A few years ago a former client came to me and wanted me to represent his little brother. He was upset because, as he put it at the time, the young man was a "civilian" and wasn't in "the game". He didn't have a record and was just caught up with some bad kids in the neighborhood. According to his brother, "he (his little brother) wasn't a soldier" like him, and he didn't want him to become one.
Anyway, I have since heard that term "civilian" used to describe folks who aren't involved with a certain lifestyle by folks who are in that life. And I have since heard them address themselves as "soldiers" as well. I suppose that in their own minds, most of the people getting killed in our inner cities are "soldiers" fighting their own meaningless wars for drugs, money, and turf.
That is how the rest of society views them as well. Maybe not as "soldiers", but
It is why President Obama did not make an official statement about the 274 murders in his hometown of Chicago so far this year, but he had to make one about the shootings in a movie theater in Colorado.
When violence is random and in places that we don't expect it, we get 24 hour cable coverage and front page news headlines. We know the names of all the victims and the shooter will forever live in infamy. It ignites gun control debates and we ponder and pontificate about the violence of our culture until it fades away and the next tragedy strikes.
That doesn't happen when we pick up the paper on Monday morning and read about the shootings and mayhem in the streets of pick a city, that's just the way it is with "those people". We expect that. It's like reading the box scores from last night's baseball game. And, believe it or not, the "soldiers" fighting their senseless and violent battles want it that way. They have their turf and their enemies are defined: Other "soldiers" in the game who know the rules and who, for the most part, play by them.
Sadly, the folks who live within the confines of their battle field do not have the luxury of just moving out or tuning out the violence. They might not be soldiers in the battle, but they are also at war. Unfortunately for them, though, the presidential candidates will not take a break from their campaigns to consider their plight and mourn with the rest of the country. Flags will not be flown at half-mast, and the residence of North Philadelphia, East St. Louis, or the city of Detroit will not be getting a visit from the president.
“Turned on the TV this morning. Had this shit on about — about livin’ in a violent world. Showed all these foreign places…where foreigners live, and all. Started thinkin’, man. Either they don’t know…don’t show…or don’t care about what’s goin’ on in the ‘hood. They had all this foreign shit. They didn’t have shit on my brother, man.” ~Doughboy (Ice Cube) Boyz N The Hood~
Well Doughboy, Aurora, Colorado is right here in America, but it might as well be in a foreign place to folks "in the hood".
30 comments:
Field, that may be the most genuinel heart-felt post I've ever seen you post.
I don't think you believe in an ultiatme God, but he will bless you for this.
Field, what do you expect Obama to do, give us Blacks some recognition and attention as though we counted for something? No way. He's already proved that. Besides, he doesn't have to do anything for us because he knows most of us Negroes are going to vote for him anyway. That is just the way he thinks about us.
You see, until we start looking at Obama's policies toward us instead of looking at his skin color, he can treat us like irrelevant dogs and we will still vote for him. Our thinking is really twisted and perverse but we deserve what we get, which is to be ignored as thought our lives count for nothing.
I sincerely mean it when I say I will be voting for Romney. I feel any Republican candidate who has talked to us more than Obama has deserves my vote more so than Obama who has been a "Zero" in my book.
Finally, let's face it. Black lives are not valued as much as Whites. That's a fact in America and Obama's behavior proves it.
" “Turned on the TV this morning. Had this shit on about — about livin’ in a violent world. Showed all these foreign places…where foreigners live, and all. Started thinkin’, man. Either they don’t know…don’t show…or don’t care about what’s goin’ on in the ‘hood. They had all this foreign shit. They didn’t have shit on my brother, man.” ~Doughboy (Ice Cube) Boyz N The Hood~"
That was a powerful statement and a very powerful movie. However, it proved one thing after its showing in movie theaters: "Nobody cares what's goin' on in the 'hood."
Yep. Blacks are throw away lives.
My dear brotha Field, I hate to say it again, but "It's depressing to be Black in America."
When are you going to agree? When are you going to admit you are depressed? Why can't our peeps handle the painful truth about ourselves and Obama? We are so pitiful.
depressed Negro
" I suppose that in their own minds, most of the people getting killed in our inner cities are "soldiers" fighting their own meaningless wars for drugs, money, and turf."
There is nothing meaningless in the war over drugs for those who can't get out of the ghetto. It's a living and a style of life that pays more money than a kid from the hood could ever dream of.
So what if he dies early? He wasn't cared about by his own peeps nor Obama anyway. At least he has some semblance of a life dealing drugs....Might as well make the best of a shitty life.
Gun control isn't really to get weapons out of the hands of an insane man intent on hunting people. That's impossible. Gun control is to stem the flow of illegal guns from states where they are too easily purchased, & purchased in quantity, & cannot be tracked into our cities. Mayors & law enforcement agencies across America BEG for uniform waiting periods, stronger registration, limits on purchases within a given time period, & changes in weapons designs to make eliminating serial numbers more difficult. All are unacceptable to the pro-gun lobbies.
