Immigration As President Teddy Roosevelt Saw It

There are currently about 15.5 million illegal immigrants living in the United States at of 2021. With approximately 1.8 million or more coming annually, that figure could be a lot higher. Many who are coming are now claiming to seek "amnesty". The question, however, is just what is meant by "amnesty"? The answer is jobs.  Like most immigrants, they want a better life for themselves and their family. Unlike immigrants of the past, however, many don't want to assimilate.  

Few have any interest in becoming a U.S. Citizen or in learning to speak English. To want to cling to familiar ways, values, and traditions. They establish enclaves which resemble their homeland than it does the United States. Some even choose to fly their native country's flag, sometimes over our own which is seen as highly offensive.

A few demand to have their children taught, at taxpayer expense, in their native tongue rather than in English. Why? Because this is where they happen to live,work, and socialize but it isn't their "home". That's hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Yet, they want jobs, and for many, any job will do. Of course, that has been the hallmark of immigrants since time immemorial.  Whereas in the not too distant past most immigrants left the "Old Country" and all that entails behind, newer immigrants maintain a much closer relationship with their former country. In fact, many routinely send money from these jobs back to the towns and villages they left. 

Mexican workers, for instance, send an average of 13.4% pf their paycheck back home to family and friends. In 2002, approximately $800 billion dollars was sent home by migrant workers here in the U.S.. Many of these communities are in fact dependent on the money sent home to survive.  

Attempts to secure our borders, as any sovereign nation is entitled to do, has been met with harsh criticism from many of the immigrants themselves, from religious institutions and businesses to stand to be impacted economically, from foreign leaders who reject our right to protect and secure our borders (as they themselves have done), and by a few other misguided individuals. In light of this, I have to wonder what would our Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President, have thought about this?

"TR" or "Teddy" (which, thanks to his crisp upper crust New York accent, sounded more like "Teedy") as President Roosevelt was often called, was the product of his times. He epitomized everything the United States stood for at turn of the 20th Century, and that included a sense of patriotism that we would find hard to understand today. As he said in one of his most famous speeches, made in 1907, we have room for one language, one flag, and loyalty to one nation---the United States of America.  

As an aside, from 1900 through 1915, which included the years "TR" was president, an estimated 15 million immigrants came to the United States, most of them from Europe, especially Eastern Europe.  That means that 13% of the U.S. population was born somewhere other than the United States. Today that number of 47.9 million as of September 2022, which represents 14.6% of the population (the high was 14.8% in 1890).  

I've come across a copy of that speech, posted by BOBWASTINGTIME about seven years ago,  which deals primarily with immigration and what should be expect of those who come to our shores in search of a better life. The video (a recreation of President Roosevelt's 1907 "Immigration Speech") originally produced by One America News Network. The video lasts just 59 seconds but is well worth watching. I think the words of our 26th President should still apply. What do you think?  

Video: Immigration Quote President Roosevelt 1907

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TheodoreRoosevelt Quotable Quote: 1907 Immigration Speech

Money Mexican migrants send back home up 13.4% in 2022

A town in Mexico survives entirely on money sent back by U.S.migrants

Migrant works sent home almost $800 billion in 2022. Whichcountries are the biggest recipients?

Immigration During Theodore Roosevelt's Presidency

Crime, Race and Ethnicity in the United States: Where Are We Headed?

Since the beginning of 2023 there has been 15 mass shootings. As of April 10th, there has been 11,500 deaths due to gun violence and dozens of acts of mass violence ranging from the "takeover" of streets and intersections to the swarming and looting of local businesses.  In many cases, the police are simply outnumbered and outgunned. Meanwhile, police officers are either quitting or taking early retirement in droves, leaving cities severely shorthanded.

 As of March 7, 2023, there have been 63 police officers shot in the line of duty.That's up by 33% from 2021. Of those shot, 8 were killed by gunfire. 323 were shot in 2022. Also since the beginning of 2023, there have been 18 ambush-style attacks on police officers. Many were by individuals who had committed by a "bait" crime and waited not just for police officers to show up, but EMS or firefighters to arrive on the scene. There ambush-style attacks have resulted in 21 officers being shot, of which 3 were fatal. In 2022 there were 124 such attacks. The majority of these attacks occurred in Texas, Arizona, California, and Georgia.

According to a October 2022 Pew Research Report, 61% of registered voters said that violent crime was serious issue. 73% of Republicans said the violent crime was serious which needed to be address by Congress.  On the other side of the aisle, just 49% of Democrats saw violent crime as a serious issue. 34% of liberals in general considered violent crime was an issue which needed to be addressed by Congress. Bearing that mind, when we look at violent crime and race, we see an different picture.

According to the Pew survey, 81% of blacks, the majority of whom vote Democrat, saw violent crime as an issue which needs to be immediately addressed while 65% of Hispanics, who also tend to vote Democrat, also saw violent crime as a serious issue. Among whites, 56% also agreed. It's worth noting that just 33% of white Democrats agree with their fellow Hispanic and black Democrats.

On a related note, according to the most recent statistics regarding "hate crime" compiled by the FBI, since 2021 indicated that were 7,074 incidents of a hate crime reported. Of those, the majority---64.8%---were based on race or ethnicity. 15.6% were due to sexual orientation, and 13.3% were the result of the victim's religion.  3.6% were based on gender identity, 1.7% on disability, and 1% was solely on gender.

The report also indicted that 66.7% of the attacks were against individuals while 30% was on property and 3.3% of the attacks were generic. Just over 32% of the attacks were in or near the victim's home or place of work. 16.9% took place on a road, highway, street, sidewalk or alley. 8.1% happened at a school or on a college campus.

7% occurred in a parking lot or garage while 2.8% of the reported hate crimes were at restaurant or diner. 2.7%  took place in a park or public outdoor setting. Finally, 26.1% of the reported hate crimes happened at multiple locations.

When we look at the offenders, the FBI reported that 56.1% were white. 21.3% were black and 13.5% were unknown. When it came to the ethnicity of the offender rather than race, 7.6% were Hispanic or Latino. 8.9% were of multiple ethnicities, while the largest segment---28.1%---were simply unknown. Lastly 82.3% of the offenders were 18 years of age or older.

Using data from the 2021 FBI Uniform Crime Report, the Feds pointed out that while blacks make up just 13% of the U.S. population, they make up 33% of those arrested for non-fatal crimes which include robbery, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery. For more serious non-fatal violent crimes in which violence was used, they made up 36% of those arrested.

Hispanics comprise 18% of the U.S. population and yet are 21% of those arrested for serious non-fatal violent crimes. Whites make of 60% of the overall population and represent 46% of those arrested for non-fatal violent crimes and 39% of the more serious non-fatal violent crimes.  They also are perpetrators of 52% of the violent crimes. Victims were able to identify the race of their assailant in 85% of the cases.

