By Dr. Dale Dangleben, Trauma Surgeon
For the past 20 years, I have seen so much blood of young black people spilled on the streets. There is a trail to the operating table. It seems we are out there killing each other with no regard for the life of others!
In the past year alone, I have seen so many young men in this community on our operating room table fighting for their lives! Many scream for their mother as they bleed and hang onto life by a straw. We have saved many, but many have been left maimed and paralyzed. These are primarily young men 14-20 years old who will never walk again. Last year alone, we had two persons shot twice at different times of the year in the same community. We are dealing with an epidemic of violence!
I am left to believe that the community is not outraged enough! We seem content with saying, ‘Rest In Peace’ or pointing the finger elsewhere. Tomorrow it may be your son or your daughter! A few nights ago, a 12-year-old girl riding her bike outside her dad’s house got hit by a stray bullet! Who is next, and where is the outrage?!
Several nights ago, we lost a young man with a GSW to his chest. His last words were, “I don’t want to die !”
The bullet ripped through him. We tried hard to save him even though we knew it was a kill shot! Where was he going and doing at 2 AM?
It is a broken city, and we must first admit that! Stop looking at the messenger like they are the problem and let us own our issues.
I also want to take the time to uplift and elevate the youth! I don’t need eloquence and big words! Just righteousness and honesty should suffice, but even more, we will need mental strength and self-reflections from all of us!
We have fallen far from who we were we should be. We learned to hate each other to the point where we are out there killing one another.
There have been too many tears, heartache, and broken families from senseless violence.
As Marcus Garvey once said, we have moved far away from self-determination. We sit and wait and blame and hope. We don’t trust each other to build community wealth together. Driven by jealousy of each other, we constantly compete with each other. We think name-brand is what will liberate us. It seems to hurt us to see one of ours rise. That’s all part of the trickery and agenda. It’s sad!
While we are here fighting and killing each other over ridiculous “beef,” – a checkmark is placed on why we should be imprisoned and be abandoned! Your authentic culture has been plagiarized and transformed. We are here lost and drowning in a faux mainstream culture. Our culture is defined by saggy pants, music unrecognizable, and posing with guns and bottles of alcohol. That’s not your culture.
I am calling for a radical re-education for the appreciation of history, which will reveal your greatness…greatness that lies in wisdom, not violence! An education will show you why you should never hate yourself or anyone else. When you learn to love yourself, liberation comes.
The greatest shame is that we have forsaken our ancestors, especially our matriarchs! After all that struggle, the greatest injustice is to see how we have used our so-called freedom in the house of exile.
We must dismantle this idea of self-hate! We must! Then we can break this cycle of violence that we all have allowed continuing polluting our community!
We must be responsible adults and take ownership of our homes and communities. Stop making excuses, point fingers at others, and look in the mirror. Ask yourself, “what have I done to contribute to this violence! What have I done to assist my child or my village? What am I going to do tomorrow to be a spark of positivity in my home and my community?
These are the tough questions! Not what is the police doing or what’s the DA doing. Let us clean up our yard!
Eradicate this cancerous culture that has enveloped our lives, see that it’s not ours, and forcefully reject it! This idea of machoism and lack of emotional intelligence; leave it behind. Let’s start listening to our progressive women and get back to matriarchy! Stop listening to poison from an industry that doesn’t want to see you thrive. Stop listening to so many fake leaders with bruised egos that can’t control their emotions!
We can do better and must do better! We can only do it as a village! Together!
I will end with the words of Marcus Mosiah Garvey and sung by Bob Marley: “None but ourselves can free our minds !”
Trauma Medical Director
Cell: 484-695-3843
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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