get our shit together. Men, stop fucking around and getting women pregnant left, right and center. That pimp mentality is old and dusty. Ladies, don't be so desperate to be with somebody that you take his shit. Fuck all of that "I need a baller" shit and stand up on your own damned feet. The sooner that "Stop Snitching" shit is laid to rest the better. Attiudes like that are destroying communities and making folks look silly.
So you are saying that it's not necessarily a lack of money that leads to the community deteriorating, but it's more of a cultural thing? The sooner certain cultural memes are retired, such as "stop snitching" and "I need a baller," the sooner the communities can become less fragile and fractured? I agree. I can see there being a lack of supervision if both mom and dad are working all the time, but if there is no culture of "ballers, pimps, and hos" for the kids to fall into, then there would be far fewer murders and much less crime overall. The question is, which comes from which? Lack of money leads to trying to make money in businesses that are illegal. This leads to the "baller" culture and the cycle continues. This is terrible and it's a problem. But ultimately, who is responsible for keeping this to a minimum? If less money is spent on government-run community centers and crime explodes, did spending less money cause crime to explode? If the only thing keeping kids from killing each other is more money from taxes, then the problem is much deeper than any tax money can really solve.
All black culture is not homogenous. The same cycles of poverty and deprivation that I saw on the southside of Chicago I saw on the soutside of Glasgow when I lived there. There were few working people, few fathers, no job, hopes or prospects. Baller status is not confined to drugs, it means earning cash like pro-sportsmen. In Britain, poor girls think by becoming topless models and marrying footballers, they can achieve some status and lots aspire to nothing more than that.
The culture of pimps, hos and ballers is a lot of media hype, packaged up to sell to bored white teenagers in the suburbs. Do you know how sick of that shit I got when encountered white people that think all black folks act like something off MTV? Why do some black kids aspire to these things? Because that shit is pushed as real life.
Don't act like illegal activties and lack of money is black culture-- meth labs put paid to that kind of thinking.
There needs to be more government spending in the way of investing in schools, after-school activities, job-training, on-site childcare for parents and tax credits for low-income people so they can actually afford to be at home with their children. I am currently pregnant with my second child. Through my job, I get to take a year off with 9 months at full pay, and the other 3 at the Statutory Maternity pay. My American colleagues get 6 weeks and that is outrageous. It's hard even get to establish breastfeeding well in that time.
We are having an epidemic of knife crime in Britain. Kids are disillusioned and have dropped out from society. I don't know what the answers are, but I wish someone would find them.
...socioeconomic hellholes you wouldn't be so quick to cast your (Edited, Careful Left. SiteMonitor} judgments from the safety of your nice, secure, neighborhood or town.
Get involved, help and or STFU!
That would be, Black murders are up 139%, not 39%.
chooses to cover this same story with a slightly different headline:
Murders by Black Teenagers Rise, Bucking a Trend
So "liberal," that New York Times.
And (slightly OT) this gem:
News Analysis: Israel Reminds Foes That It Has Teeth
Yes, everyone in that part of the world had completely forgotten that Israel is capable of inflicting massive violence...
When I was 12, I wasn't even allowed near a skateboard. Now these kids are carrying weapons. Not just black kids, all kids. Today's batch of kids and teenagers are having too much thrown at them. They have cell phones, inappropriate clothing, foul mouths, and access to the internet. When did the parents stop being...well, parents?
My mother was very strict with me, and I thank her for it. My sister and I have never been in trouble with the law. There are too many stereotypes about us, and too many of us that STRIVE to live up to them. I never wanted to be a player, thug, drug dealer, pimp or baby's daddy. I wanted to be a police officer, but I didn't want to carry a gun. So that was out.
My point is that these kids, and some adults, need discipline and positive role models. Don't let MTV and BET raise your kids. Teach them that they can be anything they want if they work for it. We need to stop bringing in future offenders and start bringing in future leaders.
P.S. Also, in agreement with an earlier post, this "stop snitching" nonsense needs to stop.
Stop Killing, Stop Stealing.
NOBODY 2012
who don't know how because they were kids when they became parents....
ad nauseum.
And the wingnut crowd sees Planned Parenthood as the root of all evils. (read that as rational thought)!
An 11-year-old African-American girl was shot in the neck and killed by a drive by as she sat in her family's living room.
We moved our family away from Memphis after working for years for more family-friendly amenities, to little avail. I think innercity kids feel trapped and they turn on each other.
sets the foundation for much of what has transpired.
It will get worse before it gets better, with people like Ken Blackwell fanning the flames.
