Opinion
Beating Not the Same as Parenting
“Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now”
B ERNIE F OSTER
Founder/Publisher
B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER
Executive Editor
J ERRY F OSTER
Advertising Manager
“M
y uncles and their
clique use ta beat me
when I was a shorty.
I didn’t get it then, but they later
told me they was teaching me
about the streets – they was just
testin’ a n***a. Ya see a real n***a
don’t back down. If he gets
knocked down, he gets back up
and keeps swingin’. You stay
down, life gonna kick the sh*t out
ya. Fam kept it real. Got love for
‘em beatin’ me. I lost a tooth, got
R ELEVANT
R OW
Hakim
Hazim
government-dependent
gang
member. By following family and
L ISA L OVING
News Editor
H ELEN S ILVIS
Multimedia Editor
D AVID K IDD
Graphic Designer
M ONICA J. F OSTER
Seattle Office Coordinator
J ULIE K EEFE
S USAN F RIED
Photographers
The Skanner Newspaper, established
in October 1975, is a weekly publica-
tion, published each Wednesday by
By following family and mentors he
received a résumé replete with
criminal convictions, child support
garnishments and undiagnosed post
traumatic stress disorder and other
co-occurring conditions
ma nose broken—ribs too, but I
kept swningin’. Can’t be faded.
See what I sayin’? S*+t I’m
swingin’ now!”
He was amused at his words and
expected a nod of approval. Dash-
ing his expectations, I mused,
“You’re swinging at what?” Defi-
antly he barked, “Life man—life!”
The individual I spoke to years
ago was reliving—with pride—the
sad reality of his life story.
Trapped in the false bravado of
these traumas, he disregarded the
reality that he was an uneducated,
mentors he received a résumé
replete with criminal convictions,
child support garnishments and
undiagnosed post traumatic stress
disorder and other co-occurring
conditions.
They say, “seeing is believing,”
and when it comes to violence,
this maxim is dead on. In June
2013, the Office of Juvenile Jus-
tice Delinquency Prevention
released a study that took place in
a Chicago detention center. It
revealed some glaring truths about
how trauma impacts the decision-
making and psyche of youth:
• Of the study sample, 92.5 per-
cent of youth had experienced at
least one trauma, 84 percent had
experienced more than one trau-
ma, and 56.8 percent were
exposed to trauma six or more
times
• Witnessing violence, the most
common trauma, was far more
common in this study sample than
in most community studies of
youth and young adults
• More than one in 10 detainees
had PTSD in the year prior to the
interview
• Among participants with
PTSD, 93 percent had at least one
comorbid (co-occurring) psychi-
atric disorder. Among males,
having any psychiatric diagnosis
significantly increased the odds of
having comorbid PTSD
Traumatizing events take place
everywhere, but it is concentrated
in poor communities of color.
Abuse of various types, interper-
urgent. The shocking statistics
remain the same today as they
have for years:
1.Black on black murder is the
number one cause of death among
our young men
2.Suicide is the third
The culture of destruction and
only be replaced by a culture of
life and vision. Traumatic experi-
ences are destroying our at-risk
youth like a malignant cancer that
is spreading unabated. The offend-
er patients are in dire need of a
remedy, and you could be part of
the prescription.
Nearly five years ago I wrote an
article that was a call to action for
this country to take a more proac-
tive approach toward mentoring
at-risk youth. The article was not
simply one in which I openly com-
plained about things—I immersed
myself in the fight as a volunteer,
trainer, and advocate. Every child
deserves the presence of a caring
adult. Extend your hand—yester-
day.
The need for positive mentors in the
lives of young black males is urgent
sonal violence, gang turf wars and
police brutality are common fea-
tures of our poor communities.
The code of silence reinforces the
pathology.
The need for positive mentors in
the lives of young black males is
Hakim Hazim is the founder
of Relevant Now and co-founder
of Freedom Squared. He is a
nationally recognized expert in
decision analysis, criminality and
security.
IMM Publications Inc.,
415 N. Killingsworth St.,
P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228.
Telephone (503) 285-5555.
