As many people know Amy and I once lived in a house off of Louisburg Rd. behind Triangle Town Center. It’s where we lived when Connor was born. We moved out of the area specifically because it was going down hill. The location became full of dumb little thugs. In fact a house on our street was converted to a rental and the equivalent of a gang moved in. They called themselves a “riding club” as the sped in and out of the neighborhood on their crotch rockets all day and night.
Needless to say I got the hell outta Dodge. It was only a matter of time before the thug culture proliferating in the area moved towards the mall. Crapital Blvd. has always been notorious for these African American bike gangs striking fear into anyone wanting to stop for gas as they congregate by the dozens and enjoy the fact that they’ve staked their turf. That’s right, I called them out as black bike gangs. There is no use burying our head and imagining that this is anything less than a racial and cultural issue.
Some of the the dumb little thugs got outta control last Saturday night and 15 to 20 of them got in a fight in Triangle Town Center causing the mall to be closed an hour early. According to reports approx. 200 little thug bumpers ran crazy in the mall. The media labeled it a “riot”. While it was far from a riot it was definitely a wake up call. A call that may never be heeded. You see the fact that this entire problem was caused by black kids flashing gang signs has been disputed by members of the black community. They denounce the fact that there is any mention of race in the problem.
Let me be straight: In the office next to me is one of the coolest women I know. Her name is Jackie and she is in charge of accounts payable at our company. And she’s a black woman from Durham. She’s great. And she agrees with me on many points I will make here including the fact that if the black community works harder at dispelling the notion that this was not a black on black thug issue verses trying to solve the root of the problem it will never go away.
Many people on WRAL’s GOLO forum are screaming about lack of parenting, supervision and anything they can find to displace the responsibility of this event away from the kids who did the fighting. I can tell you first hand that only people with a completely unrealistic and idealistic view of the world believe that all parents can and should have control of their kids at all times. Sorry Ozzy and Harriet, the world just doesn’t work that way.
The core of the problem is that these black kids have an unrealistic sense of entitlement. And they now feel the only way to acquire what they’re entitled to is through their own. What do I mean by this? I mean through their peers and their attitude. They drop out of school, realize their never going to be an NBA star so they figure what the hell, Tupac and 50 cent got famous, watch me. And this is the lifestyle, and the culture, they make a conscious decision to live in. And the black community at large shuns any criticism, internal or external, of this culture.
If a black man dares speak up about the trajedy of black youth today he will be labeled a traitor by everyone all the way up to the NAACP. If a white person says “black kids today have a problem” they are an automatic racist. Never mind the statistics: 50% of black students will drop out of high school verses approx. 22% of all other races combined. Less than 10% of “gang” members are white. It’s probably below 5% in an area like Raleigh. So when blacks deny that the problem primarily exists among blacks it is only adding fuel to the fire. They are percieved to be accepted and supported by their own.
It’s time to end dumb thuggery regardless of skin color or socio-economic status. If the problem just happens to be among black kids well then, they are the ones going to jail or boot camp. Trying legitimize this gun toting, violent lifestyle by labeling it “Hip Hop” or any other name only gives it the merit required to draw future generations into it’s downward cycle. Here’s a news flash: hating cops is not cool. And if you or anyone you associate with share an anti-law enforcement attitude it’s because you’ve got something immoral or illegal to hide. Making excuses for a dumb-ass thug is almost as bad as being one.