Much like the Palestinians who cares. They're not human so Christian concern doesn't apply. It's a lifestyle thing there's nothing we can do about it. It isn't no accident that Liquor stores and Pawn shops are the only stores in the Ghetto... This is a sick sick country ruled by Sadist's who get off on murder and death. This isn't just the black community thing the black community is just a symptom of a bigger problem. The criminal justice system is the cause. Blacks are locked up more than whites. We won't fix this until we fix the criminal justice system. Right now the one we've got breeds criminality and death. Until we fix it things will just get worse.
It's funny how the very people who wrote this crap, also failed to mention JOB's and the lack of opportunities, that are very often used to discriminate against young blacks.
They also failed to mention that in addition to the above issuse that could be factors is that we also live in a country where the domonate group of citizens take and take and take and refuse to share, opportunities, while using our law enforcement, court and legal system, the very tax money we pay into, unfair and unjust pricing used in higher rates in the brown and black communtiies, job and education opportunities, health care services that should be available to every citizen and that we all pay into for a better life. And this has been especially prevelant in the last eight years and if that is not bad enough, they feel that affermative action requirements are unfair to them, because it just may give a little bit of opportunity to those they have been allowed to cheat and steal from.
They failed to say that the group of blacks that work two and three jobs to try and pay bills and put food on the table, make it impossible to give a whold lot of time to the very kids, they are trying to feed.
These are not excuses for those that simply fail to do the right thing, but it is a shout out to the majority, who are labled the same as if all of the black house holds don't stribe for a good decent life and are forced to live with the never ending bull shit we all get from national media and I don't have to say whom these people are that refuse to give a voice to the voiceless.
It's funny the very folks that wrote this crap also failed to mention the willful and deliberate tactics this country uses to discriminate against and not offer basic equal job opportunities too these very troubled youth..
In addition to this outright failure of our system that is used by the majority, to deny basic life benefits to the black communities, in stress., It is promoted to the public as if these are also not factors in the lives of black people, to know there are available opportunities for them as well.
We get the usual, oh they come from fatherless homes, their parents are not spending time with them after their eighteen hour minimum pay, for both jobs,and their lack of money needed to pay for quality day care, when the going rate is currently $180, per week and growing, not to mention the high cost of food, gas and car fair to get to those jobs, and the lack of health care services for themselves and their kids as the system cinsistently reminds many of these folks how many of them are allowed to die in favor of the majority and yet nothing is done to change this system.
And yes many blacks are guilty of not spending the necessary time with their kids, but for many, it is not by choice, but necessity and for them I speak out loud and clear, because they also don't have a voice to defend themselves and the majority group of citizens, who dominate our national airwaves, can't seem to find it within themselves to tell the entire story, for fear the, the roll they play in this demise, will somehow be revealed as also a very valid factor in this mess.
It was also not mentioned the fact that the majority of low income and fatherless house holds, ran by mostly black women, whom many work two and three jobs to put food on the table and pay rent, cannot possibly spend the time needed with their children, because of the hardship placed on them by the very people who have done all they can to prevent any opportunities for a better life to them and they fight like hell to allow the government to interceed and bring any kind of fairness to this unjust system.
Yes, many of these young black youth have gotten themselves into trouble, some warranted, but many on bogus cases against them, which gave them criminal records, that has simply destroyed their lives forever, in the prevention of getting any kind of job or obtaining a good education that would change their life.of crime.
It is not just the black youth that are suffering but the poor and under privileged adults, that are discriminated against, with unfair medical excess, their taxes are taken and used by the dominate group to do what they will, with no attention at all given to those whom also pay their fair share, the education system is very unfair as they knowingly use the property tax system in under classed communities, against the wealthy communities, they know is wrong, the legal, law enforcement and judicial system is consistently willfully and deliberately used unfairly against them, by making sure the judicial system is dominated by judges that are placed on the courts to deliberately discriminate against the under classed, instead of what our four fathers intended, for a system of equality and fairness and NOT those who would use their own personal political analogy to make decisions.
Many of these young people turn to drugs to try and fight the feelings of hopelessness, that leads to even more crime and ,many of them die, because of this. Their minds are now destroyed as many of us know would happen when you go this route. It's not a mystery to anyone, who understands the outcome of hopelessness.
This is just to say while that segment of white America, wants to write about the very sad situation in the black communities, to write about the entire so called reasons, these things could be happening and then do their part of not being a huge reason for the demise of black citizens.and be fair and really open up opportunities as that should be available to all citizens in this country and not for just themselves.
In case anyone is wondering why it is that most blacks in this country agree with the honorable Reverand Wright, when he says God Damn America, then just think about the hopelessness in their communities, to find the answer.
Denver just had a bad shooting outside a club 2 days after this Christmas. I think around 4 or 5 were shot on the street after the crowd walked out of a rap concert.
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