Blaming Black Youths for Gun Crime "a mistake"

Blaming black youths for gun crime 'a mistake'

By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor
Last Updated: 2:20am GMT 14/03/2007

Blaming young black men for rising gun crime would be a ''profound mistake'', a Home Office minister said yesterday.

Lady Scotland clashed with the Commons home affairs committee over its inquiry into the treatment of Afro-Caribbean youths by the criminal justice system.

The MPs have heard evidence from police and community leaders of a crime ''crisis'' among young black people.
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Recent shootings in London, in which black teenagers have been killed, led to further concern.

But Lady Scotland said while she accepted there was a problem with gun crime, there was no evidence that it was specifically a black issue.

She added: ''To do a quantum leap, which I think is dangerous, to say this is solely or predominantly a black issue in relation to guns, would be a profound mistake.''

Lady Scotland said there was a danger that the MPs' inquiry into the disproportionate number of arrests of black people could be ''misunderstood and used in a way this committee would not like''.

She made clear throughout the two-hour session that she did not accept that the issue should be seen in racial, rather than criminal, terms.

John Denham, the committee chairman, said while it was accepted that people did not offend because of the colour of their skin, there was evidence of a particular problem of violent crime within the black community.

There were also different ''profiles'' of crime depending on the community.

Young white men tended to be more involved in hooliganism and burglary, while young black men were likely to be linked to drugs and robberies.

However, Lady Scotland said: ''We accept there is an increasing problem on the use of guns and we are trying to address it. We have not had any evidence that this issue is solely or disproportionately an issue for black young men.''

In the article Blaming Black Youth for Gun Crime “a mistake,” by Phillip Johnston is about people blaming blacks for increasing the gun crime. Lady Scotland says, “while she accepted there was a problem with fun crime, there was no evidence that it was specifically a black issue.” This is saying you cannot automatically blame the blacks for the increase with out some kind of evidence. “John Denham, the committee chairman, said while it was accepted that people did not offend because of the color of their skin, there was evidence of a particular problem of violent crime within the black community.” He is saying that they are not blaming it on them just because of their skin, but there has been evidence to prove that there are much more violent crimes with blacks. “Also recent shootings in London that killed black teenagers have brought up more concern.” I chose this article because the people are choosing to blame blacks for crimes because they are stereotyped to be the violent race and the ones who do all the crime.

In chapter 8, “Getting Off the Hook: Denial and Resistance” there are many ways to get yourself out of trouble. You can lie and say it was not you or say you don’t mean it so it is ok. This chapter talks about many different ways of “Getting off the Hook.” They are techniques many people use everyday. The one I am concentrating on is blaming the victim. The chapter says, “If blacks were smarter or worked harder or got an education, they’d be ok,” and expect most other whites to go along, because racist stereotypes have such authority in this culture.” This is saying that since stereotypes exist, why not use them. Also people do not want to stray away from the crowd who is not being blamed so they go along with it. Like in the article people are blaming blacks for raising the gun crime. Anybody could be bringing up the gun crime not just the blacks. Lady Scotland had the guts to say it is “a mistake” to believe that the blacks are raising the crime rate.

I thought that this article was very interesting. It showed someone would stray away from the upper class to protect the lower class. More stands like this need to happen to eliminate racism.

Borat

“Borat” the movie is about a Kazakhstan who is a journalist and announcer. He comes to America to tell his home country about how great America is. He goes around America experimenting with different cultures to tell his country. He runs into many difficult obstacles. During his trip he falls in love with Pamela Anderson and tries to find her while he is traveling. With his lack of knowledge, he creates comical acts with doing the wrong things at the wrong time. People do not know how to take him because he is so different than what they are used to. I chose this movie because it is someone who is trying to fit in a place that he never dreamed of being.

I chose chapter two “Privilege, Oppression, and Difference.” The chapter talks about individualism and who we are. “The trouble around diversity, isn’t just that people differ from one another. The trouble is produced by a world organized in ways that encourage people to use difference to include or exclude, reward or punish, credit or discredit, elevate or oppress, value or devalue, leave alone or harass.” This is saying that people have grown up to believe in what they think they should be around. Everyone is different and act in different ways. But where you come from can play a large effect on who you get along with. Borat is from a complete different country with a different culture. He tries to fit in by using his culture on American people. This does not work well for him because the Americans are not used to his style and they do not want to interact with him. He has to learn a certain way to fit in. This is the whole part of the problem. He cannot be himself; he must convert to be able to fit in with people.

