Almost daily now there is a story in Durham that references our gang problem. Today’s was a story about the auto expo held over the weekend, mainly for blacks and Hispanics, according to the organizers. And then there’s this comment by Antonio Lovera, one of organizers:
“We’re trying to put together new concepts. Also, public opinion about Durham may be in bad shape because of gangs and such. Maybe this show will help out. We’re trying to portray positive things on the community.”
And this from Ricardo Perez, a self-described multicultural community advocate:
Perez, who made the anti-gang presentation, noted that the school dropout rate for Hispanic students was greater than that for African-Americans. Gang involvement was one of the reasons, said Perez, adding that he hoped to help change things.
At some point in the last year or so Durham has gone from denial of gangs to giving them the status of victims of society’s ills. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next idea someone throws out is midnight basketball. Yes, let’s reward young criminals with yet another expensive social program. That worked really well 10 years ago.
