If Puff Daddy Is Not
Guilty Then Who Is?
Not guilty! That is the verdict that was handed down by the
jury, who spent several weeks listening to the legal drama that played out on
the real life stage of our criminal justice system. As you probably have
heard by now, Sean Combs and one of his co-defendants were acquitted of all
criminal charges. Although the jury did find one of his co-defendants
guilty, the question still remains, "if Sean Combs (a.k.a. Puff
Daddy) is not guilty then who is?" I believe if we view our own lives
as a courtroom trial and guilt or innocence is weighed on the basis of ethics
and morality, we will be able to answer this question. It also will help
us to understand why the shooting inside the club should not be viewed in a
vacuum. Throughout our nation violence such as this takes place daily and
there are various groups in our society that are affected. An examination
of how these groups respond would give us a clear understanding of why the
problem continues. All sections of our society play a part including gun
manufacturers, the music industry, parents, youths, and law enforcement
agencies.
I mention gun companies first because they have continued to show a disregard
for their role. The countless number of handguns that proliferate the
streets of our nation is a clear indication that many of them have placed profit
over public safety. While reports have shown that a classroom of students
a day lose their lives to gun violence, gun companies are continuing to ignore
the issue of gun violence. They use gun advocacy groups to hide behind and
the constitutional right to bare arms as a green light to mass produce assault
rifles and other dangerous hand guns. Much of their unwillingness to
respond and change their ways is because violence from handguns have a
disproportionate negative impact on the impoverished areas of our nation, which
happens to be predominantly people of color.
It is understood that gun companies are in business to make a profit just as any
business will be. However, along with their self-interest there must be a
community interest. Participating in addressing the large number of
illegal handguns in our nations is an action that we can all benefit from. Many
of the guns put on the nation's streets are done so by legal gun dealers who
sell to illegal buyers. Gun companies' executives should not wait until the
school in their township becomes the victim of a shooting before they respond.
Although the gun companies lead off the list, they are not alone on the list of
blame. Sharing the top with them is the entertainment industry. This
includes all forms of entertainment. The level of violence that is pumped
out from the industry is alarming. Much of this violence directly targets
adolescents. A daily smorgasbord of violence finds its way into their
lives. Sophisticated electronics have replaced the one dimensional
television approach of yesterday. Mass media utilizes everything from CDs
to computerized games via the Internet to accomplish its goal of giving us as
much violence as we can stand and more. With the help of the entertainment
industry we have built up a tolerance for violence that calls for more violence
to satisfy our unquenchable thirst. This fact is manifested in our daily
actions. Far too often I have witnessed a civilian reading the paper
quickly look past a horrific violent act reported on the front of the paper only
to quickly turn to the sports section to study how their favorite team is doing.
This total disregard displays the frightening reality that we have become immune
to violence. Much of the responsibility lies at the doorstep of the
entertainment community.
The only guards we have against the entertainment community's lack of ethical
responsibility are parents. Unfortunately this group has fallen short of
fulfilling their obligation. Many parents have voluntarily placed their
heads in the sand when it comes to monitoring what type of violence is coming
into their homes. Not only are they failing to check on their children's
actions, in many cases they knowingly purchase the video game or CD that spews
out violence. Each parent should ask themselves how often have they walked
past their loved one with a head phone on their ears and did not stop to find
out what type of lyrics their child was listening to. Children will
naturally be reckless in their actions and that is why it is imperative that
parents are there to ensure that that recklessness does not have a permanent
impact on the rest of their lives.
The responsibility that adults have does not excuse young adults from becoming
concerned about losing their friends to violence. History has shown that
the youth have picked up the torch whenever adults have failed. This fact has
been demonstrated all over the world. An examination of history shows that
it was the youth that mobilized around issues such as America's civil rights
movement and South Africa's Apartheid government. It is examples such as
these our youth must draw from to better understand that the power of change is
in their hands. Just as they have a major impact on what is popular in the
country, they too can change the direction of gang violence, violent videos,
etc. It is time for the youth to realize the seriousness of the moment and
concentrate on putting in place proactive programs that will save their
generation.
The final safety net to the issues surrounding violence is the law enforcement
community. As a member of this community, I will always understand that we
must catch the crime problems that other groups fail to identify and address.
In many areas we have been successful in improving the quality of life for many
Americans. However in far too many areas we have ignored the potential
violence that is on the horizon. The country's belief that law enforcement
should only react to crime problems is an under-utilization of qualified
professionals. Conscientious law enforcement officers can play a major
role in not only reacting to crime patterns but recommending solutions prior to
the development of such crime issues. Law enforcement officers through out
the country are well aware of the impact that the gun companies and
entertainment communities have influencing violence among adolescence. This
group should be on the forefront of addressing these issues prior to the
eventual violence that will follow.
How we as a country respond to these issues will determine what our verdict will
be. The determination of guilt or innocence will be determined based on
how our future generations respond to each other. If they talk and resolve
their problems through conflict resolution methods then our verdict is
favorable. On the other hand if violence is the tool of choice that our
children use to reach a temporary solution to their conflicts, then our verdict
is the negative. The outcome of our real life trial is in our hands. < size="4">
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3/28/01
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