Here we go again. It seems as though it never ends: more police officers in Philadelphia and elsewhere, responsible for serving and protecting the public, disparaging citizens via social media. No reasonable person could deny that Facebook comments posted by perhaps hundreds of Philadelphia officers, including 72 just pulled off their beats, were bigoted, homophobic and/or racist.

Those individuals should not be in law enforcement, since they are not able to manage the stresses of the job. But, already the Philadelphia police union is defending them, citing due process as if there is something else to discover or uncover. I will save commentary on that for another day. There is a more pressing matter that too many community members seem to overlook routinely.

Sixteen-year-old Quran Bazemore was shot just before midnight on June 15 on Arctic Avenue in Atlantic City. He died from his injuries this past week, and the alleged shooter, an unidentified 15-year-old boy, has now been charged with murder.

It is unbelievable to think that a 15-year-old would shoot and kill a 16-year-old year old, then go home like nothing ever happened. But this is what our society has been reduced to. This cycle constantly repeats itself, month after month, in city after city, all over the nation.

Experts state that there is a link between violent behavior in youth and socio-economic factors. That’s not new, and if you were to spend time in impoverished rural Appalachia, you would find violence among white youth similar to that in urban areas.

Statistical data and studies demonstrate this, but data are only a part of the picture in this situation. Then other part is that too many young kids — white, black and brown — have obtained firearms and are willing to use them.

Some teens and young adults, mainly white ones, are so angry that they walk into a school, movie theater or some other gathering and kill as many innocent people as they can. Young black kids, as well, are shooting each other over nonsense, as innocent bystanders get caught in the crossfire.

Maybe it’s an argument over money, girls, drugs or turf. The big question we have to analyze is why these kids are turning into cold-blooded killers. Also, how are they getting and storing these guns?

One of the worst days of my life was shortly after my mother found a stash of Bazooka bubble gum in my room after she had spent more than $1,000 for braces on my teeth. She had warned me to get rid of the gum and not chew any until those braces came off. She later told me that she found that stash because she went looking for it, and because I was arrogant enough to put it in my bedroom. My parents had this strange idea that if something was in their house, they had control over it, and the absolute right to do with it as they pleased.

There is absolutely no way I could have brought a gun into my parents’ house, store it there, and not have my parents know it about it. It’s because they cared about my well-being enough to look for contraband, which meant that they were looking out for me. A teen having and using a gun is not the teen’s fault alone, if the teen resides with an adult who is responsible for their well-being. Adults in the household share responsibility for any criminality associated with that gun.

Regarding Quran Bazemore’s murder specifically, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner asked: “My only question is when will someone from our community stand up enough to give a damn?”

Tyner is absolutely correct. I have heard the calls and questions from within the community: “Can’t these guns be stopped from getting here in the first place?” The answer is, “Yes.” But, guns and ammunition are big business, and a lot of money is being made by too many people who don’t give a damn.

Can’t the police do more? No, not significantly. Police departments, by design, respond after a crime has been committed. I do not see them doing more to prevent homicides that they do not know will occur.

More police officers on the street is not the answer. This is a moral crisis, and the undervaluing of life that is permeating through our society is impacting both majority and minority communities. The answer is obvious. All we have to do is look at the right moral compass. This begins at home, then extends to religious institutions and the community as a whole.

Then, make firearms as difficult to get and keep as obtaining a license to cut hair.

That way, more children will have a chance to live into middle age.

Milton W. Hinton Jr. is retired as director of equal opportunity for the Gloucester County government, and is past president of the Gloucester County Branch NAACP. Email: miltonw@imap.cc

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