A home-grown approach to violence in St. Paul

St. Paul has a problem with violence. Bullets are flying more than before; killings are more than before.

Fortunately, the problem of violence is limited: Only some young men are the shooters; only some neighborhoods are under assault. What is limited and concentrated can be more easily contained.

In the 1980s St. Paul solved a similar problem – the rise of youth gangs in the recently arrived Hmong American community. Then I was privileged to help find the solution. I introduced my good friend Hmong leader General Vang Pao to St. Paul Police Lt. Bob Fletcher, now sheriff of Ramsey County. As I remember, Bob was then assigned to juvenile for the St. Paul Police Department. After an open and frank meeting at my house with General Vang Pao, Bob immediately understood that the best response to gang violence was to work closely with Hmong leaders and Hmong families. His colleagues in the police department agreed with him.

General Vang Pao took a firm line with the leaders of the 18 different Hmong Clans: youth crime and gangs were a threat to the success of the Hmong in America; education was the road to their flourishing as new Americans. Clan leaders and elders, especially grandmothers, agreed enthusiastically. Families exerted pressure on children to give up gangs and work harder at school.

Clan leaders cooperated with the police, identifying troubled youth and gang leaders. The police responded with wisdom and sensitivity. Individually, officers personally got to know Hmong families and youth, those in gangs or inclined to join that counter-culture which gave scope to expressions of anger.

St. Paul thus fashioned a successful, home-grown strategy for reducing violence. We can use this model again to end the current wave of shootings.

Today I firmly believe the African American community in St. Paul can lead the way in reducing violence. In partnership with the police, community leaders can insist that young men find better ways of becoming adult than through violence. In our St. Paul African-American community, a most effective network of concerned leaders is the Ministerial Alliance among churches. A community-centered outreach to troubled youth and their families through churches might be the best way for St. Paul to address its problem with youth violence.

Stephen B. Young, St. Paul

That was a miracle. This isn’t

I read this morning’s article on Ramsey County’s vote to accept more refugees (“County to accept more refugees,” Jan. 15). I found the comments by Commissioner Trista MatasCastillo particularly interesting. She compared it to a “loaves and fishes” experience. She also told of reminding constituents that Jesus, Mary and Joseph were “refugees” having fled to Egypt.

The loaves and fishes event told by Matthew in the Bible was a miracle. Five loaves and two fishes fed 5,000 people, with 12 baskets of scraps left over. The vote by seven Ramsey County Commissioners was hardly a miracle. Some would even say their decision was hardly even a surprise.

As for Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus being refugees, it is true they fled in the night for Egypt at the direction of an angel who came to Joseph in a dream. However an angel again appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to return to their homeland, Israel. So the refugees left Egypt and returned home to Israel. Maybe Biblical history would have been different if Egypt had a better welfare system.

Kirby Beck, Coon Rapids

Well done, county board

These are hard and fractious times, but the action by the Ramsey Board to welcome more refugees fills me with pride and hope for our future. Well done, Board Chair Toni Carter, and all the members of the Board.

George Latimer, St. Paul

The writer is former mayor of St. Paul

The Obama economy

I keep hearing from our president about how we have the best economy ever because of his actions. Well a quick look reveals the under the last three years of Obama’s presidency there were 1.5 million more jobs created than in the first three years of Trump’s.

Looking at unemployment, after our economy collapsed under President Bush, a collapse caused by the banking industry, unemployment peaked at 10%. During the Obama presidency the unemployment rate dropped to 4.7%. Under Trump the rate continued to drop to 3.7%, continuing the decline started under Obama.

The tax cuts under President Trump, to corporate America, have increased the rise in our national debt each year to record yearly amounts.

The stock market increase? Both Clinton and Obama’s first three years had greater percentage increases than Trump’s. In every stock index Obama’s market outperformed Trump’s. This was even after the economy was in free fall when Obama took over.

If you look at almost every economic indicator the economy was improving faster under Obama than Trump. In fact if you look at the graphs of economic growth we are continuing on the same path as under Obama. I guess the best we can say about Trump is he hasn’t screwed up the Obama economy.

Gregg Mensing, Roseville

A way to learn more about background checks

On Jan. 12 you published a letter from Mr. Thomas Mortenson with the heading, “Sensible questions about gun laws.” I am writing to tell you, Mr. Mortenson and your other readers that Johns Hopkins University is offering a free online “teach-out” on the Coursera platform entitled “Firearm Purchaser Licensing: The Background Check Policy Not Enough People are Talking About,” which you can sign up for by going to www.coursera.com and searching there.

The course registration opens on Jan. 20. The course has four segments: 1) What is firearms purchaser licensing? 2) How do firearms purchaser licensing systems work? 3) How does firearms purchaser licensing address gaps present in federal law? And 4) How can grassroots efforts advance firearms purchaser licensing?

I have not taken the course yet, but I have taken other courses from Johns Hopkins on Coursera. They are generally composed of video segments, and sometimes there are written materials. This one is estimated to take eight hours. Mr. Mortenson’s letter had four questions related to background checks. I think this course would present some answers.

Richard (Dick) Murray, St. Paul