Last night around dusk a kid about 14 or 15 tried sneaking up behind on me on a suburban street (in a city) & lifting my wallet. I easily foiled him. A year or two from now he'll try it again, but he'll press a gun to the victim's head.
Field, very good blog. In Tulsa the majority of murder victims are black, as are the people who killed them. And of these the majority of both victims and killers are as you pointed out "soldiers" in the various gangs plaguing the city, particularly north Tulsa. These killings ate in the news almost daily locally, but get no national coverage. I suppose the Good Friday shootings of five innocent black people by two racist white men specifically targeting blacks did. God bless the good people who can't move from these crime riddled areas .I seldom agree with you Field, but on this I do. It seems to me that no one cares when black on black killings occur. It's a shame that its understood its just part of the game. The Skeavyoldstoner.
Hey Field. Eight rational, intelligent, sobering comments in a row. Did I mistakingly wander onto the alternate Field Negro blog?
By the way... great post.
M. Garvey
Amen Field! The governor here is flying the flag at half mast too.
I feel if that's the case, with all the murders here, then he should leave it like that permanently!
Bob said...
Last night around dusk a kid about 14 or 15 tried sneaking up behind on me on a suburban street (in a city) & lifting my wallet. I easily foiled him. A year or two from now he'll try it again, but he'll press a gun to the victim's head.
And then you will learn reality, if you survive.
"Hey Field. Eight rational, intelligent, sobering comments in a row. Did I mistakingly wander onto the alternate Field Negro blog?"
I was thinking the exact same thing. :)
~
BLACK GIRL IN THE CITY , with those khoochie-cutters all the way up in the slit of her PSSUY; is advertising what?
Yeast Infection creme.
`
Nsangoma,no thanks for ruining the streak. :(
Field,
As a Philly native who grew up in the "heart" of what you described I thank and bless you for capturing the plight of our people stuck in this terrible situation and trying to raise children in this environment.
We have a responsibility to the our elders and the children to address this mess. Keep speaking truth to power.
Fighting the good fight!
KF
~
field booty, what happened to
Ms Khoochie Cutter?:
http://i42.tinypic.com/358sbhv.jpg/
http://black-girlinthecity.com/
`
Field,
I notice the amount of post to your blog has become smaller; but more relevent.Why?
Let me first say that the WORST thing the media has done in this debacle is the coverage (sometimes in favorable light) of the shooter. He will live forever, and that was his intention - a permanent presence in the media.
Field, once again you precociously lay out what is latent in the Black psyche. Namely, the lack of concern the President, the Media, and the rest of America has for OUR tragedies (even going so far as to justify them and excuse the offenders...Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant, on and on). Sadly, the media speaks more to the conscious of America than the shooters actions do.
Asad said...
Let me first say that the WORST thing the media has done in this debacle is the coverage (sometimes in favorable light) of the shooter. He will live forever, and that was his intention - a permanent presence in the media.
Field, once again you precociously lay out what is latent in the Black psyche. Namely, the lack of concern the President, the Media, and the rest of America has for OUR tragedies (even going so far as to justify them and excuse the offenders...Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant, on and on). Sadly, the media speaks more to the conscious of America than the shooters actions do.
In other words you want the world to lament and fix YOUR tragedies.
Well, the world will JOIN you, but it isn't taking over and or accepting responsibility while those who created the culture lie blameless and idle anymore.
I saw an article on Haiti today pretty much saying how America failed Haiti because it isn't rebuilt yet. In the article they talk about Haitian corruption, stolen donations from American taxpayers and how the Haitians haven't done anything yet but it's despicable that Americans haven't fixed it for them yet.
Think on it.
trayvon martin got what he deserved ande he is the reason we have stand your ground laws which you commies hate.for you to try ande compare the colorado mental case to negro gang bangers is foolish because there is a big difference between the two.the former can't help being crazy where the latter can but chose not to.all of this can be laid at the feet of the national socialist democratic workers party for surporting a bastard breeding program callede welfare and from tede kennedy's turn lose the insane laws.kennedy emptied all the mental asylums and gave a check to every pregent bum in the country.the reslut is nuts not committed and bastard gang banger running wild in the cities.you fix the negroe field and vote for people who will lock up the nuts. never mind your gun control bull shit because if it worked bongo's home town would be a safe city which it is not now.if that black man with a carry permit had brought his gun to the movie he could have stopped the crazy man before he killed so many.
supreme work on this one, my good man! i'm never disappointed on my breaks when i get a chance to read your blog. "one can take sides, & i think Orwell becomes a good model for this but one can never not tell the truth" - Chris Hedges...a quote from one of my personal fav journalists. seemed especially relevant here. as always keep up the excellent work!
