[upsscott]

Originally Posted by MikeSid

I believe the cause of this problem is actually well understood, but difficult to change, or perhaps there is just institutional resistance to the change that is required.

In short, black neighborhoods have statistically higher rates of gun violence than other (like white) neighborhoods of the same socio-economic level. I don't think this statistic can be seriously disputed (part of Jeff's point). A middle class black neighborhood will have a higher rate of gun violence than a middle class white neighborhood.

The problem is that we still have black neighborhoods and white neighborhoods. Most cities in the US have long standing race based neighborhood boundaries that were rooted in systemic racism. While the zoning laws have slowly changed over the years, it takes a long time for a community to completely equalize. And there may be resistance to this change, even by those who would benefit from it.

Black neighborhoods have traditionally had fewer resources available to successfully raise families. In my own city, which I have lived in for over 50 years, the difference between the parks department youth programs in one neighborhood versus another is palpable. The City may build a shiny new ballfield and community center, but that may not change how it is used. A community is more than it's physical infrastructure - it requires volunteers, business owners that invest in the community, and families that actively participate in raising their children to be responsible parts of that community. There are not as many (some may say none) impediments to doing that now in black neighborhoods, but there certainly used to be broad barriers that made that very difficult. Hope, as one example. If you don't have it, everything seems pointless, so why try, just survive.

Bottom line for me, it is going to take several generations to fix the long term effects of systemic racism that created our historic black and white neighborhoods. And until that changes, we will continue to see gun violence at a higher rate in historically underserved neighborhoods.

All that said, I have no idea where this motorcyclist lived or what his story is, so maybe his damage is just too much violent TV/Movies. But to Jeff's point, I don't think the statistics can be seriously disputed, and in my opinion the fix for that issue will likely take 100+ years - which is incredibly unfortunate.

Thank you for this. I think you illustrate my thoughts much better than I’ve been able to do. I don’t deny Jeff’s statistics I just feel like we are all part of the reason things are the way they are.