Shani Baraka, leads the Lady Golden Bulls in 668 assists, an ALL-CIAA Performer.
by
dominique DiPrima
Los Angeles knows a thing or two about violence. Although many say Chicago is the birthplace of the modern gang…Southern California packaged up the culture of street violence like another hit movie and exported it around the world. Once known as the capitol of drive-bys and gang wars our neighborhoods have paid the price in body bags.
Our police force spent years under court supervision with a consent decree for it’s own version of a violent culture…Officer involved beatings, and shootings whether caught on tape a la Rodney King or captured in song with NWA’s South Central anthem “F—- the Police,”seared the scars of a legacy of brutality into our collective consciousness.
According to the California State Department of Justice dozens of people are murdered each year in California because of domestic violence. And according to the California Women’s Health survey 40% of all women will be victims of violence in an intimate relationship at some point in their lives. It was just such violence (though in New Jersey not California) that claimed the life of my younger sister Shani in 2003. And yet my father, and her mother heroically declined to pursue the path of an eye for an eye.
All of us have at least one loved one, a friend, friends child, neighbor, family member or colleague who has been the victim of fatal violence. In South Los Angeles the vigils, protests and funerals for those who have been killed before their time come with relentless regularity.
Whether it’s our many wars around the globe or the ones on our streets…the violence in our schools or in the entertainment we and our children consume…Most of us would like to stop the cycle of violence.
Here is California we have the opportunity to help do so with at the ballot box. We can vote yes on Proposition 34! This proposition would end the death penalty in California. And for those who worry about going soft on criminals, please know that Prop 34 also requires convicted killers to work while they are incarcerated, and it mandates that the money they earn go to their victims and to a fund to help police solve murder and rape cases.
The death penalty is a waste of money, it is applied unevenly with race playing a huge role in who gets executed, and it is morally wrong. But most of all, it teaches that killing is a solution. If we want to teach our children (and ourselves) that violence is not the answer, we have to model that principal in our laws and societal norms. If we want to end the lone gunmen of Aurora Colorado…Law enforcement’s quick trigger finger as in the Devin Brown case…Or the gang violence that renders a Cheryl Green murdered in the street…We have to end the policies and practices that promote a culture that views killing as a cure. Let’s join the majority of of the world’s humane nations! Let’s take one step towards stopping the cycle of violence. On November 6th let’s vote yes on Proposition 34 and end the death penalty in our golden state!
October 1, 2012 at 10:12 pm
Dominique I do agree with you as far as the death penalty. In College I did a paper on Capital Punishmentm, and in my research I came up with the same results that Black Men were more likely to be executed and given harshier sentences than anyone else. This research was done long before there were Crips and Bloods and long before drive bys a mater of fact the books I read on this subject were even older. For that reason I will vote against th death penalty, not that it will change things in our community, because it won’t. To do that we would have to lead by example and that’s something that hasn’t been done for decades. We go to war for revenge, power, money and send young people to do the fighting. Then we turn around and act like we’ve taught them better. In the media we have taught young women to chase the paper, guys in the fancy rides, the bad boys, the thugs. Translation I have to be (HARD, I HAVE TO GET MINE FROM THE TOP NO MATER WHAT IT TAKES) in a community that was and still is disenfranchised, but slowly getting better. In most Black Communities there are more resources for women than there are for men. There’s more programs that address womens.in the media and in the communities than there is for men . Talking to the young Brothers I’ve been around violence in our communities is displaced anger. and frustration. We are doing ok, but to turn it around we need to do better alot better. First lets highlight and encourage the young Brother doing the right things, in the media at least in our media outlets ( TV1, CTRC). Stop teaching young people anythings goes as long as your getting PAID.
October 2, 2012 at 6:40 am
A VOTE? Could stop violence? U got to be georgeWbushin W3? When? Cuz it didn’t stop it the last four years or the four years before that? What’s popular meaning for INSANITY? Oh! to strangers of GODALMIGHTY? Any one claiming to be LAW of GOD is insanity? Voting’s not insane to iniquities PEOPLES?
October 2, 2012 at 8:09 am
This is a great perspective, Dominique. Thanks from sharing, especially from your personal experience. I appreciate you taking my call this morning on The Front Page to express my view. Although I did say am in favor of the death penalty and can support it by scripture, that is not the main and only reason. I am not a blood thirsty vengeful person; I sincerely believe “if” applied fairly and swiftly in cases where mahem has been committed against innocent people, it would be a deterrent. I just left read where non-death penalty jurisdictions such as South Africa and Mexica lead the world in murder and violent crime rates. Whereas, death penalty jurisdictions such as Japan and Singapore have lower rates. The article and other things I’ve read indicate there is a “science” involved and it’s not a cut and dried issue. There are many other factors that impact whether or not the death penalty would be effective in certain territories. What works in one country may not work in another. That being said, I have compassion for the victims first and foremost. Something needs to be done effectively to deter criminals from just feeling free to commit the most violent acts. Going to prison doesn’t seem to be much of a deterrent for many, that’s for sure. I will say I’m reconsidering whether the death penalty is appropriate for California based on our conversation this morning. #1 Racism prevents the death penalty from being applied fairly. The point of making prisoners work and make restitution sounds like a good idea. Thanks again for sharing.