Tired of Ignorance...

Submitted this to LA Times in response to comment on the Homicide Report...hope it gets published...

@syscom3 – if I understand your argument correctly, you believe the ACLU and other Civil Rights organizations have taken away the power of government officials and agencies to correct the problems of street violence in Los Angeles (and I would assume throughout the U.S.). Also, you believe that gangsters are sociopaths and many family members are enablers of this or part-take in culture that promotes this.

Here’s the problem – the government and its agencies (LAPD and so on) seem unable to solve this problem or unwilling to solve it without violating basic rights. In fact, the current solution (high arrest rate, very few other services) does not solve it, but does get a lot of people paid, as groups such as Critical Resistance have documented (I am not part of that group, but have read their material). As long as most of the violence remains here in South Central, they seem to be content with it.

You have to remember, most of this was started by the very agencies that you claim are so eager to end it. I document this is my website, www.southcentralhistory.com. For example, the governments role in bring drugs into South Central has been well documented. Furthermore, violence has constantly been used by the authorities to control this area. For example, the authorities’ solution to the Watts Riots was bringing in the National Guard and killing civilians. The community solution to quell anger was to bring in MLK, who visited Watts soon after the riots (not for a photo opportunity mind you, but to actually talk to the people).

This idea that gangsters are sociopaths is illogical, and reflective of a cognitive dissonance that is wide-spread through-out this country. Today, the U.S. government released figures that said about 700 foreign troops have been killed in Afghanistan this year (about as many people as killed in LA County this year). It did not release the number of Afghanis killed. In Iraq, the amount of Iraqi people killed was about 1000 for every 1 soldier (informationclearinghouse.com). I don’t know if it is on that level, but U.S. government is responsible for killing more people each month than even the Grim Sleeper! If you claim these gangsters in the streets are sociopaths, they are only a small reflection of how the U.S. government acts. And in fact, a recent book called American Homicide by Randolph Roth (http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/12/opinion/la-oe-rodriguez12-2010apr12) details that the homicide rate is not a reflection of poverty, race, or drug use, but is a reflection of how people feel about their government and the avenues that where they can earn respect (jobs, community institutions, ect.).

You are missing the big picture in this and you will not meet your goal of changing anything by commenting on dead people online. Their family members are not going to change or realize anything while they are in a great emotional state reading your ignorance. In fact, it only reinforces their beliefs. If you want to do something, deal with these people while they are living. I live here in South Central and I teach at Locke High School in South Central, and I have helped students get to college and I have also gone to funerals and seen everything in between. You can come volunteer with the live youth anytime you want, just let me know.

Woman Dies Across the Street

This happened back at the start of the month. The street was closed down and there were a lot of cops, but I did not know what had happened until much later. The woman was run over, and the trailer is still in the parking lot at the gas station. Very sad.

Back...

I have taken a long break from this blog. Prior to that break, I had already slowed down on posting, but during the summer, I choose to abandon it. I abandoned it because one of my students was killed at 101st and Main. That kinda rocked me. It got me thinking about a lot of things and made me think about the time I have spent in LA. It was a rough August. Right before he was killed a young man was killed at Western and Century, another down the street 109 and van ness, and another by a nearby park...then my moms was in a major accident in the Bay and was in the the hospital...There were several huge police responses to shootings in the area. Then in December, shooting and graffiti picked up because a "youth center" opened that sponsored dances that ended up attracting the gang bangers. Made me think that in the last few years I have been here, I can think of several murders that have happened here in my neighborhood. Two of which I heard the shots. May 06 - Man killed in the ally where my parking space is Dec 06 - Man killed at the Post Office across the street April 07 - Double homicide down Van Ness Christmas 07 - College student killed at Jesse Owens Jan 07 - Western and 108th - Hoovas set up a kid that just had joined a gang March 08 - Man killed across the street in the ally (see picture of message below Christmas 08 - 18 year old killed on Christmas Eve shooting up Van Ness August 09 - Man killed at Western and Century then another a month later

It is just sad that so much violence occurs here with so little purpose. It makes you feel powerless.

They keep saying that crime is going down, but the conditions don't change.

