When Mayberry Goes Gangsta: Justice Southern Style
Min. Paul Scott
Summer time in Mayberry. Usually you can find Sherif Andy and Deputy Barney unarmed in the jailhouse playin' cards and just chillin'. Meanwhile, Aunt B and Opie sit on the front porch sippin' home made lemonade. But that was before "they" rode into town. Now Andy and Barney wear bulletproof vests. Aunt B carries a 45 in her Sunday purse, locked and loaded. And Opie is now "O dog" Main St assassin...
When most folks think of North Carolina, they think of Apple pie, warm summer nights and college basketball. But like most places, the Ole North State has its share of crime. Some folks will warn you that if you see a kid dressed from head to toe in Carolina blue, he probably doesn't play for the UNC Tarheels. Especially in my city, Durham, as for the past few years the so called gang problem has received national attention thanks to the media and documentaries.
Durham hasn't always had the reputation of being the New Jack City of the South. But a few years back the local media began to do cover stories with gangsta's throwin' up gang signs and well, the kids that weren't quite smart enough to get on the A honor roll or couldn't catch a pass for a hundred yards every Friday night found that one way to get noticed was go to the Dollar store and get a bandana, white T shirt and mimic BET videos.
To add to that, as in many cities, there is also the practice of gentrification. For those not hip to the term. When you find a poor neighborhood, label it run down, drive the people out, sell property dirt cheap and then rebuild the area...That's gentrification.
What you have a self fulfilling prophecy..Tell the people they live in a "gang infested" area long enough and well...You know the rest.
So how do my southern friends and neighbors deal with the plague of gang violence?
Like folks in any other town below the Mason Dixon when they fill that their traditional way of life is threatened...
They panic.
For the past few years, some NC politicians have been trying to pass tougher legislation to deal with gang violence. In 2003, to capitalize off of post 9/11 paranoia they tried to pass a Street Gang and Terrorism Prevention Act but since public anxiety had begun to die down, it didn't work. In 2007, they are trying to sneak it under the public radar in the form of the Street Gang Prevention Act courtesy of House Bill 274 and Senate Bill 1358.
But the obvious question is, if it is such a darn good idea, then why hasn't it become law, yet?
Now, I like to take an afternoon walk to the mailbox without worrying about becoming the victim of a drive by as much as the next guy but using draconian methods to deter crime just doesn’t strike me right.
The main controversies surrounding the bills are how do you determine who is in a gang and is being in a gang illegal?
The intro to House Bill 274 says that:
"The General Assembly, however, further finds that the State of North Carolina is in a state of crisis that has been caused by violent street gangs whose members threaten, terrorize, and commit a multitude of crimes against the peaceful citizens of their neighborhoods. These activities, both individually and collectively, present a clear and present danger to public order and safety and are not constitutionally protected"
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