When it came to multiple assailants, the average number of attackers were two, in which 43% of the assailants were black, 38% were white, and 16% were Hispanic. When there was a single attacker, 59% were white compared to 22% who were black and 14% who were Hispanic. As for Asians, they consistently had the lowest percentages of any group with an average of about 5% of crimes committed, which is in proportion to their 5.7% of the U.S. population. 

As most of you already know, the United States has the dubious honor of having the highest percentage of individuals behind bars of any industrialized nation with an average of 505 individuals per 100,000. However, among countries in general, the U.S. is sixth.

El Salvador is ranked first with 605 individuals per 100,000 behind bars. This followed by Rwanda with 580 per 100,000, Turkmenistan with 576, American Samoa with 538, and Cuba with 510. After the U.S., we have Panama's 478 per 100,000. By comparison, Turkey's infamous prison system has 374 while Russia has "only" 304 and Costa Rica, with 301, is among the lowest in the world.

When we examine the latest available information (2021) regarding the prison composition of U.S. prisons, the Prison Policy Initiative reports that the largest racial segment behind bars are blacks. As stated above, blacks make up roughly 13% of the total U.S. population. However, according to the report they comprise 38% of the total number of inmates.

The arrest rate of blacks compared to whites is 6,109 to 2,795 per 100,000 while the conviction and incarceration rate is an astonishing 2,306 to 450 per 100,000. They also make up 30% of those on parole. Hispanics are 30.2% of the prison population. Whites make up the majority of the inmate population with 57.5%. Asians are 1.4% of those behind bars while Native Americans make up 2.6%.

In terms of age, the largest segment are those between ages 36 and 40 at 17.7% of all inmates. This is followed closely by those ages 31 to 35 with 16.9% and those 41 to 45 at 16.7% of the prison population. Next in line are those between 46 and 50 who make up 11.8% of those behind bars. Ages 26 through 30 comprise 11.7% of those incarcerated.

When it comes to the crime, almost half of all federal prisoners---44.7%---got busted on drug charges. Weapons, arson, and explosives charges make up 21.7%. This is followed with 12% charged for sexual offense. Next are those busted on immigration violations. They make up 5.2% of inmates.

Extortion, bribery, and fraud make up 4.3%. Murder and other non-sexual violent crimes comprise 3.2% of federal inmates. 4.8% of inmates were convicted of burglary, larceny, and property offences charges. Robbery is 2.7% of prison population. The balance is made up of those serving time for wide range of charges such as bank robbery, embezzlement, criminal enterprises, and insurance fraud.

The majority of those sentenced to federal prison are slated to do 5 to 10 years (25.5%). 22.6% are sentenced to 10 to 15 years. Those incarcerated for 15 years but less that life make up 15.1%. Those doing up to 20 years make up 12.6% of the inmates. 9.8% are doing 1 to 3 years behind bars with 2.2% doing less than 2 years. Lifers make 2.5% of prisoners.

When it comes to gender, while women are 51% of the total U.S. population, they are only 6.8% of those serving time in a federal prison. Males are by far the largest group, making up 93.2%. The federal prison system doesn't keep track of those who identify of  a gender different from their birth certificate.

So, what does all this mean? The media, as well as those on the Far Left, claim that the majority of people shot and killed by police are those of color, and therefore, call for the total disarming of everyone.  In truth, whites are more likely than any other racial group of being shot by law enforcement.

In 2022 there was 1,097 individuals killed by the police. Of those, 225 were black while 125 were Hispanic. 22 were classified as "other", meaning Asian, Native American, or mixed race. 329 of those killed were white while the race of 321 were unrecorded or undetermined.  We have similar racial numbers going back to 2017. The only number of any real significance  is that the number of those shot and killed by police have continued to increase, from 981 in 2017 to 1097 as noted above.  

Using the FBI's most recent report of crimes committed by race and ethnicity, the "2019 Crime in the United States", there were over 6.8 million crimes committed in 2019. Of those, whites committed 69.4% of all crimes. However, the report also indicates that minorities, particularly blacks, were more likely than not to be stopped and ultimately arrested for a violent crime.  Is that due to institutional racism and "profiling"?

Not according to the report. It stated that blacks were responsible for 55.9% of all murders while whites made up 41.1%. The reminder were categorized as of "unknown" race/ethnicity. In looking at the victims, the report stated that 54.7% were black. Whites made up 32.3% and the victim's race of 3.1% of was undetermined or not listed.

When it came to violent assaults, non-Hispanic whites were likely to be the victim in half of the reported cases that didn't include a weapon. Black and Hispanic victims accounted to the majority of non-fatal firearm injuries.

Concerning robberies, whites victims and black offenders were 12 times more likely than not according to a National Crime Victimization Survey conducted in 2002. When it came to carjacking, blacks were the victim 56% of the time, followed by 21% of whites. Asians and Native Americans were carjacked 16% of the time.

It's worth noting that a 2009 Pew Hispanic Center report mentioned that Hispanics accounted for 40% of all sentenced federal offenders, while is triple their share of the population. Of this, 48% related to immigration issues, 37% for drug violations, and 15% for other crimes.

The 2019 FBI report added that while black youths made up 16% of the under 18 population, they were responsible for 52% of violent juvenile crime. Could this be a symptom of growing up in a single parent household? Perhaps. 64% of black juveniles live in a single parent household compared to 24% of white children and 15% of Asians. 40% of Hispanic kids also fell into this category.

Hispanic juveniles also made up 46.2% of all gang activity. Blacks comprised 35.3% while whites made up just 11.5%. 7% were of other or mixed racial groups. As indicated earlier, the reports stated that larger cities, suburban areas, as well as some smaller cities and towns were where the majority of these gangs were found.

The take away here is that all racial groups are affected by the rise in violent crime, but not equally. Whites are more likely than other groups to commit a crime, most being non-violent, in terms of raw numbers, but this owing to the size of the white population.  Blacks are overrepresented by percentage of population when it comes to offenders. They are also 3 times more likely to be arrested than not. However, blacks are also more likely than not to be the victim, especially if the offender is also black.

Hispanics, especially under the age of 18, are more likely than not to belong to gang. That's particularly so if they're male, come from a single parent home, and live in a urban environment. Next would be black youth (again applying the same criteria), followed by whites and Asians.

However, none of the data indicated that taking guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens would do little to reduce crime, especially violent crimes, but it would likely lead to an increase in potential victims. There's nothing criminals like better than easy pickings.

