The unspoken problem behind Hadiya's death

[Hugh Victor Thompson III]

I stopped celebrating Black History Month many years ago.

What is there to celebrate? I am writing about this issue because of the misguided emphasis too many African-Americans are placing on the murder of Hadiya Pendleton. She was the 15-year-old sophomore shot to death a week after performing with her school band at the president's inaugural. She was allegedly killed by an 18-year-old black gang member in a public park not far from President Barack Obama's South Side Chicago home.

Black people, politicians in particular, avoid discussing the problems at the heart of Hadiya Pendleton's death, the heavy toll of black-on-black violence and the moral decay that keeps us trapped.

I expect politicians to avoid the hard issues, but I worry when black residents play this cynical game. Damon Stewart, Hadiya Pendleton's godfather, did so when he spoke at the girl's funeral. "She is a representative not just of the people in Chicago," he said. "She is a representative of people across this nation who have lost their lives."

Stewart did not mention the real problem that begs to be addressed: Hadiya is representative of the high number of blacks killed and brutalized by other blacks each year in the United States.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, nearly 7,000 blacks are killed annually, 94 percent by other blacks. Along with being victims of black-on-black murders, African-Americans most often are the victims of violent personal crimes such as robbery and assault.

What is there to celebrate during February?

I came of age during Jim Crow. We were taught that history is a means to understand the present and a guide to securing a wholesome future. We studied our history and celebrated it every day. We were taught to admire and respect the courage and accomplishments of those who survived — with dignity — America's institutionalized racism, its violence and the poverty it created.

We were taught that those who came before us were our heroes, our role models. And we celebrated them. Our teachers placed the images and sayings of famous civil rights activists, educators, business owners, celebrities and others on our classroom walls.

I memorized the words of W.E.B. Du Bois behind my homeroom teacher's desk: "We cannot stand still; we cannot permit ourselves simply to be victims."

[Hugh Victor Thompson III]

Du Bois' saying and those of other influential blacks were more than mere words. Based on real experiences, they served as a blueprint for life. They gave us a deep sense of personal responsibility, self-respect and a commitment to serve others.

They taught us empathy, the ability to care, to share in another person's feelings and emotions and thoughts.

We learned to be a community. We cared about our neighbors, their property and the safety of their children. This was social capital. We knew that our power came from cooperation and trust that benefited the greater good.

Vandalizing a neighbor's home was to vandalize our own home. Assaulting a neighbor was to assault oneself. Killing a neighbor was to kill a part of the community. A neighbor who let trash pile up in his yard trashed the value of his neighbors' yards. Calling the police was not viewed as snitching but as being responsible and caring. We knew that crime destabilized our community and threatened everyone.

Empathy and social capital are absent from too many of today's black communities nationwide. In places like Chicago's South Side — where violent teenage gangs have replaced the traditional family — empathy is seen as a weakness and social capital is seen as that warm-and-fuzzy stuff that whites and black traitors practice.

Many African-Americans blame urban poverty for this crisis. But poverty does not explain away the lack of a moral compass, the source of the violence and general neglect that have turned our communities into dystopias.

What is there to celebrate during Black History Month?
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/the-u...

[Hugh Victor Thompson III]

Waiting for the "Uncle Tom!" crew to arrive in three...two...one...

[Big Johnson]

Maybe we should have Black History Year instead.

[Hugh Victor Thompson III]

Big Johnson wrote:

Maybe we should have Black History Year instead.

For twelve times the ignorant propaganda?

[Duke for Mayor]

Hugh Victor Thompson III wrote:

<quoted text>For twelve times the ignorant propaganda?

You've got a point Paco. Your whining is bad enough already.

woof

[Hugh Victor Thompson III]

Duke for Mayor wrote:

<quoted text>
You've got a point Paco. Your whining is bad enough already.
woof

If I were black, your post might make sense.
Might...

[Duke for Mayor]

Hugh Victor Thompson III wrote:

<quoted text>If I were black, your post might make sense.
Might...

As is quite evident, ignorant propaganda knows no color.

woof

[Hugh Victor Thompson III]

Duke for Mayor wrote:

<quoted text>
As is quite evident, ignorant propaganda knows no color.
woof

I know. I sometimes have to keep reminding myself that you, Reader and Che are white.

[hey now hey]

To celebrate Black History Morning or Evening or Hour, let us bring up Christopher Dorner. Not as a rights warrior, but rather as an affirmative action preferences darling. Couldn't hack it in the Navy reserves and was let loose since he wasn't quality enough to make field grade commision and couldn't hack it in the LAPD where the federales have co-opted that department through DOJ consent decrees. Not even then!
Next segment of Black History 1/4 hour: John Mohammad, DC sniper.