I did not enjoy this movie very much. I did not see much of the humor it brought. I thought the over exaggerating acts got annoying. The truth is people do need to convert to be able to fit into certain social groups. All social groups do not except all different styles people are. Some are accepted and other are not.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe was written in 1852. The book is about African Americans and slavery and how they responded and acted with it going on. Uncle Tom is sold from owner to owner and ends up with Augustine St Claire and becomes friend with his daughter Eva. After St Claire dies in an accident he is sold to Simon Legree. A couple of Legree’s slaves pretend to run away but just hide and Uncle Tom will not tell where they are to Legree. In the end Legree beats Uncle Tom so bad he dies. This story tells about the hardships the slaves have to go through. This book talks about all types of stereotypes blacks have to this day. One from the story is Tom being a hardworking servant to master. I chose this book because it deals with a lot of race and the way people were treated wrong.

This book can be related to nearly any of the readings we have had. I chose the chapter “How Jews Became White Folks and What That Says about Race in America” by Paula S. Rothenberg. The GI Bill said that everyone would get benefits if they were in the war. The white males got all their benefits taking advantage of their opportunities. This was great for them. For blacks and women, they got kicked to the curb. They did not get any of their benefits. “Theoretically they were available to all veterans; in practice women and black veterans did not get anywhere near their share,” Rothenberg said. This is saying they basically slaved in the army, risking their lives for nothing. They were gaining to positives out of serving. Like slaves in the past, they were ordered around to do different chores and were not given any benefits. People were treated unfairly and people were never punished for it.

This book could relate to nearly any of our chapters because it deals with so much race and equality. I think slavery is bad and I do not like to hear that it is going on today. People who are whipped for doing hard work is not fair. People with power can choose to run things they way they want.

Coach Carter

The movie “Coach Carter” is about a man who attended Richmond High when he was in high school comes back to coach the basketball team. The team is not supposed to do anything great during the season but ends up having the season of a lifetime. Richmond, California is not a wealthy town and has a hard time funding for different activities. Before the season starts, coach Carter makes all the players sign an agreement that they are to maintain certain expectations of the coach during the year such as a 2.5 G.P.A. and attending all their classes. With all the players knowing this, a check up comes and most of the players have not met the expectations. This causes a lock down in the gym not letting the team play their games until they meet the expectations they agreed to. The parents and residence of the town become very unhappy about this situation because the team is doing so well. The principal says that the basketball team could be the best part of their lives with the greatest success. Coach Carter refused to accept that and made sure the boys got the best of what he could give them and try to get them to college with their education and not their athleticism. I chose "Coach Carter" because there are kids today who are given up on in schools and are not given the extra boost of support to make it the next step to make something of their lives.

In Ronald Takaki’s chapter 12 “El Norte,” Mexicans migrated from Mexico into the United States. They heard they could get a better life with better wages to support their families and along with the revolution they wanted to leave Mexico to get away. Mexicans did not receive the same education as white Americans. They were sent to a segregated school. It was said there would be a revolution if the Mexicans went to school with the whites. According to Takaki, “In the segregated schools, Mexican children were trained to become obedient workers.” This is saying they were not good enough to learn what the white children were learning. They were being sold short of their potential by the white race. This relates to Coach Carter because everyone was selling the students short of their potential. They did not believe they could go any farther in their life like college and become a successful person in the world. Teachers who are supposed to support the kids to become better did not support minus a small group. Like the Mexicans, whites did not believe the Mexicans could be at the same level as them.

This move taught me a lot. You should never sell yourself short of anything. You need to put your mind to things and stick with them even if people have doubts you will not be able to do it.

White America

"White America"

America, hahaha, we love you, how many people are proud to be citizens of this beautiful
Country of ours, the stripes and the stars for the rights that men have died for to protect,
The women and men who have broke their neck's for the freedom of speech the United States
Government has sworn to uphold, or
(Yo', I want everybody to listen to the words of this song) so we're told...