While tighter restrictions pertaining to gun ownership may slow the sale of certain types of guns, most offenders---85.8%--- acknowledged that they acquired their weapon either from a family member, friend, or the weapon had been stolen at the time it was acquired according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. In addition, 95.6% of those arrested are given the recommended minimum sentence for the use of a firearm in carrying out a crime.

It should be noted that according to the DOJ, 79.1% of all weapons used in carrying out a crime were handguns. Rifles (including semiautomatics like the AR-15) comprised just 11.1%. Of those stolen, 20.5% were .38 caliber revolvers followed by .22 and .357 caliber revolvers  11.7% and 11.6% of the time respectively. 9mm semiautomatic handguns such as a Glock were next with 8%.

Instead of taking guns away from law abiding citizens, the emphasis needs to be on better gun security to reduce their access by criminals and out of the hands of children as well as mandatory firearms training to reduce accidental shootings.

Schools need to adopt better discipline standards in the classroom as well as implement additional programs for pre and after school activities. Curriculums need to include developing critical thinking skills and civics.  Adding community based volunteer programs would also help.

The Justice System needs to reevaluate how it treats juveniles arrested for crimes including shoplifting or bullying. Instead of slapping them on the wrist and letting the go, juveniles need to bear responsibility for their actions. There needs to be expanded rehabilitation programs for non-violent first offenders and tax credits for potential employers. In addition to more and better trained law enforcement,  there needs to be a regular presence in not just high crime areas, but in schools and government housing.

There needs to be an emphasis on keeping adult male parents in the household of their children. However, in the absence of a proper male role model, there needs to be more community based programs aimed at high risk children such as Big Brother/Sister programs. More job based programs also need to be introduced, including trade schools.

The approach we've been using since the 1970's obviously doesn't work anymore, if indeed it ever really worked. Only by instilling a sense of responsibility in youth of all races and ethnicity, better discipline in schools, and providing access to opportunities can we ever hope to reduce the current trend in violent crimes and produce more productive adults.  

 

If you want to know more about this article's topic, please check out the links below. If you enjoyed the article, please consider passing it along to others and don't forget to subscribe. It's free! Lastly please be sure to "like" us on whatever platform you use to read anotheropinionblog.com. It helps with the algorithms and keeps our articles in circulation. Thank you! 

 

FBI 2021 Hate Crime Statistics

U.S. DOJ Statistics on Race and Ethnicity of Violent CrimePerpetrators

Countries with the largest number of prisoners per 100,000of the national population as of January 2023

Prison Policy Initiative: Race and Ethnicity

Federal Bureau of Prisons: Inmate Age

Federal Bureau of Prisons: Inmate Statistics

Number of people shot to death by the police in the UnitedStates from 2017 to 2023 by race

Race and crime in the United States

DOJ: Guns Used in Crimes

National Institute of Justice: Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn't, What's Promising

 

Racism, Youth, and Distortions by the "Woke" Left

What's the first thing that comes into your mind when you see young kids shoplifting? It is "just one of those things" ? Is it "where are their parents" or something more akin to "if someone doesn't straighten that kid out they're going to wind up in jail"?

For most of us, we're not concerned about their gender, race or anything else. It's just the fact that they're are brazen enough to steal, usually right under the noses of management. In many locations, store management and security are hamstrung in what they can and can't do when it comes to shoplifting, particularly when it involves juveniles.  

Sadly, shoplifters tend to know this better than anyone. Not only do they know the best and easiest ways to steal from stores, they also know how each store responds along with what items will likely get them in serious trouble the quickest.

This knowledge is not just something adults or professional thieves know, but it's also something that younger kids seem to pick up on quickly too. They also know that if caught, it's unlikely much of anything is going to happen to them because they're minors. That's one reason professional thieves often employ minors for riskier crimes like breaking and entry, drug dealing, and, of course, shoplifting.

As a result, stores lose millions annually, at least on paper. In reality, they simply raise prices to offset the cost of the stolen merchandise, leaving customers to pick up the tab.  According to a Forbes article from November of 2022, shoplifting has become nearly a $100 billion dollar "industry" that we, the ordinary consumer, have to pay for.

The magazine, "Loss Prevention", wrote in January 2018 that nearly 55% of adult shoplifters and criminals got their start as juveniles. An article published by the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, stated that nearly 1 in 4 adults started shoplifting between the ages of 12 and 14. Stores lose on average some $45 million dollars a day to shoplifters while law enforcement authorities estimate that approximately 550,000 shoplifting incidents occur daily.

The report goes on to say shoplifters are caught just once out of 49 times they steal, yet less than half are turned over to the police. Chronic shoplifters are arrested just once out of 100 attempts to steal. Lastly, 75%  of criminal justice professionals acknowledge that shoplifting, often starting out while a young juvenile, go on to more violent crimes which often includes some form gang activity. It's also worth noting that most juvenile shoplifters are white; some 70% according an FBI report. 

The Office of Justice Programs reported that between 14% and 30% of juveniles join gangs.  Their age range when they join is between 12 and 14, which is about the same age range that youngsters start shoplifting as noted above.

Approximately 39% of black youth living in large cities join gangs compared to 32.7% in the suburbs.  45% of Hispanic or Latino juveniles from large cities tend to join gangs with 51% of those living in suburbs do so.

As for whites, just 9.7% living in big cities are likely to join a gang compared to 9.1% living in the suburbs. Meanwhile, 5.8% of other racial groups such as Asians living in larger cities are likely to join a gang. Just 7.2% of those living in the suburbs will probably join a gang. As an aside, males are far more likely to join gangs than females. However, females gang members are more common in suburban and rural areas, 45.3% and 49.5% respectively.

In 2022, more than 1,300 juveniles between ages 12 and 17 were killed by gun violence with another 3,800 injured. In 2021, the number juveniles killed or wounded by guns topped 6,000.  In 2022, 300 kids age 11 and under were killed by gun violence. 700 were wounded.

Most violent crimes committed by juveniles (64%) typically occur on school days in the hours after the end of the school day through early evening (that is, between the hours of 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm).  On non-school days, violent crimes committed by juveniles tend to happen between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm.

67% of black families are single parent, meaning that the majority of children lack the guidance of a father figure. 8.6% of black adults are unemployed according to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics latest report of 2021, followed by 8.2% for Native Americans. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for Hispanics is 6.8% and 5.0% for whites.

In addition, as of 2021, almost a third of these families lived at or below the poverty line, meaning their mother is likely working and/or their children are being cared for by an elderly grandparent or neighbor, which in effect means little in the way of family structure.

I was recently watching a video on a Twitter site hosted by the Hodges twins, Keith and Kevin. The Hodges are conservative stand-up comics and political commentators (and for what it's worth, they also happen to be black which neither here nor there). I've been watching them for some time now and really enjoy their humor which is mixed with some really insightful social observations.