[Whoreallycares]

I actually liked your post Hugh (or george?). It was well structured, proposed a terrific amount of content, and was completely devoid of racial slurs and the like. Beyond that, I agree with most of it. I will however state that the lack of empathy you describe is something more rampant than just a racial matter... it's a generational one. I know empathy was not looked on as an admirable trait when I was in school, and it seems even less of one now.

The colder/nonchalante you are, the less you "feel", the "cooler" you are in most social circles. I don't think it is only being propogated by school, but by everything in their lives. The disconnection enforced through constant media exposure... there are so many television shows that show asinine behaivor and an utter lack of empathetic awareness... and these shows are often dubbed "reality" shows.

Almost every video game out there portrays some form of agression or violence... and almost none portray anyone caring about it. Then you've got the media, that often reports on horrific issues without even a touch of realistic remorse... I understand being factual and professional, but sometimes showing a little character can really help the significance of the events (from an empathetic stand-point) hit home.

If I kept thinking I could probably come up with more examples, I'm sure you all can too, you witness it everyday of your lives from anyone, everyone, and yourselves. A lot of people on this forum disregard empathetic notions when it suits them. Actually, the whole internet does that, and with the amount of online exposure the younger generation has, I'm sure that plays a part too.

Think about empathy before painting the whole world with broad strokes, everyone can feel pain, and everyone can feel happiness and everything in between. If all you have to offer to the community (even an online one) is pushing more pain around than anything else you're not doing right by your philosophy. You mentioned your community above, try accepting and caring about a larger one... it might prove rewarding.

[Hugh Victor Thompson III]

Whoreallycares wrote:

I actually liked your post Hugh (or george?). It was well structured, proposed a terrific amount of content, and was completely devoid of racial slurs and the like. Beyond that, I agree with most of it. I will however state that the lack of empathy you describe is something more rampant than just a racial matter... it's a generational one. I know empathy was not looked on as an admirable trait when I was in school, and it seems even less of one now.
The colder/nonchalante you are, the less you "feel", the "cooler" you are in most social circles. I don't think it is only being propogated by school, but by everything in their lives. The disconnection enforced through constant media exposure... there are so many television shows that show asinine behaivor and an utter lack of empathetic awareness... and these shows are often dubbed "reality" shows.
Almost every video game out there portrays some form of agression or violence... and almost none portray anyone caring about it. Then you've got the media, that often reports on horrific issues without even a touch of realistic remorse... I understand being factual and professional, but sometimes showing a little character can really help the significance of the events (from an empathetic stand-point) hit home.
If I kept thinking I could probably come up with more examples, I'm sure you all can too, you witness it everyday of your lives from anyone, everyone, and yourselves. A lot of people on this forum disregard empathetic notions when it suits them. Actually, the whole internet does that, and with the amount of online exposure the younger generation has, I'm sure that plays a part too.
Think about empathy before painting the whole world with broad strokes, everyone can feel pain, and everyone can feel happiness and everything in between. If all you have to offer to the community (even an online one) is pushing more pain around than anything else you're not doing right by your philosophy. You mentioned your community above, try accepting and caring about a larger one... it might prove rewarding.

I didn't write it, you moron. I posted an article from the Tampa Bay Times. A black man by the name of Maxwell wrote it. The link is staring you in the face at the end of the article.
Are you mentally competent?

[Whoreallycares]

Oh, you didn't write it... that explains a lot. You should've just taken credit for it and let it be. I don't click any of your links. I don't click a lot of links in general. I thought that link was just something that supported what (I thought) you'd said above, and I didn't need a lot more support to understand the reason behind what the author was saying. Since who you are hardly matters to me anyway, I can actually read things for what they are and what they communicate.

[Hugh Victor Thompson III]

Whoreallycares wrote:

Oh, you didn't write it... that explains a lot. You should've just taken credit for it and let it be. I don't click any of your links. I don't click a lot of links in general. I thought that link was just something that supported what (I thought) you'd said above, and I didn't need a lot more support to understand the reason behind what the author was saying. Since who you are hardly matters to me anyway, I can actually read things for what they are and what they communicate.

Posting the link is called "attribution," kid. Only scum bags like Joe Biden plagiarize the work of others.
When you understand how Topix works, you get back to us, OK?

[Che Reagan Christ]

Hugh Victor Thompson III wrote:

<quoted text>Posting the link is called "attribution," kid. Only scum bags like Joe Biden plagiarize the work of others.
When you understand how Topix works, you get back to us, OK?

Yeah, kid. Fred majored in Topix at Colby College. He bets you didn't even take any Topix courses in community collge.

[Hugh Victor Thompson III]

Che Reagan Christ wrote:

<quoted text>
Yeah, kid. Fred majored in Topix at Colby College. He bets you didn't even take any Topix courses in community collge.

We're starting to wonder if you ever made it to community college.