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The Crime Cure: Respond or React Doonesbury
BY GARRY TRUDEAU
The state of the criminal justice system is
like a patient being treated for symptoms of an
illness without determining the illness that pro
duced the symptoms. While the patient may
react positively to the treatment, treating the
cause of the symptoms ? the problem ? would
be the appropriate response.
There is a continued public outcry for
tougher sentences, more prison beds and more
police officers to combat the perceived explo
sion of crime and violence.
Politicians and others are tapping into our
fears and emotions to dictate our thoughts to
react to the symptoms rather than creating
sense of understanding to respond to the prob
lem.
Rep. Dan Blue, Speaker of the N.C.
House, relates a story that captures the essence
of the problem. A man standing on the side of
the river sees someone drowning and jumps in
to save him. The another man floats by and he
saves him, too. Then a family floats by, and
this fellow and his friend jump in and save
them. After a couple more people come by, the
fellow looks at his friend and says, "One of us
has got to go to the head of the river and see
why everybody's falling in."
Without regard to why people are falling
in, we are reacting to symptoms and the prob
lem is not being treated We are sick and tired
of being frightened and we want something
A recent speech
to Rotary on the
State of The Criminal
Juiticc System illus*
trates the point: We
are spending more
and more money on j
the perceived prob
GUEST COLUMNIST
By NIGEL D. ALSTON
lem of crime without trying to consider the
problem, whether it is a problem, how it got to
be a problem, and whether our throwing money
at the problem is, in fact, exacerbating it as
opposed to solving it. ~ "
, Several years ago, my mother-in-law had a
persistent lower back pain that began to bother
her. After describing the symptoms to her doc
tor, she was treated for what he thought was a
strained or pulled muscle. Because the symp
toms continued spite of the treatment pre
scribed, additional studies and tests were done.
The problem was carcinoma in situ. The appro
priate treatment, surgery. She responded to the
right treatment and the symptoms disappeared
Like the doctor who initially treated my
mother-in-law, everyone has a solution; but I
are not convinced we have agreed on or deter
mined what the problem is. That makes is diffi
cult to use our resources effectively or spend
our money wisely.
The momentum is one-sides at present ?
tougher sentences, more prison beds, more
police officers, etc. The President's crime bill
includes these and other measures to curb the
senseless acts of violence and random killing
occurring daily. The public's reaction is under
standable.
We are paralyzed by fear, by habitual
criminals who prey on our community. Before
they can be arrested, prosecuted and convicted,
they are often back on the streets repeating acts
of violence. Many of those that are convicted
are often released before serving their sentience
due to prison overcrowding.
As a result, as the speaker at Rotary points
? out, we surest more and more people, spend
more money, clog our courts and create a
definable and unavoidable recidivism problem.
e address ourselves less and less to the real
problem and , as a result, have less and less of
an affect on crime.
done now! Our fears are exacerbated by a
steady dose of crime issues. Remember Willie
Hoiton? - \
If you see something often enough and
heat it repeatedly and read it daily, guess what?
Eventually we will believe it The concern, as a
recent article states, is little evidence that "get
ting touch on crime" actually deters it
We spend more money on prisoners while
school are underfunded and programs that
work at prevention and make a difference have
difficulty keeping their doors open while a new
detention center is about to open. It is easier to
react to fear than understand the problem and
respond.
According to recent polls, there is a differ
ence in solutions, depending on whether you
are black or white, a suburbanite or city
dweller. , ?
Politically advocates for cities tend to call
for more police and gun control, but also for
more jobs, better housing and drug treatment.
Political powerful suburban dwellers tend
to call for more suppressive measure ? tougher
laws, longer sentences and less parole.
What is the crime cure? More prisons,
removing the prison cap to house more
inmates, tougher sentences, more police offi
cers? Do more arrests mean a safer society?
Before we can find the cure, 1 think we all
need to agree on the illness the patient has. If
we continue to treat the symptoms, we will
develop a false sense of security while the
problem deteriorates.
We must simply find out why people are
falling in the river and respond with under
standing rathec than reacting with fear.
(Nigel Alston writes frequently as a guest
columnist for the Chronicle.)
