Violence in on the rise, a disturbing trend under any circumstances. Possibly something to be expected in poor economic times.  What is disturbing about this particular rise in violence is who the perpetrators are, why they are committing the violence and, must disturbing of all, the lack of coverage the violence is receiving.

Edmund Burke said “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” In other words evil triumphs in a vacuum. This is just reiteration of much older wisdom that has been handed down through the ages. If you do not check a child’s bad behavior not only will the bad behavior continue, it will escalate. As it is with poorly behaved children, so it is with adults. If unchecked or poorly punished, criminal behavior escalates as the baser nature of man takes control.

Given this knowledge it should not be surprising that a trend of increased random attacks that started to make news last year are continuing. We are speaking of course about the attacks by groups of young blacks targeting innocent white people. Violent attacks of any sort should not be tolerated by society with nonsensical violence, like that based on race, receiving the strongest and quickest response. Unfortunately that is not what is happening.

Author and economist Thomas Sowell wrote an article on this very subject a couple of weeks ago. As he pointed out this type of activity has been around for awhile as has the propensity for those in authority to down play it. As it was for black citizens before the middle of the last century, it has been for whites for quite some time. A black man in the 1930’s could find himself beaten or worse for daring to tread into some neighborhoods. Today their are certain places whites are not welcome and shouldn’t go, especially after dark. If some errant soul pushes fate or is ignorant of this fact the price paid is often high. An unintended consequence of the Civil Rights era and President Johnson’s Great Society.

What has been happening with increasing frequency today is fundamentally different in character and scope.  Flash mobs started appearing last summer and are an ominous sign of a growing trend; groups of black youths and young adults attacking random Caucasians and terrorizing businesses.  The perpetrators, if caught, are often slapped on the wrist and let go. If caught being the operable phrase as many were never apprehended despite video recordings, that clearly show the faces of those involved, often being available. A good example of this trend happened in Baltimore where a tourist was beaten, robbed and stripped while on lookers laughed.

Unfortunately not only are the perpetrators often not caught, the events themselves are often downplayed. Media rarely mentions the race of the attackers and the police seem reluctant to mention it also.  When others mention it they are often lambasted by the media as if they are the ones spouting hate and not the ones committing the violent acts! As the attacks continue so does the Media cover-up. Mob attacks have happened in Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, Portland, Mobile, Chicago, Tampa, Milwaukee, Mobile, Gainesville, and many, many more places.  The sheer number is far more then can be listed here.

These attacks seem to happen without warning and at anytime of the day.  The only commonality is the silence from the media and even law enforcement.  One can imagine the international outrage if a group of white students were targeting innocent black people. Such attacks would be met with non-stop coverage and marches for justice would soon follow. That these outrageous attacks have been met by silence is disturbingly telling.  No only is the race is not mentioned but the very mention of the attacks being a Hate Crime (a questionable designation anyway) is downplayed. In fact in many cases the authorities go out of their way to distance the incidents from any racial overtones even when the participants themselves admit race was the inspiration for their violence. A good example was the recent attack on two reporters.  Even their editor refused to entertain the idea the attacks were racial in nature, despite interviews with participants and witnesses to the contrary.

This should not be construed as impugning the whole black community for these acts no more then the rise of the KKK during the Progressive Era and under FDR’s progressive liberalism should be construed as a mark against whites in general. But, just as the rise of KKK violence was of concern to conservative Republicans during those times (progressive liberal Democrats were lauding the KKK during the Progressive Era and protecting them under FDR), this disturbing trend should be of concern to us all. In fact many within the black community are just as disturbed by the senseless violence as those in other communities. Even though these events are not representative of the black community as a whole, the fact it is happening and happening with regularity is disturbing.

This trend has its roots in two main factors.

1. Inspiration: Those involved are often driven by anger; a feeling of justified rage that has been nurtured by the left since the 60’s.  Through race players like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson they are told they do not have a chance, that the power of racism is too pervasive and the odds are stacked against them. Even the president of the current version of the NAACP has proclaimed America more racist now then during the Revolutionary War. Add to this the constant drum beat of community organizers like Obama that have been preaching society owes them a debt that isn’t being payed and you have the ingredients of a powder keg.  By exploiting the those in despair under the pretense of being their advocates these groups have been instilling hopelessness and a sense of unfulfilled entitlement inside the black community for years. A recipe akin to mixing gasoline and fire.

2. Impunity: As mentioned in the intro, evil triumphs when there is an absence of resistance. The media, politicians and the police have been trained to avoid upsetting the race baiters like Sharpton and Jackson out of fear of bringing on their wrath. Their ability and the ability of people like them to stir up crowds, grab media attention and create chaos has inspired a culture of fear. Fear of reprisal if they dare take on the spirit of American black victimhood that forms the underpinning of their power. This reluctance to take on racism and race inspired violence inside the black community has removed the natural bulwark that would of kept the rise of such violence in check.

Unfortunately there seems to be nothing happening that would indicate a change in direction. Local governments continue to downplay the events and politicians at the state level are also to afraid to take the problem on.  The President for his part has been an active participant in the fiasco. By running interference for the racist New Black Panthers in the now infamous voter intimidation case (something even the head of the organization acknowledged) he has signaled his willingness to use the power of the justice department to stop charges from being filed against those perpetrating lawless acts of black on white violence. The only hope to counter the current trend towards more and more violence is to put a spotlight on it and a counter reaction within the black community itself. If this does not happen racial violence and divisions will only get worse.

It is high time that the American society moves beyond racial politics.  Race itself is a nonsensical division of society.  Cultures vary according to experience and traditions handed between people and generations.  Race itself has nothing to do with how people act or what they see as important, it is culture that determines this more then anything else.  To divide people by race only causes additional divisions within society. When racial divides are created they become artificial cultural barriers that keep peoples apart. Natural melding of cultures that creates a cohesive society are blocked leaving a multicultural stew of animosity.  This is why conservatives view race based laws or decisions, no matter how noble the reasoning, as inherently abhorrent.

“The first step for a society to move beyond racial divisions is to stop looking at race as a legitimate means of dividing up people”  The Conservative Mind

The Conservative Mind

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