Looking at scenes from Milwaukee

        Looking at the scenes from Milwaukee I am  reminded of Detroit in the 1960s. The cause , largely the same - poverty amplified by racism. I will not even hint that the racism is one sided, because it isn't. That may not be the in vogue Far Left thing to say, but truth is truth. Just as far too many white Americans carry prejudicial attitudes regarding persons of color, the inverse is clearly true as well. Add to this the ubiquitous handgun which is the fashion accessory of  too many black youths. Aggravate it by a lack of self control which causes the seemingly most minor disagreement to flare into an urban shootout. Stir it with Law Enforcement officers who see a suspect running away from them with a handgun (and sometimes without one) as a clear and present danger to their personal safety, and here we are; policemen shot and shot at, cars and businesses burning.  

        It also reminds me of the scene from one of the best films ever made which didn't win a  Best Picture Oscar. In Grand Canyon, Danny Glover  (Simon) has a contretemps with a young urban black man (Shaun Baker, as "Rocstar")  over what seems to be the most minor of  issues, yet the ever present gun materializes in the youth's hand.

Simon: "I've gotta ask you for a favor. Let me go my way here. This truck's my responsibility, and now that the car's hooked up to it, it's my responsibility too."

Rocstar: "Do you think I'm stupid? Just answer that question first."

Simon: "Look, I don't know nothing about you; you don't know nothing about me. I don't know if you're stupid, or some kind of genius. All I know is that I need to get out of here, and you got the gun. So I'm asking you, for the second time, let me go my way here."

Rocstar: "I'm gonna grant you that favor, and I'm gonna expect you to remember it if we ever meet again. But tell me this, are you asking me as a sign of respect, or are you asking because I've got the gun?"

Simon: "Man, the world ain't supposed to work like this. I mean, maybe you don't know that yet. I'm supposed to be able to do my job without having to ask you if I can. That dude is supposed to be able to wait with his car without you ripping him off. Everything is supposed to be different than it is."

Rocstar: "So what's your answer?"

Simon: "You ain't got the gun, we ain't having this conversation."

Rocstar: "That's what I thought: no gun, no respect. That's why I always got the gun."

        This may well be the most blatant statement of the "gun" mentality ever committed to film. It isn't color specific either, but rather is indicative of the nature of a life lived in an environment where there seems not to be any hope for anything better and the pecking order is determined by who is the (strongest/deadliest/craziest). All these emotions tend to be amplified by constant exposure in all media to material things which are out of the reach of the poor, yet as we are constantly told, essentials to happiness ( insert any of thousands of high end brand names here).  

        In the above scene, when Simon says "...maybe you don't know that yet" there is a fatal flaw. What the screenwriter, the usually brilliant  Lawrence Kasdan,  misses is the sad reality that Rocstar, if he remains in and a victim of his current situation, will never "know that." (that "the world ain't supposed to work like this")  For too many youths in places like Milwaukee, that's exactly the way it works.

  

      There was a time, from 1940 to 1973, when young impoverished men of all races in America were caused to "know that " by being forced into something bigger than their  neighborhood because of mandatory federal service. It happened to be the  WWII and Cold War draft. As it stands now, unemployment among the Black community nationwide is about twice that of white citizens. Among young urban males it is far in excess of that. The same is true of some white populations in some areas where crystal Meth is ravaging younger (and sadly not so young) population segments.

        While I don't favor a military draft, except in wartime and I hope that  doesn't happen, I would propose that a 2 year period of some sort of  mandatory  national service might not be a bad idea, being potentially beneficial to the nation as a whole. While I'm not specifically thinking of anything like the CCC, it isn't a bad  model.   

       The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families as part of the New Deal. It was eventually expanded to young men ages 17–28. A major part of  FDR's  New Deal that provided unskilled manual labor jobs related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state and local governments. The CCC was designed to provide jobs for young men, and to relieve families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression in the United States. At the same time, it implemented a general natural resource conservation program in every state and territory. Maximum enrollment at any one time was 300,000; in nine years 3 million young men participated in the CCC, which provided them with shelter, clothing, and food, together with a small wage of $30 (about $547 in 2015 dollars)  a month about $450 (in 2015 dollars) of which had to be sent home to their families).

       Widespread and positive public acceptance  made the CCC the most popular of all the New Deal programs.  Benefits of an individual's enrollment in the CCC included improved physical condition, heightened morale, and increased employability, as industrial technical training was also part of the program depending on location. As an example of the law of unintended consequences,  the CCC also led to a greater public awareness and appreciation of the outdoors and the nation's natural resources; and the continued need for a carefully planned, comprehensive national program for the protection and development of natural resources. During the time of the CCC, enrollees planted nearly 3 billion trees, constructed trails, lodges and related facilities, upgraded most state and national  parks, updated forest fire fighting methods, and built a network of service buildings and public roadways in remote areas.

       Despite its popular support, the CCC was never a permanent agency. It depended on emergency and temporary Congressional legislation and funding to operate. Less emphasized, but an integral part was the fact that the CCC ran with a discipline very like the military.

       While I would enthusiastically endorse such a program for its obvious applications in areas such as infrastructure maintenance, repair and construction as well  as environmental applications, the "unintended"  (but perhaps the most significant)  effect might well be the removal of dirt poor, disadvantaged, and angry young persons from those situations and negative peer influences  which lead to death by gunshot or overdose by age  25.

       Obviously, as an incentive to better one's personal situation, performance based deferments  for college, tech school, military service  or continuing training should be  generous, but rigorous in application.

While I can find no statistics for gang or violent crime activity among discharged 4 year military veterans, I have to believe it is far below the 18-22  year old urban youth numbers.

I'm just sayin'.