My Bad
I ran into a friend (at least I hope and pray she’s still a friend) at a restaurant the other day whose body of work I greatly admire, and she was furious at me over something I’d written. Now, in most cases I simply smile (or even gloat) when one of my articles has gotten under someone’s skin since my goal always is to move readers. I want them to strongly agree (or strongly disagree) with what I’ve written and by now it should be pretty obvious I care little as to the direction in which the reader is moved… as long as movement occurs. Otherwise, what’s the point.
But in this case I was accused of taking a cheap shot… something I attempt to avoid doing, no matter what my detractors might care to believe. However, after re-reading the words she took offense to, I have to admit I can see her point. If what I said wasn’t exactly a cheap shot, it was, at minimum, lazy writing… and my faithful readers deserve better from me.
Allow me to put the issue into context: The subject matter was flash mobs, urban violence and our reactions. When there was trouble in Cleveland Heights, the city overreacted and put a curfew into place which would have largely been used on young Black males… perhaps indiscriminately and unfairly some folks believe.
Nonetheless, the truth of the matter is that a small percentage of young Black males are out of control; many of them are ill-raised, usually high school dropouts, thuggish, gang-bangers who care nothing about themselves, so what do they care about innocent bystanders when they start firing indiscriminately into a crowd?
I curse the bigoted societal forces that created these misfits and failures… and submit that we have to do more to prevent yet another generation from falling victim to the streets… but with that said, I still contend that we must do everything within our power to stop the threat of violence they all too often pose.
I’d put forth a proposal for a “time out.” It would work like this: When outdoor festivals are held, as soon as the thugs show up they would be taken into custody, held until the festival is over, and then released at the end of the evening without any charges being filed. Now, the bone of contention is… this constitutes “prior restraint” — placing someone in custody before they commit an act.
What I wrote in the offending article about a month ago was the following: “Yeah, I know the legal mumbo-jumbo about ‘prior restraint’… I know the police have to wait until one of the thugs shoots someone else before they can do anything or the ACLU will be all over their asses.”
When I wrote that I was parroting what a police commander said to me when I made my proposal at an event planning meeting, and I probably should have said “liberals” instead of the “ACLU” as he actually said. Nonetheless, in spite of my faux pas, the issue remains the same: Can we explore ways to prevent out of control urban youth — no matter their race or skin color — from hurting themselves and others?
As white rapper Machine Gun Kelly (aka MGK) demonstrated at a Strongsville shopping mall last weekend, being accosted by the police and taken in to custody is a badge of honor among even thug wannabes. How do they know they’re really tough guys if they ain’t getting jacked up by a policeman from time-to-time? In the video I saw Kelly was laughing as he was being cuffed.
I sincerely feel that the majority of these acting out youth actually want some adult to step in and stop them. Then they can always boast, “I would have bust a cap in that mug’s ass if the police hadn’t stopped me.”
Nonetheless, I’m completely aware of the Ben Franklin quote: “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
The fear among the liberal elite is the eroding of First Amendment guarantees… that if we start down the path of ignoring the rights of anyone (even Black thugs that are predisposed to acting out), the cops won’t know where to stop and the practice will spread… and soon we’ll be barreling headlong down that slippery slope. The only problem is, as things now stand, dead bodies of young Black males are piling up at the bottom of that slope.
The reason of course is that, legalistically speaking, we have always been (and continue to be) two Americas. Constitutional guarantees that Whites hold near, dear and sacrosanct have never effectively protected Black folk in this country. If you haven’t yet read Michelle Alexander’s 2010 masterwork, The New Jim Crow you really should.
The Founding Fathers never anticipated flash mobs and minority neighborhoods being flooded with guns thanks to a Congress too cowardly to stand up to the National Rifle Association. Mark my words, I assure you if it were White kids dying from senseless gun violence, solutions would be formulated in a New York minute… the Constitution be damned. In essence, Black youth are dying so White rights can be protected.
The crux of the matter is that 98 percent of young Black males are decent kids attempting to navigate a sometimes tough environment and I’m not suggesting they be targeted in any way, shape or form. However, what I am proposing is that the other one or two percent who are known to police and gang specialists by their prior actions to be potentially dangerous, be put out of commission for the evening for the good of the commonwealth.
Liberals who say “do nothing” ignore the fact that doing nothing to prevent bad actors from committing unlawful acts only increases the chances someone will be hurt or killed, and the perpetrator will wind up in prison with a felony… something I’m trying to prevent from happening.
The difference in all of this is, my good liberal friends’ first priority is protecting civil liberties, that’s their mission and I respect it. Mine, however, is to try to put forth some suggestions that would serve to prevent young Black males from doing stupid stuff that will negatively impact their lives forever… and I pray my good liberal friends respect my mission as well.
Furthermore, I wish they would try to assist in coming up with workable solutions to urban violence… innocent bystanders have civil liberty issues as well. If laws need to be changed to bring about some degree of cessation of gun violence in minority neighborhoods, then so be it.
Let’s look at it another way: Every week during the summer, Wade Oval Wednesday is held on the green in University Circle near the museums. It’s a wonderfully inclusive gathering of families from all over — Black and White, rich and poor, inner-city residents and suburbanites. Now just imagine if Machine Gun Kelly (or any other thug wannabe for that matter) tries to flash mob that event… the authorities will have them wearing their ass for a hat, their Constitutional rights be damned. All I’m asking is that every other event in the city is protected in the same manner.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.neighborhoodsolutionsinc.com.