European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 23, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Gom Backer Jackson takes aim against Black on Black crime Clarence Page Jesse Jackson was looking very much like ahas been As recently As two months ago after building up Hopes then ducking out of running for mayor of Washington his Stel Lar career As a tree Shaker and headline grab Ber seemed4o slide to the Brink of oblivion. 5. -. J after two unsuccessful campaigns for president his Campaign for District of Columbia statehood a stillborn Issue that he single hand edly reignited was going nowhere fast. His opposition to Naftal left his image almost As battered As Ross Perot s opposition left his. Jackson was marching tirelessly for Var ious causes but was anyone listening Well Don t count him out i cautioned detractors. Jackson was already playing the comeback kid when Bill Clinton was still smoking without inhaling at Oxford. Since America is addressing its great questions of race and poverty As poorly As Ever i expected it would be Only a matter of time before another crisis of race and poverty would come along that Only a Jesse Jackson could address and he would be Back in the headlines Strong As Ever. Now a few months later Surprise Surprise Jack son has found his Issue Black criminals. Or As he puts it the de big Black in one of his strongest statements he has admitted there is nothing More painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk Down the Street and hear foot Steps and Start thinking about robbery. Then look around and see someone White and feel to Stop the bbb Jackson has been urging Black teen agers not Only to behave but also to break their code of silence and turn in classmates who Are carrying guns or using drugs. I Don t know How Many will do it but it s Good to hear Jackson say it. A Ronald Reagan or Dan Quayle saying that would be crucified As a racist. But with the moral authority that comes with Black skin and decades of bashing White Power elites Jackson has won wide spread Praise and a new wave of Media attention. Riding the wave Jackson s Washington based National Rainbow coalition teamed with a longtime pal Bill Cosby to Host a three Day Star studded National Black leadership conference on youth Vio Lence and Black on Black crime in Washington. Among the big names Spike Lee Salt n Pepa. Mary Frances Berry Roger Wilkins Marian Wright Edelman the Rev. Al Sharpton attorney general Janet Reno Detroit mayor Dennis Archer and sen. Carol Moseley Braun. No word from sister soul Jah. ". A a a. Will Jackson s anti violence Campaign do any Good no question that it has done a great Deal of Good for his Public image. With fear of violent crime suddenly soaring As a concern in opinion polls Many who disagree with Jackson on other issues Are pull ing for him to succeed with this one. The real change Here is not so much with Jackson As with the Way he gets covered. He and most other Black groups particularly at the neighbourhood level have always opposed the terrible toll crime takes on Black communities. But major Media tend to ignore such self help efforts in favor of sound bites that at worst blame Whitey or at Best urge More Atten Tion to the Root causes of crime like poverty jobless Ness and poor education. If Jackson has helped liberate the airwaves to Dis cuss the toll of Black on Black crime More honestly he has performed a great service. The most recent Fri statistics show 94 percent of Blacks killed Are killed by other Blacks. As a threat to Black life the Kun flux klan does t even come close. But the less Happy Side of Jackson s bold new stance is that it risks encouraging unhealthy stereo types by putting a Black face on crime As if Blacks not crime were the problem. Richard Cohen the Liberal Washington Post columnist and a Friend of min who received nationwide criticism from some Blacks including me a few years ago for sympathizing with jewelry store owners who refused to Buzz Young Black males in past their electronic door Jesse Jackson has his big Black brother Issue. Openers said he now feels vindicated by Jackson s statements. At last he wrote maybe we can speak candidly about Black crime across racial lines without name calling. Maybe but again lets remember the problem is crime not Blacks. It is important to note for example that the Fri says White crime has increased 250 percent since 1965. Similarly disturbing statistics recently reported by conservative author Charles Murray losing ground show a growing underclass of Long term poor Whites in America along with growing Patho Logies among poor Whites that the Media usually associate with poor Blacks. No America s crime problems will riot be solved simply by Locking up Blacks. Nothing Quick or cheap will solve our problems with crime race and poverty. Quick fixes Only put a lid on our problems for a Little while until the next crisis erupts and Jackson once again answers the Call to action. The Chicago Tribune lawlessness and mental containment Andy Rodney we hate them but we re fascinated by them. Stories about crime often dominate the news and they dominate i because editors know we re inter ested. They Tell us More than we need to know about the possible perversions of Michael Jackson. Joey Buttafuoco and Lorena Bobbitt have no secrets left that Aren t in print or on tape. Every night on the local news shows we see bodies being wheeled out on gurneys. One reason crime fascinates us is that by its very nature it s unusual. Strange not every Day kind of things happen when a crime occurs. The stories get you thinking about things you Don t like to think about. I pick through the paper and often have thoughts about the crimes i read about that i would t dare express to anyone let alone write Down. " in new York recently a Man who robbed and shot a store owner was himself shot by police while trying to escape. He sued new York City and is collecting $4 million. The judge s reason for the award was the Man was shot in the Back. No comment. Two Well dressed men went into an expensive restaurant and stood at the bar while they cased the place for women wearing valuable jewelry. They followed two women out on the Street and at gunpoint demanded their gems a Man accompanying the women carried a licensed handgun. He pulled his gun shot and missed the robbers. The robbers shot him twice in the Knees. It must make a Man who goes to All the trouble of getting permission to carry a gun feel pretty foolish when that happens. For years he has dreamed of coming to the Rescue in just such a situation and then he blows his big Chance. He can take Consolation in the fact that if he d hit them the robbers probably would have sued. Colin Ferguson the Man who killed six people and wounded 17 during a shooting rampage on a Long Island Railroad train has demanded a different Law yer. The associated press Story i read referred to Colin Ferguson the alleged Railroad car murder the writer must have gone to journalism school. The word "alleged1 is used too often when it in t necessary. Calling Ferguson an alleged murderer instead of a murderer is supposed to protect a news organization from a libel suit. Is it really necessary. When there Are dozens of witnesses to a shooting i can imagine that legally you have to leave room for arguments that take into consideration the possibility Ferguson is mentally unstable but would it really be possible for him to sue me because i called him a murderer rather than an alleged murderer i Don t think so. It s frequently hard to feel sorry for victims even if you Don t condone the crime. I never had the feeling that the parents of the Menendez Brothers would have been Good friends of mine if i d known them before they were murdered by their sons. An associated press Story had details of How american indians who have opened casinos arc being fleeced by non Indian managers they be hired. About 70 Indian tribes have hired outside managers to run the gambling operations they be been allowed to have because they Are Indian. The Story said that six tribes in Wisconsin paid $40 million to lease gambling equipment that they could have bought for $3 million. Somehow when fleeces get fleeced it does t seem so sad. I have a hard time feeling sorry for Donald Trump or any Indian tribe running a gambling operation. Tribune Media services Andy Rooney is former stars and stripes reporter. January 23,1994 sunday Page 9
