Where are the Men?

Earlier this week Armed and Safe commented on The civil rights march most have never heard about--and that some would prefer to keep under wraps. The march he was talking about occurred in 1965, and it was in support of the Deacons for Defense and Justice.

During Black History Month last year I posted "The Second Amendment, Civil Rights, and Black History Month". In that post I commented on the fact that early gun control laws were written to keep firearms out of the hands of blacks and other minorities. The Black Codes and Jim Crow laws were used to make sure that blacks could not own firearms and have the ability to protect themselves. The Deacons for Defense and Justice were also discussed in that post.

I have often wondered why the Jessie Jackson's of the world are hell bent on ignoring the fact that arms, protected by the second amendment, were effectively used by the Deacons and others to protect black communities and further the civil rights movement. Armed and Safe adds a bit on insight to that question with Speaking of the Deacons for Defense . . .

This brings me to my final question, and the reason for this post.

Where are the modern day Deacons for Defense and Justice? Where are the MEN who will stand up in their communities and say "Enough is enough"?

The street gangs are killing more young black men than the KKK could ever dream of. Drugs, violence, prostitution, substandard schools, the government dole and all the garbage that goes along with it are destroying entire communities. It appears that in some areas a complete generation has been lost in a cesspool of failure and crime.

All the politician can do is stand in front of a television crew and call for more restrictive laws, demand more power, and generally just fling spittle all over the place. They are incompetent and impotent. In the end they will do nothing with the additional funds raised or power acquired to actually help the communities that need it most.

Where are the MEN who will take a stand and say "No more, this community is ours". Where are the modern day Deacons, MEN who will put their lives on the line for their community, who will do whatever it takes to run the gangs out of their neighborhoods, who will see to it that the schools have the opportunity to offer a decent education to their kids, and who will be the standard bearers of true freedom and opportunity? These MEN are desperately needed.

A lot of folk are being well trained on the streets of Iraq and Afghanistan, taught the skills necessary to take back a neighborhood for the good and decent people who live there. Maybe...