The parallels

Today, I decided to go out to eat lunch with Tommy (Boss), not because I forgot to bring food, but I like to sit and talk a while, especially if I'm enduring stress from a feisty car. So, we headed to the towns number one spot, Mickey D's, and I order my usual; which tends to come out within the hour (there's gotta be a laxative involved). 

We sat and began our meal, he slowly salts and vinegars his fries, and I devour half my hamburger before I opened up and mention. "I would love to stay here, but I'd have to make money. Lord knows I don't want to end up in Baltimore, not much going on there, just a cycle between crime and lack of response." He comments, "Oh, sounds like Toronto." Maybe, I thought. I'm not looking for statistics, and Toronto is occupied by a higher number of people, but Baltimore has a lot of crime. Regardless of the facts, what made the conversation interesting is his next statement (and tommy can talk so I will put the basis of the convo). He said, "Right now its a bunch of young punks, generally Black males, who strut and talk a big game and look for subtle reason to shoot you. Thats all they do shoot shoot shoot... and the Blacks are not from a particular region, they are Caribbean, African-Canadians, African-Americans, they're of many origins, but that is the newest thing." 

I shook my head, and agreed that minorities are in the face of crime, but instead of teaching the old-dog (guy) new tricks and countering his statement by the injustices, he continued.

"Nothing has changed though, back in my home when I was growing up it was the same way"

Back home for Tommy is Scotland, and he claimed to have lived in the roughest, most dangerous city in all of U.K., Gauldry. I think that is what I can recount from the conversation. Anyways, he said that if you walked on the wrong side of the street somedays, that would be your day. If you were in the road part of town, or even had the wrong color on. You would be lucky to have a hospital bill. He mentioned that they would kick your ass for fun, and the two main parties were the "Teddy Boys" and the Rockers, they wore scarves (similar to bandanas over here). Instead of the prominent and favorable gun, they carried switch blades, chains and butterfly knives. But just because gunpowder wasn't the dominant conduit to killing doesn't mean you would not die. Tommy told me he used to get his ass kicked all the time.

Over in his country there were soccer teams affiliated with religions, Protestant and Catholic. The question often asked: what team do you favor? Which would explain what religion as well. But, they wore colors and any given time during a game could mean your time to get roughed up, if seated in the wrong area of the stadium.

What I'm getting at is the parallels. Yes right now the Black male is a target in the eyes of media, and society. Carrying baggage that some could not imagine existed. But, this is nothing new, and the human nature to commit acts of violence and malice "just because" is not a new trait either. Scots were the minority on the U.K., and known to be serious fighters, a stereotype too. Of course there are many differences in our history, yet the parallels are the things that explain a lot.