What Did You Do In The
Great War of the Streets Daddy?
By
Nick Ashton, CEO/Founder,
Tracometry Group of Companies.
Whenever
you hear, as a citizen, that there is to be a town hall meeting, you just know
it is going to be a bunch of politicians, city officials and those with the
most egotistical hidden agendas espousing their mantras and pet phrases and
nothing will get done. Words, just empty
words and a chance for you to grab some shut-eye in a church pew.
WRONG!
I have been
to some of the most boring corporate and civil meetings in my time and last
night was not one of those nights!
Of course
it started late, when are you people
going to learn the respect of starting on time?
The moderator, Amos and yes there is an Andy somewhere, did not pass out
cookies, but did, pass out the rules of speaking for the night. Two minutes and two minutes only and he would
shout “time”. Oh he did!
It was a
town hall meeting for the public to voice their wants, needs and solutions on
the crime ridden streets, not to just talk, Amos, like all that attended,
wanted to hear about solutions.
A couple
hundred people attended this event with a panel from public safety, law
enforcement, council, state attorney’s office and a juvenile judge. The panel were there to listen, they did,
intently. They are as frustrated as
those that attended and voiced their views.
The
speakers for the evening numbered over 55, who made their personal points. This included a child of seven (7) and a man
of seventy-seven (77). Amos, the
moderator, asked that younger people come speak and a few come forth. The majority of speakers were over
thirty-five (35) and made their points.
It had been stated that the street violence problems were predominantly
those aged eighteen (18) thru thirty-four (34), which I personally dispute and
so did others. Children from the age of
nine (9) are being used as drug mules, intimidated by their elders and are on
the street university of shame, death
and a sure way to that road to incarceration.
The
comments and solutions ranged from opening non-alcoholic clubs for the youth,
more basketball courts, family group mentoring and teaching the children more
at school.
I say we
need parenting, instilling Trust, Respect and Pride back into
the neighborhoods. It is about values, a simple five letter word that is nearly
been eradicated from society.
We cannot
use our thumbs to fight our way out of the problem. Twitter, Facebook, and other social mediums
are in fact, unsociable, as they do not allow for face to face interaction and communication.
I just read what a local television news channel
partially reported about the evening:
“Why don't we teach the law in school to
children that they know that they are up against," said another resident.
U.S. Attorney Joe
Hogsett wasn't on the panel, but he gave sobering statistics about the crime
rate in the east side neighborhood.
"A young
black man is 85 percent times more likely to be a victim of homicide than the
national average," Hogsett said.
Councilor Lewis
said enough is enough and something has to be done.
"We need the
parents at the table, grandparents at the table, auntie, uncles, everyone,
wrapping ourselves around our youth and talk about how we help them," she
said.”
Items plucked from
the air that really do not even represent the street level problems. The simple fact is, Any Town, USA is in dire need for those folks to do something
positive. Boredom is a blight and those
young people think they are bored today, wait until they get to twenty-five (25),
if they reach that heady milestone in life.
The younger folks
seem to think it is the responsibility of local government to fix the issue
with money. Local governments don’t have
money, in fact they are so overwhelmed with monies owed to them, that a budget
shortfall is the norm. It is the fact
that responsibility of the individuals has been thrown out with the bath water
and society does not seemed to have noticed.
Or have they?
It is going to
take laying out the facts, the real facts and communicating with the
instigators, their parents and being as hard on the situation, that it will
have to come all sides to solve this problem.
Knowing the depths
of the real problem is the first step, not some study over six months. Law enforcement has a heck of a job on their
hands and believe you me, they are fed up with it, just like the sane parents,
which are few and far between.
The analytic facts
must be presented with the simple solutions of invigorating Trust, Respect and
Pride
back into the neighborhoods. It is time to pay
the piper and be realistic on all
fronts.
Sure I have an agenda, the Pied
Piper Project, to revitalize the neighborhoods, attract commerce, so
folks can get jobs and pay their way daily in society. The day of handouts is long gone and self-support
is required now, sure we can teach this, heaven’s we do it in Africa for entire
villages and they are not killing each other!
Money
is always the issue and some say that money is root of all evil and the piper
must be paid. Cities cannot just give
monies that they don’t have. Monies owed
must be recouped, collected and used for daily needs. No politician wants to say no, but right now
they have to.
recoupeit, will change that, collecting the monies owed in very
professional manner will fund the projects and law enforcement needs to keep
the peace.
Yes,
I have an agenda! Why, this is my home,
I live here and want to have an environment that is safe for all.
It
was the youngest speaker, just seven (7) years old that echoed the problem,
wanting no more violence. The most
senior, seventy-seven (77) lives in a neighborhood full of the problems and
wants it back to what it used to be.
Can
we do that for both these people at opposite ends of the social spectrum?
Of course we can!
Call: (317) 426.0110
info@tracometry.com
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