‘Law of Reinforcement’
Toothless Authority Aids
Social Turmoil
To serve you better
Our office was - where we are no more
We’ve moved where we never were before -
You know where we are, but not where we'ls:
So here’s the new address where 'T ls.
The Portland Observer Staff
2726 N.E. Union Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97212
Phone 282-0929
Police Community Relations
Portland in general, and the
creases the chances of recover
Albina neighborhood in particu-
ing stolen possessions.
l a r , has been experiencing a
Be sure all windows and
steady increase in the number
screens on your home are se
of house burglaries. The Port
curely fastened; keep proper
la n d Police Community Rela
locks on doors and use them.
tions Unit has a number of sug
K e e p your home well-lighted,
gestions to help decrease the
and leave a light on in the eve
chances of loss and increase the ning when gone.
likelihood that stolen goods are
When on vacation, take the
returned.
following precautions. Tell your
Be sure all goods, particu n e i g h b o r s where you're going
larly T.V .'s H i-Fi’s, guns, and and how long you'll be gone. No
small appliances, have perman tify the police about your trip,
ently marked serial numbers. If and request an officer to fill out
the items do not have any a vacant house report. Arrange
numbers, stamp your own, using to have lights on at night, and
a Social Security or Selective have all deliveries (milk, news
Service number.
papers, mail) cancelled or col
Keep a record of the serial lected.
numbers, including a descrip
Lastly, stay away from hot
tion of the location of the merchandise. Remember, bur
number and physical description glaries are a two-way street.
of the item; make two copies T h e man who steals depends
and keep them in safe and sepa upon the man who will buy hot
rate places. Using and keeping goods. The thief you buy from
s e r i a l numbers greatly in- today may rip you off tomorrow.
PORTLAND/OBSERVER Jan. 7, 1971
The Northwest’s Best Weekly
A Black Owned Publication
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ALFRED LEE HENDERSON, Publisher and Editor
Mark Twain once wrote that
everyone talks about the weath
e r, but no one ever does any
thing about it. If Mark Twain
were living today, however, he
might observe that the weather
no longer holds the top conver
sational spot; it has been re
placed by the subject of social
violence. And unfortunately, the
new problem is also getting
more talk than action.
It is not surprising that
people are aroused by what Is
happening to their world; the
dally news is saturated with the
p a i n f u l details of race riots,
bank holdups, drunk driving
a rre sts, marital discord, civil
disobedience, and juvenile de
l i n q u e n c y . The conscientious
citizen finds these events more
shocking every dayl It is no
longer therapeutic for him to
sink down in his soft chair to
view the evening news on T.V.
His ulcer throbs and fumes
while he watches a typical
newscast showing films of a
draft card cremation, a Black
Panther on trial or killed, a Ku
Klux Kian bombing, and special
f e a t u r e on American students
collecting blood for the Commu
nists in North Viet Nam. And
th e Conscientious citizen Just
sits and chews his antacid tab
lets and mumbles, "Why?"
The answer is disarmingly
simple: such violent and antiso
cial behavior continues to occur
because our society is allowing
it to bring resultsl Psycholog
ists have known for many years
that behavior which achieves
d e s i r a b l e consequences will
recur again and again. One can
make a dog bark (speak) for his
food, for example, by simply
throwing him a bite of food
every time he makes a noise.
He will soon be yapping at every
sight of potential food. At circus
performances, the animals are
always rewarded with a tasty
morsel after each successful
act. The behavior of the animals
bring them delightful results
and it will probably repeat It
self.
This psychological principle
is called the " la w of Rein
forcement** and It Is especially
applicable to human behavior.
Much of the current turmoil and
social discontent which plagues
our cities has evolved from our
habit of "reinforcing" these an
tisocial responses; for example,
when an unwed mother can get
a larger welfare check by spaw
ing more Illegitimate babies her
p r o m l s c r u l t y has been rein
forced. Cited below are Just a
few situations In which the un
wise application of this princi
ple often results in unnecessary
sociological headaches.
Why are there so many noisy
demonstrations throughout tlie
world today? The reason Is ob
vious; any group of bored, pur
poseless people, trapped by
their own monotonous existence,
can gain the eyes and ears of
civilization by creating an Irri
tating protest. The desire for
publicity is the prim ary moti
vating force In these displays,
we feed the flame with volatile
fuel. The mass media dispatch
crews of reporters to publicize
every sign carrying bunch of
bearded welrdmen that congre
gates in the city. And was not
his what the malcontents had In
mind In the first place? Today’s
society has had more of the
"good life" than any people In
history, yet we are called the
"Angry Generation." Could we
be reinforcing this behavior?
Does rioting and burning and
stealing produce any Justifiable
gain In the Civil Rights cause?
If not, then we should not allow
this behavior to bring results.
Unfortunately, our leaders pour
millions of federal dollars Into
communities where a few dis
senters have reacted violently,
while witholding those funds
from more tranquil minority
areas. This policy has taught
the less vocal Mexican Ameri
can a painful lesson. He has
many of the same social and
economic needs as the Negro,
but thus far he has kept his
m o u th shut and has received
much less aid. It Is fitting and
proper that all needy people be
given financial assistance, and
only a foolish bigot would resent
the expenditure of funds to train
and
feed
less
fortunate
members of our society. But the
timing and the placement of
these allocations have been un
fortunate.
