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tradgedy revisited


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The nation is in a state of mass mourning in the wake of a shooting rampage at a grade school in Connecticut. 20 small children gunned down in their classrooms, victims of a black clad gunman gone amok, turning his gun on the kindergarteners taught by the mother he had killed earlier.

As the story broke, TV programs were interrupted, the screens filled with the stricken faces of news anchors, their laments followed by the appearance of President Obama, fighting back tears, empathizing with parents. Then came the cops who'd responded to the 911 call, and the wide-eyed youngsters all hustled before the cameras to describe what they had witnessed.

Throughout the country the reaction was one of shock. Things like this aren't supposed to break out in idyllic little New England towns, - havens far removed from the death and violence found in the streets of big city ghettos.

How could this happen was the question on everybody's lips as vows were made to prevent tragedies like this in the future, disasters that are unacceptable - when they occur in peaceful white enclaves where the chief worry was more apt to be about the outcome of a child's soccer game.Something had to be done and the outcry for gun control filled the airways as if hoping to get a jump on gun owners reminding that the madman who pulled the trigger was the real culprit.

Meanwhile, back in the black inner cities, residents familiar with the violence that is a part of their every day existence, shared the pain of grief stricken Connecticut parents. But who could blame battle-scarred black mothers if they are a tad case hardened? Who could chide them if "welcome to the real world" was the phrase that came to their minds? Who could doubt that the tears they'd shed over killed loved ones were any less salty than those of America's privileged?

Welcome to the real world, indeed.

"And this, too, shall pass." But for some, the struggle remains constant.

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Now this is where I sound ultra conservative....

I'd say this shooting, like the shootings in Colorado and Oregon are "exceptions" in otherwise peaceful suburban environments where law, order, and civility tend to be the rule.

As much as they seem to be occuring lately, they're still relatively isolated as compared to the warfare seen in some of the ghettoes of America where children seem to be shot and killed on a daily basis.

People are scratching their heads trying to figure out what made this seemingly peaceful quiet kid snap. They're saying most likely it's a mixture of mental illness and the availability of guns. But in the ghetto, people KNOW why so many children are getting killed (lawlessness, declining morals, broken families, lack of decent employment) but few....including the police...seem to be concerned enough to impliment the massive changes needed to resolve the problem. If anyone doubts what I'm saying.....find an average group of Black men and try to sit them down for 5 minutes to talk about the problems afflicting the "hood" and what we can do about it.

Wealthy White people would re-write the constitutions or dismantle the government all together if their children were getting slaughtered across the nation by gang and drug violence the way so many Black and Brown children have been.

It's sad to say, but I've came to the conclusion that many of our people simply don't care as much. Too many are so concerned about their own personal situations that they can't look beyond their noses to see the greater problems afflicting the community as a whole.

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Perhaps not caring is part of it. Perhaps an overwhelming sense of not knowing what to do is part of it too.

True many, particularly "successful" Black people are too concerned with their own situation to engage in anything more than the annual volunteer work prescribed by their employers.

Others follow behind "leaders" more concerned with their own notoriety and revenue than they are with really helping Black people, only to be disappointed as things continue to get worse...

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