E-mail: info@theskanner.com
World Wide Web site:
http://www.theskanner.com
Fax: (503) 285-2900
The Skanner is a member of the
National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ-
ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers
Association.
All photos submitted become the
property of The Skanner. We are not re -
spon sible for lost or damaged photos
either solicited or unsolicited.
© 2014 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED.
REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART
WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED.
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Memorial Day: Dishonoring Our Vets
T
he last Monday in May,
Memorial
Day,
was
designed to honor those
who died in service to our country.
It is tragically ironic that around
the same time we are honoring and
remembering the dead, we are
learning about deficiencies in the
Department of Veteran’s Affairs
that negatively affects the quality
of life for those who were injured
during their term of service.
Allegations that many veteran’s
hospitals and medical centers do
not assist those veterans needing
medical care within the mandated
30 days are troubling. Some say
that the lengthy waits may have
been a factor in the deaths of as
many as 40 veterans. The access
problem is compounded by poor
record-keeping at some veteran’s
hospitals, making it impossible to
verify how many veterans waited
for medical attention and the
length of their wait.
The controversy has led to calls
for Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric
K. Shinseki to resign, but it is
unclear whether his resignation
will serve any but a symbolic pur-
pose if the medical treatment of
veterans does not change substan-
tially. In this highly partisan
environment, it makes no sense for
the White House to offer Shinse-
ki’s head on a platter to satisfy the
hyper partisanship of growling
Republicans. Veterans, and those
who represent them in Congress,
come from all parts of the political
spectrum. It ought to be in every-
Page 2 The Portland and Seattle Skanner May 28, 2014
B ENNETT
C OLLEGE
Julianne
Malveaux
one’s interest to improve access to
health care for veterans.
There are other issues regarding
fair and compassionate treatment
for veterans that must be consid-
ered. The recent killings at Fort
Hood, Texas suggest that there is
tion, and challenge an evaluation
may take several months (or
years). Even inaccurate claims are
difficult to obtain for some veter-
ans. More than 611,000 claims
were backlogged (which means
veterans had waited for more than
four months for their claims to be
processed.) The number dropped
this year to 344,000 claims, which
is still too many veterans waiting
too long for help.
The recent exposure of long
waits for medical treatment just
scratches the surface of the way
that veterans are welcomed back
into our society. Military skills are
The recent exposure of long waits for
medical treatment just scratches the
surface of the way that veterans are
welcomed back into our society
insufficient focus on mental health
issues for our military, with the
rate of Army suicides doubling
between 2004 and 2009. Many
veterans say that one of their stres-
sors is the inaccuracy involved in
evaluating their disabilities that
have come from their service.
Missing limbs, impaired mobility,
extreme stress and insomnia are
all factors included when a month-
ly disability check is calculated.
Many take issue with the evalua-
not easily converted to civilian
labor force skills, unemployment
rates for recent veterans (those
serving since 2001) are often high
– 9 percent for veterans, compared
to 6.3 for the entire population.
President Obama has urged pri-
vate sector employers to give
priority to hiring veterans who
have returned from Iraq and
Afghanistan, but unemployment
rates, though falling, remain high.
Minority and women veterans had
even higher unemployment rates,
and often greater challenges.
More than 58,000 veterans are
homeless, representing about 12
percent of the homeless popula-
tion.
More than half have
disabilities or mental health prob-
lems. As many as 70 percent have
substance abuse problems. There
would be fewer homeless vets if
the mental and physical health
needs of veterans were addressed
when these soldiers leave the mil-
itary.
When our soldiers return from
fighting for our country, they face
a new fight – a fight to be treated
fairly. That means shorter waits
for medical attention, more focus
on mental health issues, more
assistance in reentering the job
market, and more counseling to
help families adjust to new house-
hold dynamics. Veterans should
not have to fight for this kind of
assistance. Haven’t they fought
enough?
Regardless of whether we agree
with the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, we often thank our
military for their service. Thank-
ing a homeless veteran, or one
who has waited more than 30 days
for medical attention is lip service
if the “thank you” is not accompa-
nied by the assistance that so
many veterans need. Memorial
Day ought to be a day to com-
memorate the dead, and improve
the ways we treat the living.