Another hit from last night's Republican CNN/YouTube debate...
The question: What would you do about deadly black-on-black crime in America?
The response:
What do you make of these responses? And what about Mitt Romney invoking Bill Cosby's remarks?
Tags: CNN | GOP | Mitt Romney | YouTube | crime
12:27 PM ET | 11-29-2007 | permalinkI was offended by the response because I felt like Bill Cosby's remarks were for black folks only, not to be used by politicans as an excuse not to address the problems of the inner city and the poor in general. For example, the poor state of inner city schools, low unemployment, and lack of safe places for young kids to hang out and do constructive things with their free time.
I think the question is more offensive than the Romney's answer. And I have no problem with Gov. Romney referencing Dr. Cosby. Ultimately, people of color are going to have to look inward in order to bring correction to Black on Black crime. Better yet, perhaps the euphemism "Black on Black" crime has to be addressed. When Catholic priests molest adolescents is that "White on White" crime? Or is it a crime? I wrote about this yesterday and again Black folks are going to have to analyze and develop solutions on their own:
http://afronerd.blogspot.com/2007/11/question-really-is-what-are-you-going.html
Clueless - that was my reaction to the answer Mitt Romney gave. Then I thought what a copout in using Bill Cosby recent remarks on "Meet the Press" or "Larry King" as justifying the reason behind Black on Black crime.
Crime against black folk is more related to poverty more than anything else. I believe that if people of other ethnic backgrounds were in the same economic status, having the same dynamics working against them, they would take to the streets. As americans, we must get through the culture of resolving conflict with a gun or a knife. I believe that each individual must not only improve themselves but also reinvent themselves when necessary to overcome their economic situation. Every individual should be competitive in the work environment. It's not easy to achieve. I feel that black people know this, however, overcoming poverty, when you're in it, you feel like you'd have a better chance getting a ride on the space shuttle.
I think it's silly to ask this group of WASPs that question. What do we REALLY expect them to say? What real solutions do we expect them to provide, when their core motivations and interests do not include any concerns specific to the black community, especially those in the working class? The young man and his father should be posing that question to the leaders in their community, their peers, as well as themselves. I seriously doubt that Mitt Romney, if elected president of this country, will make it his mission to bring an end to so-called "black-on-black crime" in some of America's poorest neighborhoods. And I don't understand why anyone would be surprised that he invoked Bill Cosby in his response. I'd be surprised if he didn't, and I expect more of them to do so, if presented with a similar query. Bill Cosby voiced the opinions of many elites (read whites) in this country, and the fact that he is black, and a member of that club, they can, and probably will use him as a pawn -- whether openly, or behind the curtain.
At the core of all this are longstanding issues that will not be resolved by a critical book or two (Bill Cosby), or a group of mostly white, male/female millionaires over 50 (Romney, Giuliani, Obama, Clinton et al). I don't have the ultimate solution, but I do know that it will start and end with us -- black people collectively.
I do not think he answered the question, he stated some of the reasons for the high rate of crime in black communities, few households with both parents present and the failure to educate minority students but he did not state what he would do specifically to address these issues. the only thing he said that he would do was advocate better policing, which is needed, but he followed that statement with he increased the number of police in his state while governor and getting tough on crime which although needed to reduce crime are not sufficient by themselves to reduce crime which probably contributed to the low( 7%)reduction in crime his state had while he was governor. I think Guiliani at least addressed the question directly, and it is true NYC is much safer than it used to be but, the economy improved dramatically while Guiliani was mayor, I think that had as much to do with the reduction in crime in NYC than the sum of his policies.
Comments are reviewed and edited by NPR prior to display. All comments will be read, but not all will be posted.
NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.
News & Views is the companion blog of NPR's news magazine show, News & Notes. It extends News & Notes' ongoing conversation about the diversity of the African-American experience. For more information, read our Frequently Asked Questions guide and our Discussion Rules.
Listen to the News & Notes podcast for a look at fascinating issues and people from an African-American perspective.
