Senseless - A Racial Rant

Willingboro borders Burlington, NJ, where I live. While Burlington Township may not be immune to crime, I feel safe here. I am often concerned about the violent crimes that happen in Willingboro, especially because I have young children and it is so close to us. It is a middle class, predominantly Black community and we spend a lot of time there... we shop there, our salon is there, and we have close family there.

So why does this particular shooting stand out? Because, although I did not know the victim personally, he is part of my family. Sad that this is the way I had to find out. Knowing that he was only 23 years old and the father of two young boys makes it even sadder. I remember being 23. It was one of the best years of my life. I had just graduated college and started a new job by that age. Life was beginning for me, not ending!

So this is a small plea from a complete nobody to those who are still embroiled in daily gang activity, to those prone to senseless violence, and to those who look at the two paths in front of them and choose the wrong road rather than the right. Please STOP!

What we need to realize is that Racist America has made guns and drugs easily accessible in Black communities. Then they perpetuate the "coolness" of the thug mentality, droopy prison pants and all, and then sit back with folded arms and satisfied smirks while we do their job for them like hired hands, except the return payment is death.

And what are these kids dying for? "Territory" that has never belonged to them in the first place? A stolen girlfriend? A 'look'? A blue shirt? Or, as in this case, just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. (He was one of the GOOD guys! Senseless!) Give me a break! If we could get these kids to take a step back and look at themselves, they may actually see what they could become. Instead they just fuel the fire. Rather than bringing one another down, we need to pull together as a community and lift one another up.

Parents need to be more involved in their children's lives. For that matter, children need to stop having babies of their own. How can they "parent" when they are babies themselves? Mothers, take hold of your daughters. Don't let them become parents until they are married with education behind them, a husband beside them (if they so choose!), and jobs and homes of their own. Let them be proud of who they are to become.

BAW has a study on the website today that shows that 40% of white Democrats won't vote for Obama just because he's Black. They say this because they have such negative views of Black people as a whole. So no matter how right Obama is about what needs to be done for ALL Americans (and he IS right!), he won't get votes from people that can only see the negative aspects of his Blackness. And that is because of people like this shooter. It needs to STOP. These people need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and become PRODUCTIVE members of society. It's the "Butterfly Effect" and it's affecting all of us.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. Thank you for listening to my rant!