Hot Summer

A couple of weeks back, I laughed in my car as a drove past Jesse Owens Park about 30 seconds from my house. I laughed because the park had been hit up again by the Rollin' 90s and the message was on the wall was "Summer is hear." What was supposed to be some type of cryptic message had me laughing because the kid that wrote it used the wrong "hear." A clear sign that he needs to be in school.

Regardless of the situation, there truly is a spike in crime during the summer. Last night, I sat on my couch at 1 am, unable to sleep worried about some personal things, when four shots rang out. Even though my apartment is situated such that the angles would not allow a bullet to come through one of the windows and hit me, I still feel to the floor in fear. I sat there on the floor for a few minutes to see if I would hear some sirens or a helicopter. Since I did not hear anything, I sat back up, and continued to waste away the night.

Little did I know that earlier that night, about 6-7 minutes away at Imperial and Vermont, a young 22-year old was shot by the police. I drive by this place on my way home each day. Last week, at Imperial and Budlong (the next major street west), a memorial was set up for a death that I have not heard any information about yet. This morning, I had to pass by there to run a few errands. The street was blocked off on Imperial from Budlong to Vermont as they finished off their investigation of themselves. Then, this afternoon, another shooting right at the same spot. 4 more people were shot, although not fatally (see article here).

Imperial and Vermont has been a crack corner for as long as I have been in LA. The first time I came to South Central, I got off the 105 at Vermont. The drug users line up at the bus stop and kick it all day. These aging (there are very few new crack users) men and women will be seen at all hours. That plus the gangs make it a terrible corner. I remember being there about 2 years ago at the stop light and watching a drive-by. Earlier this year, a woman gang member was shot in the head in front of her apartment there as well.

At the end, it is all another day though, unless it is you or one of your loved ones that gets shot. It is always so funny to me that after a shooting, everything just continues. As I sat on the floor after the shooting last night, the crickets stayed at what they do, another plane flew over head to land at LAX, and within a few minutes the cars on Century continued up and down the street. At Imperial and Vermont, people were outside on their way to the store, getting gas, and living their lives. You would think everything might pause in that precious second as life escapes a man or woman. You might believe that because it is another human, there might be something intensely special or meaningful. But the reality is that there is not. Some people cry, some bring some flowers, some go mentally ill, and everyone continues on.

Society truly deems are lives in the hood worthless. Nothing is done to really fix any of these problems cause it all happens here. At Imperial and Normandie (the next major street west of Budlong), very close to where all of this took place, a new juvenile detention center and station is being built. As if the neighborhood is not its own type of prison. The murders, drugs, and gangs continue. The kids continue to be raised by selfish, irresponsible adults, too hurt and damaged in their own lives to adequately care for another. The police keep killing them dead when they feel they get too out of control or just to kill them. Many live sad and tragic lives of their own making here. As one teacher says, it is "The Watts Story," or the South Central Story, or the Hood Story, whatever you want to call it.

View Larger Map

Skinny Jeans and Dance Crews - Are We In The 70s???

Here is a link to an LA Times article (always late) about the new dance style called jerkin'. If you teach in an LA school you probably already know about jerkin'. Here in South Central, the dance and the style that goes with it are widely popular. I must be getting old, because I don't get it at all!!! 

Click here for the article

Not Even Teachers Are Safe

This happened about 5 minutes away from me...a very tragic story of a band instructor at Washington Prep who was shot while with his wife at his daughter's birthday party. How many lives were ruined by killing this man. 

Click here for the full story.

Video:

Why Socialism Wouldn't Work In The Hood

This is not a great essay...there are not citations and is mostly my opinion based on observation, but just a collection of my thoughts...

For years I have believed that socialism would cure the majority of the world’s ills. I remember in my third year of college, I was increasingly frustrated with history and society. I could not reconcile the life of poverty I had seen in high school with the life of wealth I saw in college. Why are some places saturated with drugs, violence, and death, and others not? I was frustrated with the raw ignorance to poverty of the majority of the college population that had come from privilege and wealth. This is when I started studying Marxism. I joined a revolutionary party and was down for revolution. I loved the idea of socialism; the idea of increased democracy, real redistribution of wealth and land, and economic equality. I studied other philosophies too, and tried to form my own collection of values (which I still use to guide my life). It was during this time that I decided to go into the education field as well. The need for revolution still is abundantly clear to me. The inequalities in wealth, education, and almost every other measure point to the inadequacies of this capitalist system. Fixing these symptoms will not fix a corrupt foundation built off of the greed of slavery and colonization (and continued with the greed of Wall St. and the banks today). Coming from the hood, I believed socialism would fix these problems. Now, after coming back to the hood, and being able to see it with a different perspective, I believe that socialism will not work here at this time due to a culture of entitlement that has developed, a capitalist mindset which is so prevalent, and the severe family and mental health issues which cripple the community. 

