Outside of the obvious melanin in their skin, they appear to be spiritual “brothers” in a more significant sense, that of world view and basic expectations for young people in a civil society.
Read this speech by Mayor Nutter, on the occasion of British style rioting and violence in Philadelphia.
Then read Bill Cosby on related issues.
Why, oh why, aren’t these people more influential in the “black community” than Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and gangsta rap?
Well… the answer is pretty obvious.
But the solution will take time, and be painful (though not more painful than what’s happening now). And the people who implement the solution of removing incentives for bad behavior, and then punishing bad behavior with more certainty than now exists, while simultaneously rewarding good behavior (with the non-egalitarian results that are bound to occur), are going to be the people who are vilified by all sides, especially by the demogogues and race hustlers.
One point is obvious: the “black caucus” of congress mostly doesn’t care a bean about the majority of blacks, but only about their own political power and re-election prospects. They have the platform and the power to effect real change in the calculus of incentives in the inner city…. but they use it to tell lies and buy votes.