I never would've dreamed in a million years I'd see,
So many motherfuckin' people who feel like me, who share the same views
And the same exact beliefs, it's like a fuckin' army marchin' in back of me, so many lives I
Touch, so much anger aimed, in no particular direction, just sprays and sprays, and straight
Through your radio waves it plays and plays, 'till it stays stuck in your head for days and
Days, who would of thought, standing in this mirror bleachin' my hair, with some peroxide,
Reaching for a t-shirt to wear, that I would catapult to the forefront of rap like this, how
Could I predict my words would have an impact like this, I must've struck a chord, with somebody
Up in the office, cause congress keeps telling me I ain't causin' nuthin' but problems, and now
They're sayin' I'm in trouble with the government, I'm lovin' it, I shoveled shit all my life,
And now I'm dumping it on...

[Chorus]
White America, I could be one of your kids, white America, little Eric looks just like this,
White America, Erica loves my shit, I go to TRL, look how many hugs I get, white America, I
Could be one of your kids, white America, little Eric looks just like this, white America, Erica
Loves my shit, I go to TRL, look how many hugs I get...

Look at these eyes, baby blue, baby just like yourself, if they were brown, Shady lose, Shady
Sits on the shelf, but Shady's cute, Shady knew, Shady's dimple's would help, make ladies swoon
Baby, {ooh baby}, look at my sales, let's do the math, if I was black, I would've sold half, I
Ain't have to graduate from Lincoln high school to know that, but I could rap, so fuck school,
I'm too cool to go back, gimme the mic, show me where the fuckin' studio's at, when I was
Underground, no one gave a fuck I was white, no labels wanted to sign me, almost gave up, I was
Like, fuck it, until I met Dre, the only one to look past, gave me a chance, and I lit a fire up
Under his ass, helped him get back to the top, every fan black that I got, was probably his in
Exchange for every white fan that he's got, like damn, we just swapped, sittin' back lookin' at
Shit, wow, I'm like my skin is it starting to work to my benefit now, it's...

[Chorus]

See the problem is, I speak to suburban kids, who otherwise would of never knew these words
Exist, whose mom's probably would of never gave two squirts of piss, 'till I created so much
Motherfuckin' turbulence, straight out the tube, right into your living room I came, and kids
Flipped when they knew I was produced by Dre, that's all it took, and they were instantly hooked
Right in, and they connected with me too because I looked like them, that's why they put my
Lyrics up under this microscope, searchin' with a fine tooth comb, its like this rope, waitin'
To choke, tightening around my throat, watching me while I write this, like I don't like this,
Nope, all I hear is, lyrics, lyrics, constant controversy, sponsors working 'round the clock, to
Try to stop my concerts early, surely hip-hop was never a problem in Harlem, only in Boston,
After it bothered the fathers of daughters starting to blossom, so now I'm catchin' the flack
From these activists when they raggin', actin' like I'm the first rapper to smack a bitch, or
Say faggot, shit, just look at me like I'm your closest pal, the posterchild, the motherfuckin'
Spokesman now for...

[Chorus]

So to the parents of America, I am the damager aimed at little Erica, to attack her
Character, the ringleader of this circus of worthless pawns, sent to lead the march right up to
The steps of congress, and piss on the lawns of the White House, to burn the casket and replace
It with a parental advisory sticker, to spit liquor in the faces of in this democracy of
Hypocrisy, fuck you Ms. Cheney, fuck you Tipper Gore, fuck you with the freest of speech this
Divided states of embarrassment will allow me to have, fuck you, [vocal melody],
He, hahaha, I'm just playin' America, you know I love you...

Eminem is a controversial artist. He raps about nearly anything he feels like rapping about. One of his songs is called “White America.” In this song he talks about how he relates to white people better than the black artists he is rivals with because he is white. He also goes into how his words have been so powerful and many people have shared the same thoughts he has about different situations that have gone on. He also goes into how he had trouble getting signed to become the celebrity he is today. He signed with Dr. Dre, a huge producer in the rap industry. Eminem says,“ helped him get back to the top, every fan black that I got, was probably his in exchange for every white fan that he's got, like damn, we just swapped, sittin' back lookin' at shit, wow, I'm like my skin is it starting to work to my benefit now.” This is saying they his skin color is helping bring in new listeners to rap which is making more profits for their company label. I chose this song because he talks about how his skin color has helped him reach his goals in life and his success.

