Society pays the price for missing role models

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The crowd from a march to end violence in St. Louis had barely dissipated when police were called to respond to St. Louis' latest homicide.

Shirlene Williams suffered a gunshot wound to the head while at a gas station parking lot Sunday night. The 16 year-old later died.

A second woman, who is 21, also was shot in the head and is in critical condition. Police continue to seek the suspect, described as a black male wearing a bandana. Both victims are black.

History may have been made in St. Louis. On Sunday, an estimated 50,000 black St. Louis residents marched through the rough streets of North St. Louis to draw attention to the violence that has plagued that neighborhood.

This is by far not the first mass gathering to highlight the violence in minority neighborhoods. It won't be the last. Yet the turnout exceeded even the most optimistic forecast by organizers, and the tone of the day was focused on what the black neighborhoods could do themselves to improve the situation. That in itself was unique.

The reason for the march and rally was most obvious. St. Louis has had 61 murders this year, 15 more than the same period last year. At this pace the city will far outdistance last year's homicide total of 138. The majority of both victims and assailants was black, and overwhelmingly the murders reflect black-on-black crime at an alarming rate.

The theme was uniform for those attending. Almost without exception, the organizers said the focus was on the lack of male role models within the minority community. That leaves young black males without adequate male supervision or direction, and the void is often filled with gang activities.

But, once again, recognizing the problem is easy. Finding the solution is much more difficult.

Organizers and participants agreed that more community activities were needed for the youths. But that is a need regardless of skin color. And it's far from the first time that this need has been recognized. But too often these "community activities" themselves are a focal point for violence and that diminishes a community's interest in investing in such activities or programs.

Many of those interviewed during the march recalled how their neighbors helped to watch out for them when they were younger. And by acknowledging that process of child rearing, they also acknowledged that the absence of a male in the household is not a new phenomenon. That helps illustrate the depth of the problem and the generational roadblocks to a solution.

Psychologists tell us that you change behavior with a process of punishment and reward, punishment for bad behavior and reward for good. Yet there is no stigma nor punishment for a male who abandons all responsibility toward his children. Levying child-support payments on an unemployed deadbeat dad will accomplish nothing.

Society pays an enormous price for this missing role model, and not just in the monthly assistance payments. No facet of society is untouched by this social issue, and until we find a workable solution, we'll face a mounting costs that someday will go unmet.

I find some irony in this situation. Looking back 30 years ago, one of the very first newspaper columns I wrote was an indictment on the lack of personal responsibility and accountability. The calendar has changed, but the problem persists. We can no longer look at a governmental solution but instead must demand a foundational change in our views of fatherhood.

Michael Jensen is a Southeast Missourian columnist and publisher of the Standard Democrat in Sikeston.