Message From The Publisher
By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.
Every day we read in a newspaper, listen to the news on radio or watch on television: there’s always a story about gun violence.
We can no longer attribute this gun violence to an economic status, ethnic background or geographical locations. People are using guns to kill people every day and everywhere. In the schools , streets, homes and even in the places of worship – there is no place safe!
Now, I know people don’t like to talk about this; however, there was a time at least in the Black community when we talked about violence and mass shootings, and we would 99.1% of the time not attribute certain crimes to Black people. But Oh, how the times have changed.
What I have not read, seen or heard in the news is female involvement in these mass shootings as the perpetrators.
What makes the perpetrator of such hideous crimes different?
Have men become so insensitive, overload or so beat down by a society and more closer to home that more closer to home; their own culture seems to turn their backs on them?
Is it a motherly instinct to feel the empathy of a hurt soul that at the same time when they lash out and kill in many cases innocent people, the mother understands the hurt and wants to stop the pain and not cause it.
Doesn’t matter if you are wearing a police uniform or you’re in plain clothes the number of deaths caused by each mentally no matter the clothing is quite alarming.
I know that the quantity of guns in some areas come very close to out numbering the citizens in that area. Even with the number of guns on the streets, in the homes and there are laws that are allowing people to carry guns without permits, but I have never seen a gun shoot itself from the table from a glove compartment even in the possession of someone.
I do believe the mentality and mindset of the individual with the gun is the action that causes that gun to be fired. Yes, we can allocate monies on preventing the number of guns on the streets and lobby for stricter gun laws, and even on a manufacture’s rights and responsibilities, but if we’re not willing to spend 5 to 6 times more money on addressing the mental health of people, I don’t think that the triggers will ever stop being pulled on taken the lives of innocent people.
Westside Gazette over 52 years of reporting