In Howard Zinn’s chapter 2, “Drawing the Color Line,” they talk about how the slaves were being treated unfairly. With this treatment the slaves were getting they started to rebel against the whites to get their freedom back. One of the problems white slave owners were having is that they were afraid that “discontented whites” would join the blacks in their rebellion. With this in the back of their head, Edmund Morgan in “Drawing the Color Line” says, “Virginia’s ruling class, having proclaimed that all white men were superior to black, went on to offer their social inferiors a number of benefits previously denied by them.” This is saying since they were worried by a problem arising they used their skin color to their benefit because they made the discontented whites believe they were more superior than the blacks. This made the white slave owners reach their goals of becoming richer and getting their way because they knew people wanted to be white. This relates to Eminem saying, “I’m like my skin is it starting to work to my benefit now” because he is getting more fans because white people can relate to him instead of always having to relate to black people.

I ran across this song when I bought the CD when it came out. I have listened to it several times and never knew a good meaning of those lines. With saying his skin color helped him it is saying racism is still around today is all aspects of the world.

Accepted

The movie “Accepted,” is about a boy named Bartleby who is trying to get into college. He is not getting accepted into any colleges he has applied to so he has his friend Sherman create a fake school online for Bartleby’s dad to be fooled by and believe that this made up college is real. Sherman gets into Harmon College, the one he applied for and wanted to attend. He joined a fraternity there where he dad was a member when he attended school there. Sherman does not fit the fraternity brother look that this fraternity had. They looked like they were all in good shape and were very well groomed. They looked like they had all played sports in one time and could pick up all the ladies. Sherman is a fat kid who is not very social around people he does not know and gets very shy. He was forced to do embarrassing things around campus to prove his elegance to fraternity. I chose this movie because many people can relate to not being in a situation they are not the same type of person as the group they are around and get judged by the people who are all alike.

The selection from the movie I chose about Sherman not fitting in relates to the reading “Why I Hate Abercrombie & Fitch,” by Dwight McBride. In Look Book Abercrombie & Fitch has it says, “Exhibiting the “A&F Look” us a tremendously important part of the overall experience at the Abercrombie & Fitch Stores.” This is saying that looking like the “A&F look” will bring you the happiness you are pursuing. Like in the movie, Sherman thinks that becoming part of this fraternity it will bring him the happiness of what he wants to get out of becoming a fraternity brother. He wants to be the “cool” kid from what he was at his high school being part of the non-popular group. Also in the article, lawsuits are being brought up for discriminating in its hiring of employees. They won’t hire people, “of color, including Latinos, Asian Americans, and African Americans.” That is picking and choosing who you want to join your company and who you want to be representing it. Sherman was someone they did not want to be representing their fraternity and was therefore no welcomed to become a brother in the fraternity.

This movie is one of my favorite movies. After reading McBride’s article, it made me realize the discrimination that people go through everyday based on looks. People judge others just on their appearance making assumptions of who they are by what they look like.

Jena Six

The Jena six is about six black students in Jena Louisiana who were arrested after beating up a white student. The white student received a concussion along with many bruises. The six black students were charged with second degree murder and conspiracy. Their sentence could be up to 100 years without parole. This fight did not come out of nowhere though. One of the black students sat underneath a tree at school and the white students did not like this. The next day the white students hung three nooses from the tree but said it was a joke and did not get into trouble. The black students were getting beat up at white parties. Also, a man came up to them at a gas station with a loaded gun. The boys wrestled it away from the man and took it to the police. The black kids got in trouble for stealing the gun away from the man. I chose the Jena Six because it is a current problem happening in the world today. It something that should not occur and it caught my attention when I heard about it and I wanted to learn more about it.

The article “Drawing the Color Line,” it says that white people received much less harsher punishments than the black slaves. This is still happening today. People are taking their personal views of what they believe in and putting it on people in the court system. An example in the reading says, “Six servants and a slave of Mr. Reynolds started to run away. While the whites received lighter sentences, Emanual received thirty stripes and to be brunt in the cheek with the letter “R” and to work in shackle one year or more as his master shall see cause.” This relates to the Jena Six because they are receiving harsher punishments than anyone else. The white kids who beat up the black kids at parties are not being charged for anything. The man who brought in the gun did not get charged but the black kids got charged with stealing. The Jena six are being treated unfairly because of the racism.

I think it is wrong and I believe they should receive a new trial. The city has an all white jury. The Jena six should be released or everyone should be trialed fairly like the white kids who beat up people at the parties should be charged along with the man who brought in a loaded gun.