It is very disheartening to read about the unjust murder of any youth, by anyone. While I am not a conspiracy theorist, having studied journalism in college, I know the term “if it bleeds it leads” is not just a catchy phrase. In the decades since my matriculation, news has become even more of a space filler in between advertisements. The goal is to engage audiences in order to reel them in long enough to spend money on the items they are being told they need. It is a corporate bait and switch. And what better way to utilize this viewing commercial space than to fill it with a story that will incite even more stories in the form of civil protest, and in some cities outright unrest? As a mother, I cannot imagine how it feels to lose a child in any manner. It is an utter nightmare that no parent should have to ever face. But the fact remains that while people debate whether Black people should be more angered by a police shooting or a gang shooting, a female is assaulted, here in America, every two minutes. When I was training to be a rape counselor, we had victims as young as infants. Black victims are 50% less likely to report a rape because of the guilt and shame associated with it and women are generally less empathic jurors in rape cases. I suspect that is because it is such a common occurrence at this point, they probably feel women should get over it and move on with their lives. In Los Angeles County alone, there are at least 22 gang prevention programs. I am not saying they are all effective but at least there is acknowledgement of the problem. There is also cultural sensitivity training for police officers. Could it be better? Of course! On the other hand, it is extremely difficult to keep female victims of abuse safe—especially children who run away from their assailants/foster parents. And I have yet to see anyone march on behalf of the millions of victims across this country starting as young as 6 months old. I pray that while we are teaching our boys how to respond when police officers pull them over, and how to keep away from gangs, we are also teaching them how to respect their female counterparts—how to have integrity, courage and high morals. In other words, I hope we are raising men.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 03:26:33 +0000
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