why youth violence will NEVER end

In the wake of the large scale youth summit taking place this Saturday and the haunting of a summer of pre-mature teenage death’s in New Jersey, there is one thing that continues to remain consistent: Politics. And this is exactly why youth violence will never stop. I’ve sat in on meetings where we’ve gathered together to discuss “the problem” as blame was being passed around the room like a baton while others smiled for the camera for front page coverage. I’ve watched politics stare kids in the face and say “I’m here if you need me” but unanswered voicemails made those words null and void. I even had the nerve to try and get out there and do what I could as a member of the community, but politics stopped me twice as one questioned how they could benefit from my endeavor and the other denied me access before I could even enter the building. In order to eradicate this problem there has to be somebody who’s not in it to get ahead. There has to be somebody who doesn’t mind stepping away from their position, behind their desks and from behind the comfort of their subjective realities. There has to be somebody who doesn’t mind not making it into the paper on Sunday morning. There has to be somebody who’s willing to empty there pockets with the possibility of no return. Somebody has to be inconvenienced. How dare we ask our youth to fill the confined space that we have allotted them through our so-called “community initiatives?” I agree with Rev. Soaries; this is not the Civil Rights movement, and many ways it seems worse. The subliminal obstacles and phony concern make it difficult to know who our real enemy is anymore. The gun pulling the trigger on our kids is called “power” and “control” and unfortunately, it doesn’t just come in the form of vengeance.