The Search for Democracy (pt.2)
In the 1980s, governments throughout
Europe and North America adopted a conserv
ative model for economic development and
social relations within their societies. Repre
sented by Ronald Reagan of the United States
and Margaret Thatcher of England, the conser
vative model of government advanced an ide
ology of extreme materialism, individualism
and the unveiled exploitation of labor. It
declared that thdre was no implied or real
"social contract" between citizens and the gov
ernment People had no "natural right" to bene
fits such as health care, education, public assis
tance during times of need, or shelter.
The conservative political perspective
viewed the government as a collection agency
for fleecing working people, eliminating civil
rights and environmental protection laws, giv
ing fewer and fewer social entitlements that
addressed human needs. With the fall of Com
munism and the end
fare inherent in that perspective. There are
many examples of a new level of resistance
and progressive change: for example* Bemie
Sanders' independent political movement in
Vermont; the progressive environmentalists
movement in dozens of communities, fighting
against environmental racism, the dumping of
toxic chemicals in Latino, black and working
class neighborhoods; the revitalized civil
rights movement, symbolized by the emer
gence of the Rev. Ben Chavis as new national
secretary of the NAACP, and by the successful
March on Washington, D.C., held this August
What is missing is a comprehensive approach
linking all of these progressive leaders, organi
zations and activities. We need to build a pow
erful, democratic political realignment, based
on a new progressive social contract that
empowers the masses of American working
people.
of the Cold War,
this ideology of
conservatism has
come to dominate
politics throughout
the world. Even
with the important
defeat of the Rea
gan-Bush adminis
tration and the vie
ALONG THE COLOR LINE
By DR. MANNING MARABLE
f> * ?
tory of Bill Clinton and the Democrats last
year, many of the regressive social assump
tions about the role of government have
remained. Clinton's retreat from the Lani
Guinier nomination to the Justice Department,
his refusal to increase the minimum wage, his
failure to support working people by his posi
tion favoring the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA), all indicate the long
term impact of Reaganism within both majof
parties.
Fortunately, there is a democratic opposi
tion from below that challenges the conserva
tive politics, the racism, sexism and class war
But such unity must go beyond an
approach that simply states what is "wrong"
about our system of government and the eco
nomic system. It isn't enough for us to declare
what we are against We must affirm what we
are for. We must advocate an affirmative,
dynamic social vision of the kind of democ
racy we need.
(M arable is professor of history and polit
ical science, and director of the African-Amer
ican Studies Institute at Columbia Uniyersity
in New York City.)
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Blacks, Don't Get Left Out
In a keynote address at the Notional Black Media Coali
tion's annual convention, which was carried on C-SPAN, I had
the chance to think out loud about technology, the nation's future
and the Black community's possible dismal last place in that
future.
Specifically, I used the plight of WHMM-TV in Washing
ton, D.C., the only Black-owned and operated public TV station
in the country, to illustrate the point that Blacks stand to make
even bigger loses in the near future.
According to Dorothy Gilliam in The Washjngtdh Posr,
"Howard President Franklyn G. Jenifer has told a budget-slash
ing Congress that the university ultimately could be forced to cut
the station from its budget if there isn't better community and
business support".
Although General Manger Ed Jones has taken the public
contributions of Channel 32 from 530,000 in 1988 when he
arrived to well over $1 million this year, it's not enough to pay
While corporate cutting -edge moves like Atlantic
Bell's merger with TCI, the nation's largest cable sys
tem, is building a new high-tech highway. Blacks are in
danger of losing on of the few strongholds we have in
the technology and media system that jvill dominate
our 21st Century lives.
In short, while other groups are investing in their
future, rumors are flying that WHMM-TV, a media"
stronghold that trains Howard University students for TV
careers, broadcasts issues not found on other stations, influences
the nation's lawmakers and builds wealth for the empowerment
of Black across the nation, is rumored to be on the shopping
block.
TONY BROWN
Syndicated Columnist
the bills.
My C-SPAN television speech was met with great enthusi
asm, many callers saying they didn't know that WHMM was in
trouble ? certainly not aware that Howard University and the
Black community might lose such a valuable facility. . _ .