That is not “my world view” - those are facts.
We have a shooting every day in our small, Northern Illinois city.
We had a shooting on Thanksgiving morning. 1 man died, the other is fighting for his life.
The largest portion of our property taxes (4th highest in the nation) goes to the public schools–which have tried countless programs over the decades to combat racism, develop self-confidence and a work ethic among the poor, the minorities, the children of immigrants, etc. Whatever they’re doing with our money, it isn’t working. 50% of African American young men drop out of high school. These young men all too often end up involved with gang/mob crime and sadly, often end up dead or in prison.
I do not know what the answer is, but I will say that if the police force were “defunded,” certain sections of our city would become war zones between the gangs–literal “no-man’s land.”
We have an African American County States Attorney who has courageously stood up for the police and their work, and steadfastly faces constant criticism from African American elitists who accuse her of reverse racism and all the rest. She is a rock that I admire immensely.
I know that there are new ways of thinking about race relations in this country and it is important that we continue to work through the injustices that have been perpertrated not just in the past, but fairly recently (lynchings were still fairly common in the 1930s, and most African American families have a memory of at least one family member who was lynched)
But at this time, it’s almost impossible to hold any conversation about race without a liberal viewpoint taking over and drowning out a more complete view of the entire history. These conversations, IMO, often end up doing more harm than good, and reinforcing stereotypes.
E.g., I will freely admit that I am not buying “racial injustice” in the public schools in the last 20 years or so when I think of all the tax money that has been poured into our public schools, and all the “anti-racism programs” that have been tried (and given up on), and all the reconciliatory work that has been done by everyone from pastors and priests to counsellors to doctors to musicians and artists–and still there are outbreaks of racial violence, mainly black against black.
I will go out on a limb and reveal my “white supremacy attitude” by saying that there comes a time when we must take some personal responsibility and do what we must do to make our lives better.
In case anyone is wondering, my husband and I live on a busy street right smack in the middle of the city, in one of the “older” sections with mainly older homes (ours is a 60 year-old ranch style home) and I would say that our neighborhood (about 9 streets) is about 1/3 African American, about 1/3 Hispanic, about 1/6 Middle Eastern, and about1/6 white, mainly older folks like us. It’s a fun neighborhood where everyone seems to get along and look out for each other. I wish the whole city were like this.
