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September 16, 2004

An unused resource

The increase of violent crime in Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan has been unsettling to residents of Boston. The police have reacted with Operation Neighborhood Shield, a major crackdown in high crime areas. Federal, state and local law enforcement units have participated in the operation.

Despite a massive police presence, there was a triple murder on Saturday, September 4th. Three men were shot to death as they sat in a minivan in the Franklin Field area. A feud has been brewing between residents of two housing developments in the area.

This incident clearly demonstrates that no matter how massive the police deployment, those intent on murdering their enemies will find holes in the dragnet. Now the police intend to develop more information about hostilities and criminal activity in the community.

Of course more information will be helpful, but the September 11 Commission established that information alone is no panacea. There must also be a plan to implement action to prevent crime. Otherwise the information will only be useful to facilitate the arrest and prosecution of the miscreants.

It is not easy for the police to deter crime except by eliminating the opportunity. Thieves would not likely try to rob a bank that is guarded by the police. However, there is little that the police can do to influence potential bank robbers to give up their life of crime.

The police need to be able to work with an organization that is respected by those in the community who might be inclined to go astray. The Nation of Islam, more than any other group, has attained such status. Unfortunately, the police and others interested in the reduction of crime have not taken advantage of this resource of late.

Perhaps the reason is that the emergence of the Ten Point Coalition several years ago offered, in some people’s opinion, an effective alternative. It seemed that their efforts were successful back then in reducing the murder spree among black youth. The problem is that the Muslims were also active then, so it is not easy to determine which group was primarily responsible for the successes.

Some of the conflicts that lead to gunfire would be considered by others to be petty disagreements. Minister Don Muhammad and other members of the Nation of Islam have the stature to intercede and quell these disturbances before it is too late. The Boston Police Department must establish a closer working relationship with the Nation to put an end to this unbridled violence.

A man of privilege

There was not great enthusiasm in America for military service in the Vietnam War. In fact, opposition was so great that the spectre or defeat forced President Lyndon Johnson to withdraw from a re-election bid.

Nonetheless, there were some from the patrician class who chose to serve as a patriotic gesture. John Kerry, a graduate of Yale, was among that group. The usual course of action was for well-connected men to arrange for deferments or to pull strings for appointment to the National Guard.

President Bush chose to avoid service in Vietnam by using his family’s influence to join the National Guard. Recently revealed documents indicate that once in the Guard, Bush failed to comply with the service requirements, a normally punishable offense. Nonetheless, though delinquent, he was able to pull strings to receive an honorable discharge.

How can Bush even form his mouth to express opposition to affirmative action for minorities? Has he ever operated on a level playing field?

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