The video, which included a comment by the Hodges ("kids are being taught to do this shit..."), showed the apparent commission of crime being carried out by four or five wannabe "Jesse James" types. These wannabe gangsters were probably between 9 and 12 years old and male.  The crime was a "scoop and scoot" at what appeared to be a neighborhood drug store. The "goods" looked to be petty stuff, mostly chips, cookies, candy and so forth.

In the video you can see a store employee speaking with someone on the phone. The expression on his face is one of disbelief. Apparently the employee, aware of the crime in progress, had shut and locked the store door. Whoever he was speaking with had apparently told him that he couldn't do that and to open the door.

The employee reluctantly unlocks and opens the door as the "James Gang" make a break for it, shoving the employee aside, running across a busy intersection in triumph while other employees start picking up the mess left behind.  Finally, I feel that it's important that I should mention that everyone involved---the kids and employee---were black ( you'll understand why I mention that in a moment).

I could see the expressions on their faces of utter glee of a successful heist. I don't know if this was a spur of the moment job or if any planning had gone into it. Was this a first time "scoop and scoot" or had they or one of gang done it before? Perhaps it was a dare. With kids of that age, it could be almost anything. However, I had just started work on this article so I was already aware of the statistics.

I knew, thanks to the articles and statistics already read, that this little raid should be reason for some concern, not just for the store or its employees, but for the parents, teachers, friends and neighbors of these kids. Being male, a minority, and living in what appeared to be urban environment, the odds of staying out of trouble weren't too good. 

As it is, gangs are usually associated with all sorts of crimes (especially violent crimes and drugs), are the most prevalent in cities. Although blacks make up just 13% of the total population, the percentage of illegal drug use among blacks is 6.9% (the national average for drug use among other races is 7.4%), and young males are the most vulnerable.

So as you might expect, I had to make a comment. Here is what I said: "Thieves. Soon, perhaps in a few years, we'll be hearing about how they died. Maybe gang related. Maybe in a shootout with police. Perhaps a homeowner defending their property. And it will be their parents and neighbors bemoaning the injustice of their deaths".  

Now, you'll notice that there was no mention of race, gender, or anything else. My comment was one of empathy for their parents who, if this type of behavior goes unchecked, may find themselves crying over the body of their child and wondering "why" and "how" this could have happened. 

Based on the reports and statistics mentioned above, this is not a remote outcome . A kid laying dead somewhere, the victim of a drive by shooting, gang violence, drug overdose, or a crime gone wrong is far too common. Perhaps instead of being the victim, they got caught trying to rob someone or selling crack and now they're facing prison. Maybe they're the one who accidentally killed someone.

There's a whole myriads of bad results which started innocently enough with some petty theft. Heck, I just saw a video of a group of older teenagers randomly opening bags of chips, Cokes, cookies in a store helping themselves, and then trotting out after obviously enjoying themselves.

Well, you can well imagine the responses I received. According to the Hodge's site, my simple comment generated some 10.9 million views along with 2,452 comments. It also generated 21.6 thousands "likes" and was shared 5,140 times! The vast majority of comments were positive with most agreeing that this kind of behavior could have very serious consequences for these kids.

However, there was a minority of commentators who wasted no time in playing the racist card (which, of course, I'm far from) and making all sorts of racial slurs toward me, alleging that I was stereotyping these kids, that I was wanting these kids die while referring to me as "sick and deranged", an "old white clown", openly wishing I would die or "rot away", and so on.  

Fortunately, as I said, these were minority, but still I found it amazing how people could twist a simple remark about empathy into something barring no resemblance to the comment itself. Nothing in comment related to race (but their responses did). Nothing in my comment mentioned wishing death on anyone (but their responses did). Nothing in my comment mentioned joining a gang (although their responses did). I did, however, say they could end up being the victim of violence if this kind of behavior continued and statistics support me in that statement. 

I suppose this little exercise demonstrates how vicious and reactionary some on the "woke" Left can be. They certainly can't stand a contrarian opinion, at least on this occasion! They demand tolerance, but for them. Not you. They call you "racist" while they're on a racist rant. They claim to oppose hatred, and yet their comments are as vitriol as they can be. They claim they're wanting to avoid an argument while trying to trigger one with name calling, distortions, and not so subtle innuendos and implied threats.

In fact, several excused the shoplifting youngsters by saying they "might be hungry" while others blew the theft off all together as no big deal. Perhaps I should have condoned the theft since I'm white, "privileged", and all that just as they did. But that would be morally wrong. 

A few wanted to compared the shoplifting to "mass shootings" (which are obviously unrelated) by claiming that they are routinely carried out by whites to the relative banality of the shoplifters. They also claim that I ignore these type of crimes as well.  

To set the record straight, I do routinely condemn mass shooting along with any other form of mass murders including wars over economics in my articles as well as directly online regardless of race, gender or any other factor. Secondly, how would they know unless they regularly read my articles?

However, despite their apparent racial undertones, they are correct that whites are largely responsible for mass shootings. According to Statista, 74 mass shooting were committed by whites while 25 were committed by black individuals between 1982 and April 2023. Hispanic were responsible for 11 such shootings and Asian for 10.  Native Americans committed just 3.  

There's no question that shoplifting is a serious gateway crime which all of us eventually pay for. Although much of it is committed by adults, those under 17 years of age are responsible for a significant portion. Of those, many wind up on a path no one would wish on them.

Many come from an environment where the odds are already stacked against them---poverty, high crime neighborhoods, single parent households, little to no consistent adult supervision, underperforming schools and few opportunities in their neighborhood. Some are even taught to fear or hate police officers, disrespect teachers, and come to admire gang lifestyle. They see crime and drugs as easy money. But it's also a fast ticket to prison or to a short and tragic life.

We have to do better as a society. While pre or after school programs, especially when those programs can provide some nutritional meals are great, nothing replaces the active involvement of a parent in the daily lives of their kid  just as nothing beats a good education. There has to be a refocus of school curriculums to civics, critical thinking and business skills with an emphasis on basic math, proper English, the sciences, and history. 

After school and summer programs working in the community is another great avenue for teenagers. Perhaps too is redirecting those about to graduate from high school into the trades. College isn't for everyone and trade schools are a lot less expensive, pay well and have great benefits. It's also an opportunity to opening your own business at some point if that's what you want to do. We have to do better by our kids. What we've been doing is obviously not working.

 

If you want to know more about this article's topic, please check out the links below. If you enjoyed the article, please consider passing it along to others and don't forget to subscribe. It's free! Lastly please be sure to "like" us on whatever platform you use to read anotheropinionblog.com. It helps with the algorithms and keeps our articles in circulation. Thank you! 

