Gunsmoke....The Lumberton Edition

In case you haven’t heard, there was yet another case of gun violence in the City of Lumberton. This seems to be a recurring issue in Lumberton and apparently, they’re not going to stop until someone is either seriously hurt or killed. Thankfully, neither has happened. I guess we can thank God for cheap guns and bad aim. For one, I am not certain why “so called thugs” are using guns as their weapons of choice. Aren’t you “bad”? Then why are you pulling guns on people? But I don’t think Einstein could decipher the mindset of these individuals. Immediately after the latest display of gun violence, there were those who quickly took to social media and blamed the violence on the lack of activities as well as the closure of the game room and the “Hut.” Really??? There are those that say the game room and the Hut were closed because they were spots frequented by (okay, I’m not about to be politically correct) Black people. While others say the spots were closed because the gathering usually resulted in someone pulling a weapon or starting a fight. Generally, these fights or outbursts were allegedly drug related. Since there are those that are still trying to use guns to settle their differences, I think it would be correct to surmise that the Lumberton Police Department was justified in moving to have these hang out spots closed. It’s time to stop blaming everything on racism. I am not one that “hung out” at either of these locations, but there are those that loved going to these places. One of the problems black people have; well let me say, black people of a specific age group have, is they don’t know how to party responsibly. Why must you be loud and “ignant” on every corner? If you have some energy you need to release, there are other avenues that could help facilitate that release. For instance, you can go to a football game and be as rambunctious as you want to be, but instead of using that energy to cheer on your local football team, you prefer being loud and disruptive outside the windows of individuals that work; not at your homes. Just utter ridiculousness. Another reason this unruly behavior is allowed is because there are parents that do not want to admit that their child is a problem maker and then there’s the catch and release program otherwise known as the Lumberton Police Department. So, how many warnings are going to be given? Are we really going to let someone get maimed or killed before taking these faux gangsters seriously? For instance, there are two vacant apartments at Frank Lee Homes. There are loitering signs everywhere, but I have yet to witness the LPD take anyone to jail or ask them to vacate the premises when they fill the porch of a vacant unit. I know the incident took place at Green Tree Apartments (aka New Jack) but I was just giving an example of rules that’s not being enforced. Whenever rules are not enforced, they are not taken seriously and this lead to chaos. Someone need to take a stand and put an end to the street justice mentality and actually get some officers in her that do not care that parents will come to the board meeting trying to get them terminated. The previous board was more than willing to keep a rogue Chief and his officers under their protection. Well, this board should extend that umbrella of protection to any honest police officers that are doing their jobs. Another issue I have is the fact that there are those that would ascribe the prevalence of violence on the fact that “our youth don’t have anything to do.” Believe it or not, I was once young, and I never considered shooting at someone, outside the context of a video game, as entertainment. It’s time to stop making excuses for inappropriate behavior. There are those that conduct their lives within a few blocks and they have no intention of making any positive steps towards an honest living. There’s all this talk about the kids have nothing to do but when there’s a home game, the streets are still filled with people roaming about, keeping up more noise than an empty, metal wagon on a dirt road paved with gravel. So, there are things to do but if it does not include drinking, smoking or smashing, they’re generally not interested. Don’t get me wrong, there are some well mannered young people in this city but their accomplishments are often overshadowed by those that have chose to live like they were raised by wolves. There is a need for venues for our youth. I remember going to record hops, going to the softball games in the summer to cheer on the Steelers and Steeleretts (the best teams---yes I am biased). Sadly, the kids of today don’t have many of the outlets that we had but that should never be used as an excuse to “wild out.” I try not to deal with issues of this nature, but as you know, I have never been afraid to share my views, regardless of who agrees or disagree. The gun violence must end before it led to a series of weeping and a wailing. A broke clock has the correct time at least twice a day and eventually, one of those shots fired is going to connect and hopefully, it’s not an innocent bystander that get caught in the crossfire.

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