Behind the Badge
Studying violence needs to factor in personal choice
that these acts were being committed by large segments of the black community. The study went on to say that in actuality, the violent crime being committed by blacks come from a small number of individuals known to the police through prior criminal involvement and are perpetrated against other blacks that come from the same or similar circumstances with the violence occurring in “hot spot” locations throughout their communities. It also related that even though these individuals come from poorer, lowincome black communities, most of the rest of the black community believed in law and order and supported police action against these individuals.
These individuals that join gangs are usually considered anti-social and against any type of authority. It is believed they lack the ability to engage others peacefully, and are unable to follow any set of rules or orders. How many times have we read that the “leader” of this gang ordered two of his “soldiers” to murder someone? That sentence alone demonstrates that the lessons these individuals learned throughout their lives about order, authority, earning your way; lessons they refuse to follow outside of the gang, are now put in action because of their gang affiliation. There is a leader they follow, they obey the rules and orders of the gang and the leader, and actually earn their way by “putting in work” as they commit illegal and violent acts. To say they are incapable of being lawabiding citizens is a fallacy.
The study went on to list some of the reasons why these individuals turned to a life of crime. Poverty, lack of a strong male figure, bad school system, peer pressure, glamorized thug life and the lure of fast money are the most common reasons that are listed in this and most of these types of studies. As I read this study, I began to find myself looking at it in a different way.
This study made a compelling and accurate case that the size of the group of those involved in this violent lifestyle is small in comparison to the overall size of the community they come from. If we were to take on the normal 10% variance against the norm, this could account for this group of individuals. The theory of the 10% variance means that in every walk of life, profession, lifestyle, there is a 10% average of the group that goes against the normal behavior of the rest of the group. Examples can be that out of all of the lawyers in the world, there is a variance that 10% are corrupt or in terms of police, there is a variance that 10% are cowardly. This idea is to account for the probability that no group is perfect and there will be a deviation from the normal set of standards of the group.
Utilizing this 10% variance, the question then becomes all things being equal such as poverty level, lack of a strong male figure, schooling, peer pressure, glamorized thug life and lure of fast money, why do 90% of the rest of the group stay away from this lifestyle? For argument’s sake, let’s say the variance is 20%, then why do 80% stay on the righteous path? What is it that makes these other young black men finish school, go on to college, trade school, the military or find jobs and work to improve their situation and pass on these lessons to their children of doing things the right way?
Could it be that in an effort to identify reasons for this small groups behavior and violence, we have just come up with a set of excuses that are used to attempt to justify their actions? Is it possible that at some point “personal choice” was the reason these