Urban Gun Violence: Who Shot Ya?

by Tracy Renee Jones

Published: Saturday, December 04, 2010, 5:20 PM Updated: Saturday, December 04, 2010, 5:22 PM

"Six men are shot overnight in Newark"

NEWARK — Newark suffered a violent night as six people were shot throughout the city in five separate incidents between Friday evening and this morning, authorities said. At 10 p.m. Friday, one person was shot at 25 Broad St. At 10:15 p.m., two people were shot on the 300 block of 6th Avenue. Another person was shot at 216 South St. at 11:13 p.m. Shortly following that, a person was shot on Devine St. at 11:30. One person was shot on Telford Street around 5 a.m. today. All of the victims are believed to be male, according to law enforcement officials, and all were transported to University Hospital for treatment. All six survived, though the man shot on Telford Street is in critical condition. No further details were available yesterday.

It's easy enough for me to ignore the violent deaths that go on in the urban (read: poor black) sections of Essex County. I would say living here causes one to become detached and immune to news of another gun death but that's not true. Living in any ANY urban dwelling causes one to grow distant from the violence that comes included with the utility bill. The only exciting news about Newark gun violence as of lately is that no one getting shot has been killed by the bullet. Apparently, we're dealing with kinder, gentler more life valuing thugs or these mutha fuckas got bad aim.

And I'm grateful for that. I haven't been writing much lately and I don't feel like writing this right now but I must. My best friend's seventeen year old son was approached by two men and shot in the back with a 9 millimeter on the evening of November 11, 2010. He lived, but the bullet severed his spine. He's paralyzed and is now settled into a rehabilitation center learning how to become independent while his single mother scrambles to and fro in search of a new handicapped accessible apartment. I have no idea how she's dealing with this. She has two younger children to care for so she is not afforded the luxury of falling out in a heap of self pity.

Every time I look at his picture I cry. She and I were raised together but fell out of touch. There is a picture on my desk of she and I and our then toddler children taken immediately after coming in contact with each other again. I was the one who spoke her son into existence after suggesting that she needed a child to slow her down and get her centered. Only days later she realized she was pregnant; and he did settle her down into motherhood.

No Guns for Negroes: A Look at Gun Control & its Impact on the Black Community

A long time reader and friend brought me attention to the following documentary some time ago. It deals with the issue, or the idea that gun control laws are inherently racist. I've held off on posting this before now because I'm somewhat skeptical of the true intent of the presentation. Personally, I'm all for gun control. More specifically, as I've written in the past [read here & here]. I'm for laws that control or address the many ways the criminal element or everyday guy can purchase firearms illegally in our streets.

So that said, I'm very leery and see the following as nothing more than propaganda from right-wing sponsored pro-gun activists. Propaganda which pimps Black folks to promote their ideas; and quite frankly, I'm not down with that; and I'm not too sure those groups are concerned with crime in the inner-city. I admit that some of the material presented as far as a historical context, seems accurate. But yet and still I have a problem with the "sales pitch" as one which has the best interest of crime in the black community in mind.

So do me a favor and check it out will you? Please do and be sure to share your thoughts in the commentary on the gun control "problem" as you see it (total runtime 20 minutes). In light of recent events this past weekend in Chicago and the number of shootings and homicides, I think it's time that we had this conversation, on this site at least. Yeah, let's exchange some ideas on this issue, shall we?

Black guy with a gun at an Obama town hall meeting? We don't believe you; you need more people! (UPDATE: He IS a plant)

Last week when I suggested that town hall meetings on health care reform should go light on the presence of gun totting "Elmer Fudds". And instead have my man "O-Dog" of Menace II Society show up with a gun, this is not what I had in mind:

View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

It is my firm belief that this dude was a plant. Yes, I seriously think he was picked up at the Rent-A-Negro store somewhere in Arizona, and I'm willing to bet that John McCain was the one to do it. After all, Arizona is his home state, no? Considering that much of the protests have been staged and anti-reform protesters have been brought in from other cities, that's going to be my belief about this guy. I'm sorry, but that brotha was a little too calm for me to believe otherwise. I dunno, maybe it was the tie and Roger from What's Happening glasses that gave him the confidence. I'm just sayin', you know how smart brothas have been standing up to law enforcement lately and making the news.

Speaking of confidence, when interviewed by The Arizona Republic, he refused to give his name. Not only that, when asked why he felt it necessary to pack his AR-15 assault rifle, he responded, "Because I can do it," and, "In Arizona, I still have some freedoms." Listen here Black people. Before you Negroes get too happy and think Arizona is the land of milk, honey, and Negro freedoms. Remember that those muthaf*ckas raised hell back in the day about recognizing Martin Luther King day as a national holiday.

