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Pag» 2 Portland Observar, January 5.1983
Black/black crime
Part IV
Things arc so tough on a broth
er nowadays. I got child support
hanging over my head and rent is
facing everytime I go home. I t ’s
gotten to the place where I don’t
want to go home. A t least in the
strecu I can make a little money.
You sec. I tried to look for a job
but there is nothing out there and
when I find something I can do
the man behind the desk won’t
here me. So, what’s a man to do?
I ’m not going to starve and my
children are not going barefoot.
I ’m going to make me tome mon
ey. I f I have to steal, rob or sell
dope. I ’ m going to have it in
1983.
— Black male, 28 years old
Grassrool N t * s , N .W .— l h t
above account is taken from a black
male standing on the streets. It is an
example o f the m entality o f a so-
called crim inal. In this section on
black-on-black crime we’ ll look at
the crim inal— the brother or sister
who steals, robs and rapes the com
munity. Regardless of the victim, if
they catch you wrong, they will take
advantage of you. But who are these
men, and why do they do what they
do?
’’ Well, I thought I was an adult at
13 because I started doing what I
wanted to do. When I first entered
high school I started smoking weed
and later I was popping reds and
yellows. The next thing I knew I was
16 years old shooting heroin. I
wasn’t into a whole lot of crime at
this stage but selling a little drugs on
the side. I guess it wasn’ t a little
thing because I fell deeper into the
illusion or trap that I was doing
something slick or cool. My brother
(a convicted drug dealer) didn't help
me any as a role model. Here he was
driving a big car, always had money
and never going to work. This was
an incentive for me to say, ’ Hey, I
can do the same th in g !' So, what
started me on my downfall was role
models because all my role models
were doing a little bit of everything
wrong.
"G etting into the fast life is like
being in the desert. The next thing
you know you are looking for those
mirages. Once you get near it you
find that you have to go a little far
ther. The next thing you know you
are so trapped up in the illusion that
you lose contact with how hot the
sun really is. You lose contact with
reality."
This young man said he started
shooting heroin to belong to a cer
tain group. " M y reasons were self
ish. Here I was 13 and 16 years old
with others my age handling three to
four thousand dollars a day. It was
for the flash. Just to high-side. It
was easy for me to get two to three
ounces o f dope. I entered a little
world all to our own. We even had
our own vocabulary. We were sell
ing dope like it was legal. As long as
we paid the police they left us alone
They had to know what we were do
ing. Everyone else sure did."
He told me during this time that
he didn't have to break into people's
houses. " B u t my other associates
did. They would come to me with
items that they stole. Sometimes
from around the corner. I d id n 't
have to buy it because there were
plenty of good church-going people
who would spend S30 dollars on a
color T .V . stolen from their neigh
bor. It didn't matter if your name
was on it or not. They still bought it.
I'm sure they thought they were
beating the system but all they were
doing was beating themselves be
cause you never know when the next
hot T .V . would be yours.”
This conversation confirms the
fact o f the correlation between
drugs and crime. Many of the crim
inal-minded had drugs on the mind
when they took from their neigh
bors. Not fo o d, clothing or rent.
Just pleasure.
But this is just one example or one
look into the mind o f a so-called
crim inal. Larry Baker,an OSP in
mate who has spent much of a life
time behind bars for one reason or
another, says other criminals who
are unlucky enough to gel caught
commit their crimes on an impulse.
"M o s t o f the violent crimes are
committed on the spur o f the mo
ment. These crimes are never really
thought out. Most of (he blacks who
commit crime, after they commit it
and are caught, are sorry they did it.
Once they get hooked into the crim
inal justice system, the crime they
committed gets lost in the process.
When they get to prison it becomes
a matter o f survival. They would
have forgotten what they did to
wind up in prison. In prison you
lose responsibility. Everything is
given to you. It is only a matter o f
time before they lose responsibility
for the crime. Why, they even fo r
get why they did it, or who they did
it to. There is no one along the way,
from the time that they are arrested
to the time they are spending behind
bars, to remind them or question
why they did what they did. The sys
tem is not set up to question or re
mind the guy about what he d id ."
One statement was made to me by
a man who spent 9 years in W alla
W alla; "Som e brothers just serve
tim e. They d on ’ t let time serve
them."
The brothers who are released say
the community docs not get in
volved in the prison so it's easy for
them to pick up their old ways. One
prison guard put that thought in
perspective; " T h e reason why the
com m unity doesn’ t get involved
with the men behind bars is as soon
as (hey are released, if (hey want to
start doing what they did to get up
here, they are going to do it to the
community. These guys are not go
ing to the West Hills to do their dirt,
they are going right back in the
black community to do it. So why
should the community open up their
arms to men that will steal, rape and
rob (item? People aren’t fools and
they want to keep what little bit they
have."
C urrently, there is a lot o f talk
about the disproportionate number
of Afro-American men behind bars.
One thought came from the black
ju d iciary o f P ortland as to why;
"Because they keep screwing up.
They do not send anyone to Salem
who docs not belong there. Besides
we do not give time until they com
mit four or Ttve crimes. O r should I
say until they get caught four or five
times. I think racism gets them ar
rested more often because you can
see them more often. But you've got
to understand (hat these guys com
mit crimes where it's easy to get
caught. They sell dope and you real
ly do not know who you are selling
dope to They burglarize homes and
believe it or not they solve a lot of
burglaries. You've got to sell it to
someone and that person gets
caught and tells where he got it
from. Moat blacks who are in prison
are in for burglary and dope. So the
reason why there are a high number
of black men in prison is that they
themselves commit crimes that are
easily apprehended."
