Sentencing Project in 1995, 32 percentrnof black men ages 20-29 were eitherrnin jail, or on probation or parole—rnnot counting those convicts who hadrnfinished their sentences. In areas suchrnas Brooklyn’s East New York, Bedford-rnStuyvesant, and Brownsville, andrnQueens’ Far Rockaway, the number topsrn50 percent. However, white QueensrnCollege sociologist Andrew Hacker urgesrnblack men to perpetrate more violentrncrimes against white men. Insisting thatrnauthorities conspire to incarcerate innocentrnblack men (including O.J. Simpson!),rnhe interprets racial attacks as actsrnof political rebellion, and advises thosernsame authorities to go easy on blackrnracists. Only 60 percent of all Bronxrncriminal juries hand down guilty verdictsrn(in contrast to a national rate of 75-80rnpercent). Bronx judges are even worse,rnwith a mere 48.6 percent convictionrnrate in non-jury trials during 1994 andrn1995. And yet, the D.A. Robert Johnsonrnfought plea bargaining.rnWith black mopes nine times morernlikely to harm blacks than whites, racistrnjury nullification is self-destructive. Asrnwith white mopes who occasionally commitrnracial attacks against blacks, racismrnis but a pathetic rationalization for whatrnviolent people enjoy doing, irrespectivernof their victims’ race.rnBut, what do I know? The influentialrnThank-God-I’m-Alivers on Manhattan’srnWest Side struggle for gun control andrnfor the release of convicted Philadelphiarncop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal. (Havingrncourageously routed smokers from publicrnplaces, they soldier on against a Chinesernrestaurant distributing take-outrnmenus in co-ops, and the proliferationrnof social service agencies in their ownrnbackyard.)rnMany cops unofficially support citizens’rnright to self-defense. One springrnafternoon in 1990,1 ran into three “uniforms”rnfrom Staten Island in the EastrnVillage. They had just swept some blackrn”peddlers,” whose real business wasrnbreaking into cars in the adjacent parkingrnlot. After some good-natured ribbingrnback and forth, the sergeant asked wherernI kept my (illegal) gun. When I nudgedrnthe leather attache bag at my feet, he advisedrnme, “Be careful, vou don’t get thernbag stolen on you.” I was too embarrassedrnto admit that I didn’t have a gun.rnNew Jerseyans may defend themselvesrnwith mace and tear gas. In early 1995,rnhowever, a 42nd Street store managerrnand his assistant told me they were jailedrnfor three days by William Bratton’s police,rnfor the sales of mace and tear gasrnthat Lee Brown had tolerated. And pistolrnpermits are awarded only to thoserncivilians who least need them.rnReturning to the September 22 attackrnon me, the two black cops who happenedrnonto me spraying “Jeff” with tearrngas, after he had broken my nose, werernnot at all happy about arresting him andrn”Mutt.” A sergeant had Mutt and Jeffrnbooked for assault, attempted robbery,rncarrying an illegal weapon (a boxcutter),rnand possessing, with the intent to distribute,rncrack cocaine. He also had mernhandcuffed, charged with “possession ofrna noxious substance.” Some white copsrncalled me “Bernie Goetz,” after thernnotorious subway gunman. I had heardrnthat compliment before, when I was thernguest of the Fifth Precinct in Augustrn1993, following my similar handling of arnbig, white bully.rnIs the city really safer? Neither Shiriey,rna 30-ish, black home-health attendantrnfrom Bedford-Stuyvesant, nor Ylluminada,rna 29-year-old Dominican fast-foodrnworker from Sunset Park, buys the newrnline. Residents from Mott Avenue, FarrnRockaway, to Alexander Avenue in thernBronx rage that drug dealers ply theirrnwares in full view of police precincts. Arn40-year-old, black cabbie in Far Rockawayrninsists, “The city’s no safer than itrnwas five or ten years ago. That’s just Giulianirnsaying that, because he wants you tornvote for him. It’ll take 10 or 20 years tornmake this city safe again.” You couldrnhire more cops and fudge the facts allrnyou want, but the city will not becomernsafer until New Yorkers insist on living asrncitizens in a republic.rnIn Far Rockaway two days afterrnthe Harlem Massacre, a black teenagerrnpraised his 15 or 16-year-old girlfriend’srnrap, “I got my Tech to your neck.” Withrnthe Commodores playing on the radio, Irnasked the 3 5-year-old cabbie driving mernhome what explained the deteriorationrnof black music since the 1970’s. He answered,rninstead, an unspoken question:rn”We stopped loving each other.” It doesrnnot matter, if “we” meant “blacks” orrn”everyone.” Once ignited, the flames ofrnviolent hatred will not be contained.rnNicholas Stix is the editor and pubhsherrnof A Different Drummer.rnHelp Us Fight To SavernOur American Heritage!rnSouthern heritage is a part of American heritage butrn”civil rights” groups want to remove ALL Confederate symbolsrnfrom public property. Join HPA today and help us fightrnpolitical correctness and cultural bigotry against the South.rnHeritage Preservation AssociationrnHPA is a nonprofit, national membership organization that utilizesrneducational resources along with political and legal action to protectrnSouthern symbols, Southern history, and Southern culture.rnAnnual dues of $39.95 include: HPA membership N,rncard, bi-monthly newsletter, quarterly reports,rnConfederate Shopper’s Clubâ„¢ and the Heritage-BBSâ„¢rncomputer system. Mention this ad to save 10%rn(VISA, Mastercard, AMEX) [^rnTo join by phone or request free information, callrn800-86-DIXIErnHPA • P.O. Box 98209 • Atlanta, GA 30359rn(404) 928-2714 • Fax (404) 928-2719rnAUGUST 1996/41rnrnrn