Most of the students have entered high school with a capitalist mindset. They have a pre-occupation with name brands and money. Much of this is encouraged through a variety of sources, such as family and music. Although it might seems like this would encourage motivation for the education which is required for high-paying jobs, it has the opposite effect. Many young people are looking for short-term “anything for money” solutions. This may be a result of what they have seen and not seen. They have seen many people make fast-money through both legal and illegal hustles. Many of the youth have not seen some one make a large amount of money through a long-term hustles, such as a doctor or a lawyer. This capitalist mindset leaves them pre-occupied with having products and brands, and uninterested in intangible things such as stable relationships or education. Socialism would call for a rejection of this mind-set. Having brand name jeans would be indifferent because economically everyone would be on an equal footing. There would be nothing to prove economically. Most students are not ready to reject that mindset.

Another factor that would debilitate socialism in the hood is the culture of entitlement that permeates the hood. In my opinion, this is primarily the result of welfare. In of itself, the idea of welfare is not bad; a temporary support for those that need it. However, it was never backed up by proper social programs that helped people get back on their feet. Instead, it became a cash hand out on the 1st and 15th. There are some restrictions in place today, such as required job training, but there is not a comprehensive education and training program that goes along with the money. Because many of the youth have grown up with welfare or hand-outs, they have a sense of entitlement. This is different than the entitlement that is traditionally associated with the upper class. Instead this is the idea that they should just get stuff with no work or reason. If we were to establish socialism today, they would not have developed the work ethic necessary to keep the system afloat. In college I would have completely argued against this point. I would have said that the people will work if there is something to work for. But after several years back in the hood, there is a serious work ethic problem. The root cause may be the lack of reason to work or the racist conditions, but it does not change the fact that we have a large amount of people that are content with doing nothing with their lives.

The family and mental health problems of the hood prevent great progress forward in the conditions of the hood. Many of the youth are coming from broken families. Not just families that are single-parent households, but families that have severe problems. It might be drug abuse, it might be physical or sexual abuse, it might be general dysfunction, it might be a situation where the child is basically raising themselves. Just about every imaginable family problem exists in the hood. This leads to the mental health of the youth being unstable. The pain of being a young person and having to deal with adult issues and adult situations is tremendous. Most of these young people do not know how to deal with it. They are angry, confused, and emotionally damaged. Their medication may be drugs, alcohol, sex, food, or any other addition or escape. There is large number of youth that are in desperate need of therapy. These mental health issues are preventing them from furthering their education and themselves. It would be near impossible to fight for socialism when you can barely deal with your own emotions and situation. These young people need help to deal with these problems as they also take strides to achieve greater consciousness.

In conclusion, the dominance of the capitalist mindset, entitlement, and mental health issues is not a description of every youth in the hood. Further, these are not the only problems in the hood. But many of the problems in the hood develop out of these conditions, especially the issue of mental health. Many of the youth take out the pain they have endured on others, leading to the cycles of violence and destruction. More specifically, these are problems that make socialism impossible in the hood today. Many organizations and groups push for socialism, but socialism is years away from ever existing. These problems need to be dealt with first. The question is; how do you deal with these problems? This I do not know. It would make my existence more meaningful if the answer were education, but I don’t know if that is true. I do know that more education will lead to more stability overall. Further, I hope that through education, I am able to make an impact on the youth in relation to these issues. However, I think that teachers and others that work with the youth need to develop comprehensive plans to address all of these problems. Of course, not every teacher or youth advocate agrees on what the end goal should be, but in the short term, I believe everyone agrees that the youth need to abandon an “anything for money” capitalist mindset, develop a great work ethnic, and get therapy.