And personally this attempt to fool me pisses me off and is insulting; especially since the media all focused on the Black guy with a gun rather than the other men reported to be openly packing heat as well. Shit, if they wanted to convince me that this Negro was real the least they could have done was put a doo-rag on his head, throw some gold in his mouth, and have him hugged up next to a White girl. Sorry, but the Black Panther in Birkenstocks thing just wasn't working for me.

UPDATE: Hat-tip to AverageBro of AverageBro.com for this next video. Basically this video proves just what I said in the post above. Yes, this clown works with www.FreedomsPhoenix.com. If you click the provided link you cn see what they're about. At any rate, yes this dude was a plant, and again, strategically positioned to push an agenda and or movement. I guess Larenz Tate wasn't available for booking so they got this guy (read my last post on guns at town hall meetings to get that joke).

Check it out:

Woke Up This Mooooorning (got yourself a gun)

“AK-47, the very best there is. When you absolutely, positively, have to kill every single motherfucker in the room; accept no substitute.” – Ordelle Robbie (from the movie Jackie Brown)

The 1st amendment, affords us the right to free speech; however, it doesn’t give us the right to yell fire in a crowded movie theater without repercussion when there is no fire, right?

Similarly, the 2nd amendment gives us the right to bare arms; however, I sincerely doubt whether that amendment grants us the right to purchase a nuclear warhead for our private protection or whatever, without scrutiny, right?

I mean seriously, if it did, I’m pretty sure it would be commonplace to own and be in the possession of surface to air missiles the likes of any military installment, right? I mean hell, everybody would have a tank in their driveway, right? That said, what is the point of owning a semi-automatic assault rifle as a private citizen?

Who or what does one have to become afraid of, to make the decision go out and purchase one of those? Maybe I’m wrong, and maybe I’m a little bit biased since I do not own any firearms, but can you tell me what should be my motivation for the purchase of one?

Well RiPPa there are bad guys out there with those type of guns so you better be prepared to deal with them by getting one of your own!

Listen, the only bad guys I encounter are the cats I see in movies. Sure, that sounds naïve, but just how am I supposed to protect myself from a car-jacking when my AK-47 is in the trunk of my car? Forget that question. Tell me where in the United States of America I’m able to walk down the street with an assault rifle in plain view of the public just so I can protect myself?

Oh, and let’s take into account that I'm a Black man when you think of an answer. Screw that, where are there White men who are able to get away with that one without even being questioned? Please tell me what town they live in.

Well RiPPa, some people are hunters you know!

Wait, are you serious? Well I’m no hunter, but if I have to buy an assault rifle to hunt deer and caribou here in North America, I think I should be more concerned that the Woolly Mammoth is back instead. Plain and simple, if you’re an enthusiast when it comes to hunting wild game in this country as you’re allowed, I can’t see where an assault weapon is the way to go.

What, are the wild animals Bloods & Crips now? No wait, they’re all members of that gang of Mexican drug cartel deer that snuck across the border, right? Damn Mexican deer; I wish they would just build a damn fence high enough that they can’t jump over.

President Obama is considering making changes and bringing back a ban on assault weapons, and I think it’s a great idea. I say that because somehow, someway, these firearms manage to wind up illegally into the hands of criminals on the streets.

I say if people were concerned about their right to bare these type of weapons, they should have encouraged politicians to pass legislation that makes it a lot harder to obtain these guns illegally in our streets. But now that Obama wants to do something about it, they’re all pissed.

Look, we need to get these guns off the streets; period. It seems to me that the only way to successfully do this is to cut it off at the source which is through sales across the country. Of course as with everything regulated there will be a black market. However, at least by banning these weapons, it should make it harder to obtain them especially at higher than the $400 going rate in California right now.

Yes, they are that cheap because they are easy to obtain and are in easy supply per the article I read. But hey, according to the nutjobs on the right-side of the political spectrum, Obama wants to ban all guns and now everybody is paranoid. From what I hear, it is this fear that drove a 22yr old young man to barricade himself in his home where he killed three police officers. Hmm, now I wonder where he got that idea?

This should make for a very well politicized debate in the months to come, and rightfully so. If Mexican drug cartel leaders can buy guns from stores in America as they have to sneak back across and wreak havoc. Who's to say that the same thing is not happening right now on our streets. Like me, you don't have to be a gun owner to have an opinion. I say that because whether you believe it or not, this stuff affects us all.

In closing I'd like to say that there is no direct correlation between gun control, and crime. Should this ban go through, crime is not going to decline. If anything, it should lead to a decline of these weapons being easily obtainable as they are right now for any criminal element. Even still, I don't understand the reason for owning one, and my concern are these guns in the wrong hands. I say that because owning a gun or not owning a gun doesn't make you any safer.

But I'm an upstanding citizen and not a criminal RiPPa!

Oh well, freedom ain't free is what I was always told.

QUESTION:Would you be opposed or in favor of a ban on semi-automatic rifles?