Do you want your child’s
minor discipline problems to
become major ones? Then let
his protest get results; when he
scream s and kicks at bedt’me,
yield to his demand. le t him
stay up an extra hour to avoid
a fuss. But you had better lie
prepared for the same response
tomorrow night, because It suc
ceeded 24 hours earlier.
Do we want teenagers to drop
out of school? Then we should
establish a glamorous school In
a romantic, far-away city, spe
cifically for the quitter. It
should be much more attractive
than the drab, humdrum high
school life back home, where he
even had to work for his money.
Pay him >35 a month for doing
nothing, and then let us try to
tell ourselves we are helping to
eliminate the dropout problem.
DO we want the incidence of
crim e to Increase greatly? If
so, we should leave some doubt
in the potential crim inal's mind
as the certalntly of the conse
quences of his crim e. It should
be known that many convicted
rapists, thieves, and m urderers
can go free because of legal
technicalities. And better yet,
they might not even get caught.
It they a re apprehended, howev
er, there Is the possibility of
writing a "best se lle r"; the
royalties will buy the greatest
legal minds to prepare their de
fense. If all these things fall, a
prompt parole can usually be
obtained. Is It surprising that
crim e rates are Increasing?
Positive Approach Needed
In this great city of ours we
can solve all of our problems
If we take the positive approach.
There are always some weeds
In every flower garden, but
there are many other beautiful
flowers there too.
A loud cry from some that the
police are pigs and these people
have demanded their proud of
flesh from the established fact
t h a t some law enforcement
agency must be utilized In this
society as a protective mea
sure.
Whether this law enforcement
agency is seen as a deterrent
to crime or whether It Is seen
a s a strictu re on society Is
much In the eye of the beholder.
At any rate, It Is clear that
some law enforcement agency Is
very vital and is necessary.
If there Is discontent In the
community over the perfor
mance of the police department,
then there Is a formidable solu
tion to the problem.
Contrary to what many say, I
still believe that within the
community, there are many
young men who have flawless
records and who can not afford
to attend college because of
their family or financial obliga
tion. Then too there ought to be
a way to train the tralnablel
What better way to solve a
problem of this nature than to
become a member of the orga
nization?
There Is a stigma attached to
becoming a member of the
P o r t l a n d Police Department.
But much of that stigma officers
in the Dept. to balance the
scales.
Instead of complaining about
real and imagined Ills, the
young black men of the commu
nity could become a part of PPD
and know exactly what goes on
Instead of having to rely on sec
ond hand information.
Like most organizations there
may be things wrong with the
Portland Police Dept., but it can
not be remedied by bellyaching
and crying, pointing fingers and
calling police officers pigs.
What Is needed Is a positive
approach to the situation. The
young men who can qualify can
become a part of that depart
ment and take a functional part
In the policing of the communi
The Portland Police Depart
ty. You can be on the scene as ment is by no means perfect and
an officer.
many unfortunate sets of c ir
Yes, I am aware that there cumstances have evolved from
will be those people who will be PPD. But In order to rectify the
disappointed when they attempt situation, It Is necessary to
to Join the department and find have black officers In the de
they cannot qualify. There will partment and presently there
be those people who will look are far too few.
down their proverbial and col
It would be better Indeed to
lective noses at the notion of have community people who are
becoming a law enforcement of aware of the problems that exist
ficer, but these officers and than strangers who have no
people are necessary in this so knowledge of the Inequities.
ciety.
The next occasslon you see an
It Is true that circumstances officer try a little courtesy and
have not always favored many see what will happen. If you
young black men, but there are treat members of the PPD like
enough young blacks to make a KINGS...don't you think they will
sizable Impact on the PPD re act likewise?
cruiting office.
If you did not read Dec. 3 edi
It we are to have any voice torial on "Abolish Name call
In this society, then we must ing,” you have missed valuable
have an equal voice In the law Information order It today.
enforcement of the community.
By the same token, a sizable
Lonely child
force of black officers In the
I'd like to take a lonely child
Dept., would insure that there
And help him wear a smile
would be black officers with
I'd like to take a lonely child
white officers In almost every
And
show him life's worthwhile
s i t u a t i o n that involved the
And when the circus comes to
a rrest of other black people.
town
This alone should not be the
I’d like to take him there
prime motivation for seeking to
O r take him to a baseball game
be appointed to the PPD. There
We'll be a happy pair
must be also an overwhelming
I want to take him to a store
desire to maintain some sem
To buy his favorite toy
blance of order within the com
I want to hold his hand In mine
munity.
And think of my own boy
With all these facts as a back
T here's so much I would like to
ground, It perhaps would be
flo
hoove many of the young men In
But most of all, I know
the community to at least con
I'd
like to take a lonely child
sider becoming a part of that
And show I love him so.
establishment that has brought
some problems to this commu
Lyric by Rose B. Kaufman
nity, but again, we need the PPD
Music by Lou Halmy
and not all officers are BAD.
Having a dance or social event?
Let us rent you a neat spacious hall with necessary facilities to accom
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Reasonable fee.
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