The Roanoke Tribune (online)

While working with the IBM Corporation in Mobile, AL during the late seventies, I was asked to volunteer as a team leader for the local Junior Achievement, in the interest of being a good corporate citizen, giving back to the community. The experience turned out to be more of a beneficial learning trek for me than the students that we coached. The approach was to ask the students to submit free enterprise suggestions on products and/or services that would be marketable in the community and to make a profit, although a non-profit operation, with funds going back into Junior Achievement for business continuation. The group was multi-racial and met twice a week at the home of an IBM team member. It was quite exhilarating seeing those young minds kick around suggestions and finally settling on paper weights made of a block of wood, shellacked, and sided with plexiglas with the business info underneath on the sides for the business we sold the paper weights. The project was a stunning success of which I received my first corporate plaque for a job well done.

In light of young people being twisted and turned by so many distractions of modernity and technology, just trying to maintain some sense of self-actualization is a challenge in and of itself. With so many groups saying that they offer the right path from church or social groups, civic groups, school groups, street groups, cliques, etc...it is easy for young and especially poverty-prone teens to fall into the many traps of criminality. I supported the "Boys and Girls" clubs via the annual community donations from the places I worked, but my actual participation in the Junior Achievement process made me a believer as to the positive impact of the free enterprise experience, making capitalism honorable with ethical profit-making opportunities...not the crookedness that has been recently displayed in the top echelons of America.

Why Gangs Succeed Where Churches Fail

The Federal Government says it going to send $24 million to Chicago to curb youth violence...have we not learned anything from past situations with urban recklessness? We tried midnight basketball, we tried school evening lock-ups, we tried with boot camp truancy offenders...all did not succeed. There are some successful groups such as the "Boys and Girls" clubs and Junior Achievement of which I cited in the previous article. Besides, if this money gave the appearance of solving the problem in Chicago, you can be assured there will be hundreds of other urban areas looking for a similar bailout. The problem will not nor cannot be solved by throwing money at it. Frankly, I am very dismayed that the Obama Administration cannot see this.

So, why is it gangs can attract wayward youths and churches although far more numerous cannot? It is not nebulousy complex. As a matter of fact it is explained in the book "How One Becomes Wealthy Despite Society's Ignorance and Stupidity". The common denominator with gangs is familial connection, the discipline of tough love although gloved in trust backed by if necessary...cruel loyalty.

We are by global standards a very wealthy society to the extent we have become not only jaded by materialism but spoiled by the access to money. So, a "standoffish" policy of simply plowing money into a seemingly poor neighborhood will not work. Many of us come from materially poor households but familial settings that were rich in care by either parents, grandparents, or neighborhood guardians such as church members, teachers, scout masters, etc.

As a matter of fact, not only did my grandfather but two of my uncles took a personal interest in my upbringing by sharing their time, wisdom, and sometimes an expressed love with tough scolding when they saw me taking the path that many young fools were taking.  Gangs can persuasively with the use of sharing their personal time, street-wise survival, and that extremely tough love with the loyalty...commonly expressed in "having your back" give that sense of familial connection and protection.

So, the government local, state, or federal can't make a dent in many of these broken households with no paternal or maternal discipline...but churches can as cited in the article "Faces of the Hapless" http://theroanoketribune.com/custom4.html 

Gangs...the real face of hate criminals

In light of the previous article about gang activities, the truth is that they are generally a bunch of cowardly thugs like wild animals that deserve to be removed from society. I reflect on groups like the KKK of America, the Nazis of Europe, the Crips, Bloods, the gangs out of Central, South America, the Caribbean, Skinheads, Racial and Sexual hate groups, and the street-corner mobsters down and around the block.

I just read where a young 13 year-old, eighth grade honor student was severely beaten by a gang in Englewood, NJ to the point of needing reconstructive surgery. However, it was not classified as a hate crime because the young student who's Hispanic was initially attacked by another Hispanic. If being beaten by a gang can't be considered a hate crime of animal like proportion against a fellow human, then civilized society is in for turmoil like never before. Each one of these participants needs to be brought to justice and accorded the stiffest penalty that can be assessed by a court of law. The message...join a gang and you will eventually go to jail for a very long time via association with equal opportunity justice for all regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation in the good old USA. 

Terrorism and Media Myopia??

This past weekend was saturated with the incident of this one Nigerian who attempted to blow up a plane despite knowing of the potential security risk by the radical's father. He cleared air spaces in Africa and Europe before Detroit. Why wasn't he detected? True to form, the Republicans want to dump this at the President's door with "what if's".

I think the lesson to be learned here, is that we can't allow the media nor politics to obfuscate the responsibility of each person in civilized society to be eternally vigilant for these who are insane both foreign and domestic that are bound to come down the pike. No administration can do it alone.