Although many perceive their
plight to be one of survival, there is
still no excuse for these men and
women who prey upon their com
munity. There are other channels if
their children are without. I f they
can be made aware of all the wrong
they can make an e ffo rt to learn
about the right. As the black com
munity slips into the 1980s we can ill
afford the tangible and intangible
price of black on black crime. There
is no excuse for it. As Malcolm X ,
who rose from hoodlum, thief, dope
peddler, and pimp to become one of
our greatest leaders, once said: " I
believe (hat it would be almost im
possible to find anywhere in Amer
ica a black man who has lived
further down in the mud of human
society than I have; or a black man
who has been any more ignorant
than I have been; or a black man
who has suffered more anguish dur
ing his life than I have. But it is only
after the deepest darkness that the
greatest joy can come; it is only a f
ter slavery and prison that the sweet
est appreciation o f freedom can
come."
Now Grassrool News is not
saying everyone should be like M al
colm X , but it would not hurt. What
we are saying is to become aware of
your oppression and what it is doing
to you. Only then can you fight it
much like antibodies Tight disease.
CLEARANCE
Fall suits
now
30% off
All jeans including
Toughslcins and
Roughhouiors,
denims and corduroy
1/3 OFF
In a lough easy care blend ot
polyester, cotlon. nylon that
makes them durable Plush cord
uroy m lots ol styles and colors
Lillie and big kids' sizes
Reg »10 99 10 SI 7 99
Take advantage of our after-Christ
mas clearance sale. Right now you
can choose handsome 2 and 3-piece
suits in a variety of styles and fabrics
from our fall line and save.
7” *o 11’ ’
Pair our long-sloeve
tops w ith joans . . .
and M> savings)
Suits. Were »99 to »175
«69 ,.«122
Our entire stock ot long-
sleeve tope lor teg and
little kids is on sale now1
Reg $2 97 to »16 99
I ’ 7.. 11?«
W h tlo q u o n M to s last
le et Britin?» Bote# Ciachamaa. M adford
V an co u ver
Save on men's
dress shirts
1 /2 OFF
All Kids'
Fall
outerwear
Perm a-Prest* dress
shirts ot p olyester
and cotton in solid
color^ Smooth collar
in stock
for Men and Women
30% to 50% OFF
if
J
6
Short sleeve.
Reg »7 99
C 99
J each
Shown here is tust some ot our Sale
priced intimate apparel
Come see the rest
Bras assorted styles
Reg » 5 l o t t i
]4 S to 7 .S S e a
Panties, packages ot 3 pr Brief hip-
hugger oi bikini
4 4 » t o 5 ttp k g
Reg 1« 50 to »7 50
Penty shapers, boel oi long tine
Reg $ t 2 to » l5
7 # « t o 9 7»ea
Slips, lull hall or blouse imar
Reg »6 50 i o »10 50
4 4410 S.SSea
Gowns -P a |a m a s - Breakfast Coals
Reg »1210 »15
7 9410 4 74
Peninsula Senior Center
schedules free health screen
Free health screening and in fo r
mation for senior citizens is being
offered at the third annual "Penin
sula Senior Center M in i-H e a lth
Fair.” Tuesday, January 23th, from
10a.m. t o 3 p.m.
A variety of health screening tests
and demonstrations are planned for
the day. The Seventh Day Adventist
M o b ile Screening Van w ill be on
hand to give blood pressure, glau
coma, lung function and blood su
gar tests. Anyone interested in hav
ing blood sugar tests done should
not eat for two hours prior to test.
Project A R M van will also be sta
tioned at the Senior Center to give
hearing tests. Project Smile will con
duct oral cancer screening checks.
Wayne Hatch, pharmacist, will be
giving information on drugs. Vada
Orimsrud w ill do some talking on
C rim e Prevention and Neighbors
Against Crim e. N utritional infor-
Long sleeve.
Reg »8 99
Big variety—
from
nightgowns
to bikinis
to pantyhose
30% off
CLEARANCE
CASUAL SHOES
Lillian White of Qrosham and Edward Card of Portland ara among
the December winner« In tha Washington Stata Lottery White won
8800, and Card 8100. Card will ba In tha mid-February drawing for 81
million.
W ash in g to n S quare
mation and blood pressure tests will
be given by the U n i\ rsity o f Port
land School of NursiiK . Dr. Oordon
W o lfe w ill be answering medical
questions. A free foot clinic will be
offered by the Army Reserve Clinic.
Other agencies have been invited
to attend. All the participating agen-
cie^tre providing their services at
no cost to senior citizens. Last year
over 100 seniors attended the Mini-
H ealth F a ir. Most came in the
morning; we would like to encour
age more people to come in the a f
ternoon as well since tests w ill be
given up to 3 p.m. For further infor
mation call Debra Dewey, Informa
tion and Referral Specialist, at Pen
insula Project ABLE 286-8228. Spe
d a l transportation arrangement«
can be made in advance if necessary
for N orth Portlanders to attend.
Notice must be given by 12 noon
Friday, January 21st.
C llog-elon
H osiery,
lig h ts
end
leo
tards all 30“h O f f Assorted styles and
cokxs to choose from
CLEARANCE
30% to 50% OFF
All M en’s Sweaters, Selected Long
Sleeved Sport Shirts, Selected
Velour Shirts, Casual Slacks
and M an’s Fashion Joans
Quantities limited to stock on hand
You con
count on
Seto pnces throughout ts s i
Sears
•y beat
»
PORTLAND
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