 

Shoplifting Has Become a $100 Billion Problem For Retailers

The Shoplifting Problem in the Nation

 

A record number of American kid's were injured or killed in gunfire in 2022

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency PreventionStatistical Briefing Book

BLS: Labor force characteristics by race and ethnicity, 2021

Number of mass shooting in the United States between 1982 and April 2023, by shooter's race or ethnicity.

Hodgetwins

 

 

Biden's Grasp on Illegal Immigration

 

As America and the rest of the world continue to deal with Covid and its latest variant, along with the aftermath of our less than valiant departure from Afghanistan, rising inflation, a potential crisis in Asia between an increasingly aggressive China and its neighbors (especially Taiwan), and growing tensions between the U.S. and Russia over whether the Russians will or will not invade the Ukraine (the Russians say no and U.S. intelligence agencies say yes), we've nearly forgotten our ongoing border crisis and influx of illegal immigrants.

Since Joe Biden took office in January 2021, there have been record levels of migrants attempting to cross illegally into the United States, especially after Biden announced cutting back or eliminating many of former President Trump's initiatives to bring the situation under control. Many of the migrants had hoped that Biden would adopt former President Barack Obama's policies which essentially left the border with Mexico virtually open. 

According to Biden's Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, by the end of 2021, the Border Patrol will have had some two million "encounters" with migrants trying to enter the U.S. illegally (that's an increase of 33% over the Trump Era high of 144,000). Bear in mind too that very few of these individuals have been immunized against rudimentary viruses and diseases such as the measles, TB, whooping cough, typhoid, chickenpox, let along Covid, which makes them a extreme health risk.   

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in August that the spread of Covid by "non-citizens" was a "serious danger", which came just as 4000 Haitians were caught in Del Rio Texas, making them yet another unvaccinated group attempting to illegally enter the U.S..

Speaking of Afghanistan, some of our intelligence agencies have projected that cells from ISIS or Al-Qaida may attempt to cross our southern border in retaliation, likely with the help of the major drug cartels who have been stepping up their own operations, including the smuggling of individuals across the border frontier using "coyotes" or guides at $10,000 a head, who are often passed off to one of the associated gangs on this side of border such as MS 13 or Latin Kings, who are known for their violence.

What's Biden to do? Mayorkas has informed the President as well as U.S. senators that the immigration system is "broken", which comes as no surprised given the decades it's been kicked around like a political football with no real direction.  Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands continue to march their way north. Why?

The situation in several of the countries in South and Central America, such as Venezuela, is desperate. However, in that particular case, it's economic implosion has been more the result of U.S. sanctions and embargoes than anything else, especially given its near singular dependence on oil exportation.

As a result, many Venezuelans had fled to neighboring countries, creating a greater strain on their economies. As an aside, several of these countries offer little to no public safety nets even for their own citizens, let alone migrants. The result is the continual shift northward (in some cases with the tacit encouragement of local and national governments).

Some migrants report being told by the police or military that the U.S. was encouraging immigrants to come. They're are told there are ample jobs and public support waiting for anyone crossing into the U.S. (all lies of course). Many of these same immigrants also report extreme abuse by some of these same police officers and military personnel including assault, rape, extortion, theft, arrest, and even murder.

As heinous as this may be, it's not surprising. Government authorities are often under orders to keeping the immigrants moving. However, that's no excuse for their behavior. It does, however, explain why a large number of migrants are scared of police or other "authority" figures. This is typically exploited by sweat shops and "boiler room operations" who employment illegals; paying them next to nothing, working them long hours in often unsafe conditions knowing they're unable run to the police.

 

So, what's being done? Well, after campaigning against many of Trump's policies on illegal immigration, the Biden Administration has quietly reinstated a few of Trump's programs such as encouraging immigrants to remain in Mexico or return home; returning "asylum seekers" to Mexico while their application is reviewed and processed. Meanwhile, asylum seekers are vaccinated against Covid and given a six month time limit to comply with any requests supporting their status.

It should be pointed out that neither the United States, the United Nations, or organizations such as Amnesty International recognize "economic asylum seekers". That's individuals leaving their home country looking for jobs. Additionally, those seeking asylum for political, racial, ethnic, cultural, or religious reasons (such as persecution) are required by international law to seek asylum in the next closest country.

So that means if their coming from Venezuela for instance, the next closest countries would be Columbia or Guyana. Perhaps, maybe, Ecuador or Panama.  But certainly not Mexico or the United States.  Thus, if they are coming for economic betterment they would be classified as a "migrant", and would have no have legal status to enter and remain in the country.

It should noted that the U.S. Border Patrol has reported that for the first time there are a significant number of  individuals coming from countries such as Ecuador, Brazil, Nicaragua, as well as Haiti and Cuba. The reasons again appear to be mainly economic, especially given the recent downturn in certain key commodity industries such as coffee, papaya, or banana exports, not to mention climatic disasters.

On his first official day in office, Present Biden ordered a stoppage to the border wall and cut all funding for the project. Biden also ended the national emergency declaration President Trump had previously issued regarding the border crisis. Biden has also transferred the care of unaccompanied children and minors to the Department of Health and Human Services for temporary settlement while they await a decision on the permanent status.

As for the separation of families, which Trump was accused of instituting by the media (although originally implemented under the Obama Administration), in which, in some cases, resulted in parents being deported without their children, has been stopped...mostly. Under Biden, most, but not all families, have been reunited while remaining in custody.

Previously, migrants or coyotes would send children ahead of their parents in the hopes they would granted at least temporary sanctuary in the United States. Meanwhile, the parents (or those claiming to be their parents or a close relative) who demand entry to be reunited with their children. Once they were allowed entry into the country, many of the children were simply abandoned by the faux parent or relative.

Another old "trick" was to smuggle pregnant women across the border (while others would come pretending to be a "tourist" or visiting family). Once they had their child on American soil, the child would be granted American citizenship in a deliberate misuse of the 14th Amendment.  

Obviously the mother would remain. She would then demand that her spouse be allowed in. Later, other family members such as brothers, sisters, grandparents (and in some cases even uncles and aunts) would be granted entry under the pretext of keeping their family unit intact. This was termed "anchor baby" (in Canada it's called "passport baby").  This same ploy has been used in other countries by those seeking to skirt existing immigration laws.

Lastly, the Biden Administration, in another reversal of  Trump policy, has decided to raise the ceiling on the number of refugees allowed in the U.S. from 15,000 under Trump to 125,000 for this fiscal year beginning in October (he had allowed 62,000 refugees from April through September 31).  Under President Obama, that number was 110,000.

