CARLTON FLETCHER: ‘Body count’ comments demean victims

I’m from the murder capital, where they murder for capital. Heard about at least three killings this afternoon, Lookin’ at the news like, “Damn I was just with him after school.”

— Kanye West

As Albany’s death toll climbs higher, citizens here — even the ones who typically are unconcerned unless a matter touches them directly — are doing two things. They’re demanding action be taken, but, more than that, they’re looking for someone to blame.

As to the former, I really don’t know what more anyone would expect as far as taking action to stop people from killing each other. As I’ve written here before, this most horrendous of crimes is typically an act of passion, carried out in the heat of a moment. Most of these individuals become murderers in a moment’s reactionary time, and no police action in the world is going to stop that unless an officer happens to be on the scene when an argument goes really bad.

As to the latter, it should be noted that crimes of passion are carried out by every group up the socio-economic, racial and cultural ladders. So there is no handbook with specific lessons on how to keep people from reacting to a situation with force that turns deadly.

But there are ways to address the issue, and in those lay the blame that so many of us seek.

First and foremost, the way children act and react in given situations start in the home. Unless children are part of the foster system, they have parents who are charged with teaching them right from wrong. The tired joke in some circles is that parents’ duty is keeping their daughters off stripper poles. It’s no joke, though, to say that parents are responsible for keeping their sons out of gangs and teaching them how to be productive and responsible citizens.

As Ward I City Commissioner Jon Howard has pointed out so often in his appeals for a stronger police presence in trouble areas of the city, there is absolutely no reason for a child under the age of 16 to be wandering city streets after midnight. And there’s no reason for an older school-age teen to be out on the streets into the early hours of the morning.

Sadly, so many parents see their sons being drawn toward the streets and it’s just too hard for them — they’re working two jobs, they’re single parents, their kids are just too big and strong to control — and they turn a blind eye. Even sadder, some secretly hope they’ll be able to share the proceeds of their sons’ activities, even when they know what they’re doing is illegal.

You can also point an accusatory finger at a society that glorifies violence. In movies, television shows, video games, music … the message is clear. If someone messes with you, you’re a punk if you don’t get them back. Kids see their action heroes — and, just as often, criminals portrayed as heroes — blowing people away 20 and 30 at a time, untouched by the hail of bullets flying all around them, and they listen to songs that glorify guns and gun violence. Having a gun and responding to any slight with extreme violence is just the thing you do.

And we, as a society, share in the blame to a degree because we keep sending politicians into office who refuse to take action that will curtail the violence. In their desire to get elected and re-elected, they promise us that they’re going to address crime issues, but they focus instead on things that have no impact on the status quo. They say they’re going to address the need for jobs, but their words — and actions — are empty. They, instead, point fingers at others.

So, if you’re one of those people who has to blame somebody, there you go.

There’s another group, though, that has emerged in this that I want to address. These are the people who have made the snide comments about Albany becoming “Little Chicago,” using the body count as a basis for what they must think are clever comments but are actually sickening.

When you get ready to send in the next derogatory squawk or make a social media post that focuses on the number of homicides in this community, try and think — I know, that’s a big ask — about the families of those 18 dead. Maybe you think you’re shielded because you’re not living in poverty, you’re not involved in the drug trade and you keep yourself out of entanglements that might turn violent. And, thus, people whose deaths are mounting are nothing more than numbers to you.

But there are grieving families for whom those numbers represent dead sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, friends and loved ones. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment, then decide if you think your comments are clever or funny.

Email Carlton Fletcher at [email protected]. Follow @ABH_Fletcher on Twitter.

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