-AFNMDC/O2009
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-woman-wounded-in-englewood-shooting-20120720,0,705754.story
21 shot in Chicago in less than 24 hours. :(
An Aurora Massacre Takes Place Every 10 Days in Chicago, Gun-Control Capital of the United States
The city of Chicago enforces the most draconian (and unconstitutional) gun-control laws in the United States.
And how's that working out?
Oddly, there are no calls for more gun control in the wake of the weekly Chicago massacre. Once you have the stiffest gun control laws on the books, you should probably look at the root of the problem... "Three men are dead and at least 23 other people wounded from gun violence across the city since Friday night."
In fact, Chicago police superintendent Garry McCarthy is "accentuating the positives" of the bloody results of his city's oppressive gun ban, which prevents only the law-abiding from defending themselves by force of arms:
McCarthy noted this weekend's numbers were half the total of shootings for the same weekend last year. He also said that while 2012 shootings are up by eight percent over 2011, they've decreased considerably since March when the year-to-year increase was 40 percent...
...McCarthy also said the murder rate is well below the record of 970 set in 1974, although it's still on pace to reach 450 murders and that the murder rate is increasing as overall violent crime in Chicago is showing a decline.
In other words, an Aurora massacre occurs every 10 days in Chicago, the gun-control capital of the U.S. Like Washington DC, New York City, Mexico City and London -- to name but a few -- "gun-free" cities are truly areas where the innocent are targeted by predators who have no intent to follow any law.
The masterminds who think they can banish evil from the world by banning guns must reject all of human history, as well as logic and reason, to promote their unconstitutional schemes.
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2012/07/an-aurora-massacre-takes-place-every-10.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Brother Field....mother + father + child = family. Baby + baby momma + baby daddy = three individuals. The first equation produced children that had a sense of caring for others as well as children with a sense of guilt. We act according to the labels that are placed on us. A father usually act differently than a baby daddy. So I can understand the label of "soldier and civilian". This mentality of acting out the label of soldier will only present them as prisoners or death statistic in due time. Stop with that dead rap about "dealing dope is the only way out". The Grayhound leaves most urban areas every four hours. There are other options ........ Many people have done the lawful things and survived. Being a soldier require discipline and the ability to have compassion and guilt.
"It is why President Obama did not make an official statement about the 274 murders in his hometown of Chicago so far this year, but he had to make one about the shootings in a movie theater in Colorado."
"Unfortunately for them, though, the presidential candidates will not take a break from their campaigns to consider their plight and mourn with the rest of the country. Flags will not be flown at half-mast, and the residence of North Philadelphia, East St. Louis, or the city of Detroit will not be getting a visit from the president."
My thoughts exactly, Mr. Field. Thanks for this post.
Val
Thought provoking piece.
See field, you can write intelligent, original posts when you do it yourself, instead of repeating Media Matters agitprop or the latest race hustler news.
Truth is, people are always going to have more sympathy for "civilian' deaths than for someone who courts trouble by being a "soldier".
And nothing is going to change as long as living a civilian life is acting white, and being a soldier is keeping it real.
Massachusetts and Hawaii have stricter gun control than Illinois does and they have far less shootings than Illinois and Pistolvania. Maybe the cops in IL and PA places just aren't as good?
As far as President Obama goes, his focus has been on Domestic Violence, with some work on street violence. Not much, but when was the last time you heard a reporter ask Obama about gang violence? I don't recall either.
You wouldn't know without looking because it's not in the media.
I remember back in 1992, New Orleans had 589 murders. It was so bad there was talk of sending in the national guard. So things aren't as bad as you make them out to be, Field.
"So things aren't as bad as you make them out to be, Field."
I know a few cops here in Philly who would say otherwise.
I'm not sure what you want the rest of the nation to do or the President when this is really a cultural values problem. Even if jobs weren't being cut right now (namely service and government jobs) and even if some of these "soldiers" and even "civilians" were given access to them (regardless of education or merit)--would they really take them? How would they be able to keep those jobs?
You made a choice to do well in school and become an attorney, a choice that some people within that soldier-civilian community would look down upon or ridicule for "working for the man", or "acting white"--just as taking a service/government job would be. Really job creation is the only thing that Obama can do...and he can't just create money and opportunity out of thin air, plus there are plenty of other folks struggling right now that don't have that cultural dissonance with "working for the man," and would gladly take those jobs.
How will media attention help the situation? The only thing the media can do is to generate people to blame the community (after all it isn't happening to them and their community) which will make the community either feel shamed or defensive and place blame somewhere else besides on their own values and attitudes that create the problem.
I was recently asked by my nine-year-old nephew who is being raised in a city that isn't as violent as Philadelphia, but definitely impoverished, whether I was planning to have kids with my fiance. He then matter-of-factly told me that I should have more than one because then I will get more "stuff." He is living with his single mother who did not complete high school with two brothers from two different fathers.
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