The primary location of settlement for most of America's estimate 10.7 million illegal immigrants has been the southwest running from California to Texas. Most tend to live in one of 20 major metropolitan areas, especially San Diego, Las Angeles, San Jose, Ft. Worth, Dallas, and San Francisco.

However, other large metropolitan cities with growing Hispanic populations include Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Miami (mainly Cubans), Atlanta, Las Vegas/Reno, Phoenix, and along the northeast seaboard which takes in Washington D.C., New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia.  There are also small pockets in rural states such as Kentucky, Kansas, Iowa, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Nebraska which depend on seasonal farm help.

An interesting aside is that while Hispanics are now the largest minority block in America, surpassing blacks over a decade ago, and on track to be on par with whites in about two decades (or less), Asian presence in America is also growing dramatically.

While Asian immigrants tend to live in other Asian countries, about 15% of the 114.9 million Asian immigrants live in the U.S..  Almost half live in California, New York, or Texas. It's notable that while the largest group are Chinese, it's those from Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia) as well as Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines whose percentages have increased the most. Meanwhile, immigrants from India, Mongolia, and the former Soviet Union Republics of countries like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which are predominately Muslim, has risen sharply as well.

It's also worth nothing that, unlike many of the Hispanic immigrants,  Asian immigrants typically have a strong working knowledge of English. Some are not only proficient in English, but speak a third, fourth, or even fifth language with some degree of proficiency.  They also tend to be well educated, with many holding college degrees, especially those from India, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Japan. 

America is changing. We are becoming with no clear cut majority. There is no stopping it. While we would, as a country, prefer the better educated Asians, we must accept that we also need the lesser educated field worker too. However, we cannot continue to allow illegal immigration to continue.

It creates a health concern with those entering the U.S. unvaccinated. It places a tremendous strain on our already deeply frayed social safety net with many paying little or nothing in taxes, leaving American Taxpayers to pick up the tab. However, Big Business likes the inflow of immigration since it increases competition for jobs and drives down wages and boost profits. It also allows the unscrupulous an opportunity to exploit workers for an even fatter profit.  

Uncontrolled immigration also creates a security crisis since we don't know who might be entering this country as friend or foe. We've already caught terrorists trying to sneak in. But for every one caught, how many made it in? The failure to speak English or conform to our laws and values destroys the fabric of the nation.  That reminds me of an old Irish saying which says that a land without a common language is a land without a soul.

Every country has the right and legal, as well as moral obligation to secure and protect its borders and its citizens. The U.S. is no different.  We need to stop playing political football with immigration. If we're going to end this partisan nonsense, stopping illegal immigration would be a good place to start.

 

What are President Biden's challenges at the border?

Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrants: A Critical Difference

 

20 metro areas are home to one in ten unauthorizedimmigrants in the U.S.

 

What's happening at the U.S. - Mexico border in 7 charts

Immigrants from Asia in the United States

 

The Changing Face of Latinos in America

In case you've been on a long retreat in Himalayas or living "off the radar" for the past several years, you should know that Hispanics are the second largest population in America right now, although their rate of growth have slacked off in recent years. That position had long been held by blacks, who have fallen to third and may drop to fourth over the next few decades as Asians, the fastest growing demographic in America are starting to catch up (in Canada, they are already the second largest group in terms of population).

Meanwhile, whites, who've long been the largest population since the country's conception, have been in steady decline, despite the surge in births following WWII (the Babyboomers) in terms of overall population. The result of all this is that within the decade or so, the US will be a nation of minorities, with no single group being dominate. How that will play out politically and economically remains to be seen.

Of course, this is pretty much old news as alluded to at the beginning of this article. What I would like to discuss is a new phenomena which has been happening within the Hispanic Community and its possible affects on society. Hispanics have historically been Catholic (Roman Catholic to be more precise), and typically very devout at that. In fact, the Catholic Church as had an impact on Latin America from the moment Columbus planted the Imperial Spanish flag in the sand in what is now the Bahamas side by side with Friar Juan Perez, a Catholic priest of the Franciscan Order (the "Minorites").

The Catholic Church has exerted a powerful impact over the population in Latin America for centuries, some of it for good such as basic education and medical care and some---perhaps much of it---for ill such as working hand-in-glove with the wealthy landowners and government to keep the peasants mostly ignorant, poor, and on the farms (the result, as we've seen in Latin America, has been the slow growth of a educated middle class. Latin America still suffers from a two tier stratification between the very wealthy and the very poor). Attempts to reform society have often meet with violent opposition by the wealthy, and usually with the support of the Church's entrenched hierarchy.

So, it's this mix of admiration and fear of their faith, as well as the government, including its military and police, which has dictated the order of society in Latin America for generations, and it continues as Hispanics have crossed into the United States, legally or illegally. But, there's a subtle change taking place that we should be aware of. Assimilation among Hispanics has largely been slow; perhaps slower than among any other group which has immigrated in mass to the US. That's not to say there hasn't been assimilation, there has, especially among Cubans, Panamanians, and Puerto Ricans. However, among other groups, such as Mexicans and those from Central and South America, it's been slow at best.

Among certain segments, there's actually been a strong resistance; insisting that they not learn or speak English, the historical and de facto "official" national language of the US, as well as a refusal to adopt many of our national traditions. Nevertheless, change has still taken place, among which has been the adoption of other religious faiths. This is particularly true of younger immigrants (regardless of their legal status). 68% of Hispanics identify as Roman Catholic. At present, approximately one-third of all Catholics in the US are Hispanic or of Hispanic origin, with two-thirds of those attending services in Spanish. However, some 18% now identify at Protestant while 8% don't identify with any religion; some that would have been unheard in their grandparent's generation.

Of the 18% who've converted, the majority of them have become members of Evangelical congregations such as Pentecostal, Baptist and Church of Christ. Interestingly still is that many of these churches have started offering services and/or religious classes (like Bible Study) in Spanish. As an aside, many of these converts have also changed their political allegiances a well. While most Hispanics in the US have tended to lean heavily Democrat or politically Left (with the except of Cubans, who've historically been Republican), these converts have increasingly become Republican or vote along conservative lines.

Just for clarification, membership in both corporate controlled political parties has been and continues to be on the decline while Independents, who are now the nation's majority at 44%, continues to rise. Third parties, such as Libertarians, Greens, and Constitutionalists are also showing signs of growth too. So, while these Hispanics have left the Democratic Party, their political switch doesn't necessarily mean they've joined the Republican Party. It means that they've have become more conservative in their political outlook. Thus their change to religious denominations which tend to more conservative, so has their political outlook.

