{"id":40483,"date":"2021-07-20T22:00:31","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T02:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/?p=40483"},"modified":"2021-07-23T09:32:59","modified_gmt":"2021-07-23T13:32:59","slug":"crime-plagued-residents-must-get-out-on-those-streets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/ncppr\/2021\/07\/20\/crime-plagued-residents-must-get-out-on-those-streets\/","title":{"rendered":"Crime-Plagued Residents \u201cMust Get Out on Those Streets\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

After another bloody weekend in America\u2019s major metropolitan cities, Project 21<\/a><\/strong> member Charles Butler<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 a former Chicago resident \u2013 said that people in the communities most affected by crime \u201cneed to organize.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey must get out on those streets and defend their children and defend their property,\u201d Charles declared on the Newsmax program \u201cJohn Bachman Now.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s the American way.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a shooting<\/a><\/strong> outside a Washington Nationals baseball game last weekend, a fan was hit when gunfire was exchanged between two cars. It ended up cancelling the nationally-televised game. In the wake of that high-profile crime, the police union serving the nation\u2019s capital tweeted<\/a><\/strong> that \u201cviolent crime permeates everything,\u201d adding that it\u2019s \u201ca tragedy that elected officials won\u2019t let us do our jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newsmax guest host Joe Pinion suggested there is a \u201csuspension of reality\u201d among politicians about the causes of the violence that \u201cleads to pain and suffering\u201d in predominantly black and brown areas of the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe police aren\u2019t being allowed to do their job,\u201d Charles replied. \u201cThat\u2019s just the fact. If we turn them loose, they\u2019ll take care of these shootings, these criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles further explained:<\/p>\n

Liberalism seems to be related to a person\u2019s distance from a problem.<\/p>\n

You will never<\/a><\/strong> hear black people in these communities, or brown people, say: We want to defund the police. These politicians<\/em> will say that. And when I\u2019ve confronted politicians about why they\u2019re not doing more to put criminals in jail, the first thing they say is: We\u2019d be incarcerating more black men. And I\u2019d say: They\u2019re criminals \u2013 put \u2018em in jail!<\/p>\n

We have a lot of issues that are going on. Black people need to look at themselves. We need to look at our own community. This is not a white man\u2019s problem. This is a black community problem.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Referring to the violence plaguing<\/a><\/strong> Chicago, Pinion said black communities are in an untenable position between what he called an \u201ceffectively inept\u201d mayor and a White House that \u201cdoesn\u2019t seem to want to acknowledge the problem\u201d \u2013 both of which are being driven by \u201cblind ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles suggested that people \u201cneed to take a page\u201d from the playbook of black and white South Africans to \u201cact as vigilantes<\/a><\/strong> to protect our own communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the same thing needs to happen here,\u201d he commented. Fellow panelist Jonathan Gilliam, a retired FBI agent, remarked, \u201cI love what Charles said,\u201d but suggested it be packaged as a \u201ctime for Americans to stand together and step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charles pointed out the value of the community\u2019s involvement at a time when law enforcement resources are stretched thin and being cut:<\/p>\n

People in their communities need to take policing into their own hands. Because they know who these kids are who are driving through the neighborhoods shooting. They\u2019re shooting at houses. I mean, this is not gang-related. They\u2019re just arbitrarily shooting at people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n