Meanwhile, it's important to note that while Hispanics are showing more willingness to leave their traditional Roman Catholic roots, and while the trend is slowly increasing, Hispanics still make a much smaller percentage of overall membership in Protestant, and specifically Evangelical congregations than whites or blacks (Asians are the smallest group making up Protestant membership). Now, as for the 6% who describe themselves as secular, it's interesting to note that 66% are recent post-high school graduates, meaning that they are still fairly young adults. 63% say that English is the primary language, even if they come from bilingual households.

Almost half were born in the United States, and 41% come from households which bring in $30,000 annually or less. So, this 6% then are native born and assimilated, fairly young, have a basic education and come from relatively poor, likely lower level blue collar homes (there's another Pew Survey which I came across which demonstrates that Latino identity appears to be diminishing over generations, starting with native born children. I'll include a link to that survey as well below). Perhaps that's not too surprising. I think the identification with our ancestral homelands tend to fade across all racial and ethnic groups as individuals become increasingly assimilated. Maybe the last bonding tie will be artificial identifier of the "hyphenated American" such as "Asian-American' which identifies the individual as being racially Asian as well as having Asian ancestry while now being American, which is not a racial description. Hispanic-American is quite different however.

To clarify as briefly as possible, the Federal government defines "Hispanic" as a ethnic group rather than a race, since Hispanics tend to be an admixture of various races. Thus, a "Hispanic-American" may be racially more a central African origin or Native American origin, or even mainly Spanish or Portuguese origin, yet be from a Latin American culture. Black Americans are generally referred to as "African-Americans" although neither "African" or "American" are racial descriptions. The use of the term "African" can include the predominantly northern Arab populations (who are categorized racially as "Caucasians"), the more central Negro populations (which is a race), or the white South African Boars and Afrikaners (who are obviously white). Again, "American" doesn't describe a race, but rather a country and/or culture. Of course, whites are typically referred to by their racial indicator, "Caucasians" rather than as "Euro-Americans" which would be more accurate using the above logic of hyphenation.

So, while Hispanics seem to slowly assimilating despite the efforts of some to stop to reverse this trend, it's likely that in time Hispanics will eventually simply become a mixed bag like the majority of other Americans. Meanwhile, it's probable that Catholicism will remain the dominate religion among Hispanics, its hold will lessen as more chose to explore other faiths (and political allegiances), there is another trend taking place among Hispanics which seems to be often overlooked.

79% of black Americans tend to be primarily Protestants; 14% align with Evangelical churches, like the Baptists, while 53% follow traditional "Black Protestant" faiths such as the United Church of Christ and the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) churches. 5% belong to the Catholic Church while 4% are members of Mainstream Protestant churches such as Lutheran, Methodists, or Presbyterian. An estimated 18% are unaffiliated with any organized religion. However, 2% of blacks in the US are Muslims; mainly followers of the controversial Nation of Islam which has somewhere around 35,000 -45,000 members, which brings me back to Hispanics and religion.

One often ignored trend among Hispanics is that they are the fast growing group converting to Islam, which, given their numbers, could play a serious issue down the road. As present, the numbers are relatively small; approximately 150,000 within the Latino community, but there are signs those numbers may be growing. One reason is that the principal recruiting ground of Islam, especially radical Islam, has long been in US prisons, of which Hispanics represent approximately 33% of all inmates.

According to US Federal Bureau of Prisons, 80% of religious conversions in prison are to Islam, with the majority being blacks, the number among Hispanics has been increasing rapidly. Muslims make up 9% of the total prison population, compared to presenting around 1% to 2% of the general population (in New York's prison system, Islam makes up nearly 20% of the inmates). Combine this with the number of gang members in prison, this could have potentially devastating consequences if this spills over to the drug cartels who adopt Islam in conjunction with their criminal activities (for statistical purposes, blacks comprise 37% of the prison population, compared with 2.2% of Native Americans and 1.6% of Asians, while whites, which includes a portion of Hispanics, make up 58.5%). Terrorists groups like ISIS/ISIL, Boko Haram, and Al Qaeda could look like a bunch of kindergarteners by comparison next to criminal gangs like MS-13, Mexican Mafia, or the Sinaloa Cartel.

America has the largest incarcerated population of any country in the world, 724 per 100,000 people compared to "evil" Russia which has just 581 per 100,000; not a notable distinction for a country which prides itself on being "enlightened" or "advanced" (as an aside, half of the world's incarcerated population are in just three countries---the US, China, and Russia). Given the changes in US demographics, incarcerating the second and third largest populations, can't be good. Meanwhile, we're seeing changes in the political and religious alignment of Hispanics, as well as the increasing assimilation among the younger generations, yet there still runs the potential backlash the mass imprisonment of a specific group brings (generations ago, it was the Irish and Italians as well as the Poles and other Eastern Europeans).

This doesn't excuse the criminal activity of gangs any more than it did the Irish, Jewish, or Italian gangs of the 1920's and 30's, not does it excuse in any way individuals illegally entering the US (which is frowned upon by those of the same group who entered legally). However, we must address the problem we obviously have with incarceration and immigration. As the Roman Emperor Tiberius said of his nephew and future emperor, Caligula, "I'm nursing a viper for the Roman people", so are we laying the groundwork for a potential disaster.



Changing Faiths: Latinos and the Transformation of American Religion

Hispanic Identity Fades Across Generations as Immigrant Connections Fall Away


Is being Hispanic a matter of race, ethnicity, or both?

Muslims in America: Latinos Converting to Islam As US Population Grows


Federal Bureau of Prisons: Statistics

Ending School Violence By Changing Attitudes

What do you think about the recent student "walkout" over gun violence, particularly in schools? Its seems that few things fail to attract kids these days like a good issue (or excuse) to protest or riot. Donald Trump's election, and later, his inauguration, are two quick examples. Young adults and students, which comprised both Millennials and the up and coming "Generation Z" ,were quick to jump on the anti-Trump bandwagon, whipped up by the devastated Hillary camp who couldn't believe she was denied her coronation after doing so much to...I mean "for"...America , that the Left went on a rampage which has yet to let up.

The corporate media was also pretty fast to jump into the fray. After all, they had been trying to swing the election to Hillary for over a year, and then....on national TV for all the world to see...was made a fool of by the American People (who obviously don't know what's good for them). Heck, "if" it really had to be someone other than Hillary, surely the American People would chose one of the pre-selected and pre-approved Republican candidates, but nope! The American People had to go and pick someone who was an actual outsider and not someone who claimed to be in one of the sound bites. For shame America. For shame on you for thinking for yourselves.

I remember growing up in the 1960's and 1970's. We had protests a plenty! If you had a cause, we had your protest lined up and waiting! Seriously though, we did have our protests, and riots. Most of the protests were over the war in Vietnam (as well as the expansion of the war into Laos and Cambodia with the possibly at one point of even stretching into Thailand where Americans bombers were flying out of). America had come to see not just that the war was unwinnable as it was being fought (with politicians playing general), but also with the knowledge (especially after the 1968 Tet Offensive) that the military and government had been lying to us all along. Few saw any sense in going off to war to die for lies, or corporate profits for that matter as our eternal "War on Terror" now bears witness.

We also had our protests over issues such as voting rights, worker rights and job safety, equality in pay, fairness in hiring, the environment, Native American rights, forced busing, and gay rights. The riots were more the result of civil rights and "police brutality" as it was called then. However, these protests and riots were based on widespread social issues, and regardless of your opinion on any of these individual issues, freedom of expression was always at the forefront. Something else which was at the forefront was the belief in individualism. By that I mean the expansion and protection of the individual from the government. People believed the government was one of many tools to make life better. We valued individual responsibility and the expansion of personal rights and responsibility.

At some point (I'm not quite sure when or where) that all started to change. We began to think that government was "the" tool to needed to solve all our problems. Instead of organizing at the grassroots level to get things done, we demanded government do it for us. If there was a problem, government had to provide the fix. Of course, the more we've come to rely on government, the more dependent we become on it and the more unwilling or resistant we became to acting or thinking for ourselves. We, in effect, forged our own chains. Our servant has now become our master.

Meanwhile, the bond between government and corporatism has become stronger, to the point where it's almost indistinguishable where government leaves off and corporate control begins. Of course, there has always been a revolving door between the corporate world and government, but with the passage of "Citizens United", the revolving door has been removed and replaced with a breezeway. Corporations are now "people" with not just all the rights of an individual, but more so, especially when it comes to free speech.

Free speech---the 1st Amendment--was something that was greatly cherish by our Founding Fathers. They understood what it meant for the people to be denied a voice. Well, somehow, money---and it possession of it---has been determined to be "free speech" except that ordinary flesh and blood types like you and I are restricted in the amount of "free speech" we can donate to the candidate of our choice, but not so the corporate "Frankensteins", who are free to donate whatever they like. Corporate lobbyists now even help write the bills that legislators vote on. At the very least, they provide the research and they read the countless and voluminous bills on behalf of the legislators; they even provide a summary and recommendation as to how to vote. Awfully kind of them don't you think?

Political campaigns, especially at the federal level, has become far too expensive for ordinary Americans. Congress and the Presidency are a multi-millionaire's club. The last Presidential election cost approximately $2.6 billion dollars. The total cost for those running in 2016 election cycle for federal offices was $6.8 billion dollars. Given that, while the salaries are pretty good, as are the benefits, there's simply no way ordinary Americans can run for these offices. In fact, those running and being elected are simply those with the most money in what's become a popularity contest rather than a race about issues.

These individuals have little in common with us. They live in a completely different world. I'm surprised they even breath the same air. They don't understand what the average American goes through daily just to get by. They are exempt from many of the same laws they pass. They even function under a different set of laws. Washington politicians have become a de facto separate class; a political class beholding to their financial sponsors. Let's face it friends, we---the American People---are not represented in Washington. We get the illusion of choice while Wallstreet and "K" Street lobbyists decide what's good for us.

I really can't blame them, at least entirely. Nature...and politics...abhors a void. We've been content to watch TV, play video games, play on our "Smart" phones, and so forth. Very few of us are involved in our schools or neighborhoods. We tend to vote party line instead of actually trying to understand the issues (and letting the politicians decide what the issues are). Then too, who can blame us? We struggle through work; worry about keeping our jobs or benefits (if we even have any). We're too tired or frustrated by the time we get home to listen to all the hateful chaos on the news. We have to deal with traffic, crime, rising gas and food prices with little or no hope of a raise, and then government, cable, and utilities are always trying to find ways to gouge more money out of us (without our input I might add...as if it would actually matter). It seems it never ends doesn't it?

Of course, this is changing. The majority of Americans are now registered Independent (43%) while the Democrats and Republicans are left fighting over a shrinking piece of the stale pie. The corporate owned media, which functions more like the propaganda ministry of Hitler or Stalin continues to lose their audience, acts as if Indies and third parties (which are also growing) don't exist. Meanwhile, government seems to continue to spiral out of control as we become ever increasingly a police and surveillance state with fewer and fewer rights or choices...all for our own good naturally. Such is life in an Oligarchy.

One key issue, as I've previously written several times, has been gun control. It seems we are experiencing more and more crime, especially gun related crime, be it from a hotel window connected to a casino, shopping malls, churches, or schools. Then, when (or "if") we're provided with explanations from officials, we tend to rarely believe them; such has become our distrust of authority. But of all of these, which are equally terrible, it's the schools that get to us the most. I suppose that's because we expect our kids to be safe in school, so when guns show up, we become scared and angry.

Yet, while school is no place for guns, the fact is that our children haven't really been safe in school for a long time now have they? Schools have long had metal detectors due to the invasion of our schools by those carrying knives, guns, and weapons. Then too, we've seen an infestation of our schools with gang bangers and bullies. In truth, between the wannabe "Al Capones", it's the common bully who is the biggest problem, be it face-to-face or cyber bullying. Obviously signs saying "no guns" or laws against bullying doesn't work. Frankly, it was only a matter of time before some kid got sick and tired of it and takes matter into their own hands.

So, when we see these students marching out of school demanding that guns be banned from school (they already are) or some draconian law to revoke the 2nd Amendment, I have to wonder where the walkouts were to get rid of the bullies? Where were they when they saw or heard about some kid getting verbally or physically assaulted by another student? What did they do? Watch? Nothing? It's the same thing when they see a fellow student disrespect or attack a teacher. Most whip out their cell phones to videotaped the unfolding tragedy just to post it online (and usually you can hear other students egging the punk on; cheering and laughing). Where were these same "moralistic" kids then; the ones demanding further gun control?

Government intervention is not always the answer. In fact, it's rarely the answer. Personal responsibility should be the first step taken to correct any problem. I applaud these students for at least putting their "Smart phones" down long enough and look up and see the world as it is; the real world. Their more militant grandparents would be proud of them for that at least. Ending violence is a worthy cause. However, punishing the majority for the acts of a tiny few is rarely, if ever, the right decision. These students need to reexamine the root cause for the violence in school which is bullying and allowing fellow students to feel alienated. This includes not taking steps to end attacks on teachers, fellow students, and permitting gangbangers in their schools. This is called taking responsibility, and it's through taking responsibility that we can not only take our schools back, but our government too.





Election 2016's price tag: $6.8 billion



NCES: Bullying Fast Facts



Bullying Statistics



Thousands of students walk out of school in nationwide gun violence protests