It is assumed that no one can solve the many issues facing troubled communities, but that’s incorrect. I believe many people know the solutions. I will list some of them, and actually, you will see that many of the solutions are just as interconnected as the problems we face.  I in no way assume that these will be easy to implement and will not face opposition from many agenda driven groups. Not everyone wants the problems solved. There is great profit in chaos. But nothing worthwhile comes easy. Let’s begin.

Gangs:
Without a doubt they are a destructive force in many communities not just the black community.

How do we defeat them? Easy, you defeat them as you would any invading army.  First, cut off their sources of replacement soldiers. Being a gang member does not come with job security or a retirement plan; unless you count prison. They require a constant stream of replacement bodies.

Where do the fresh bodies come from? The recruits mostly come from prisons, single mothers, and young males who see gangs as a source of family, revenue, safety, and power.

Prisons are the original sources for many of the gangs in America (North, Central and South), and they still are proving grounds and educational centers for young thugs. This is not a surprise for many people, as it is widely taught in universities, but you would be surprised to know that prisons were not always gang factories.

In America there were many different prison models before they were ‘reformed’ by John Howard and his like. They were called penitentiaries because prisoners were supposed to seek penitence for their sins. One of the most notable methods was the Auburn system. In this, prisoners were separated at night, could not speak to each other, worked during the day, did all their time – no parole, and adhered to strict discipline (sometimes too strict). 

The definition of a gang is an organized group of criminals. One cannot organize without communication. One cannot share knowledge, good or bad. One cannot influence others. One cannot spread hate, anger, or criminal behavior.

In short, I would de-evolve the prison system and eliminate the gangs’ ability to organize at the source of creation. Telephone calls to the outside (not lawyers) would be eliminated. No ordering hits from behind bars. No keeping up with the homies, no glamour in going to prison, no weights, no fun, no sports, no TV, no radio, no sex (no roommates, community showers or conjugal visits), no free meals: you must work to eat, no visits with children, no visits with non-family. I would make prison the most uncool place in the country. I will not beat them (necessarily), but I will break them. Also, if you have a life sentence and are of sound mind, suicide would be a legal option for you.

Let me take a moment to explain the no visits with children. Every week I see babies and kids brought into prisons by women to visit brothers and ‘so-called’ fathers. The more the children come in, the more comfortable they become with seeing a loved-one in prison. It actually becomes normal to them to see males locked up, and it gives the prisoner one less thing to long for. Going to prison needs to return to being a shame, something to be feared, loathed and avoided.

Single mothers:
If I haven’t offended you yet, then I most certainly will now. Not all, but a lot of young women in the hood are baby factories (I warned you). Now, there are many reasons for this: loneliness, trying to keep a no-account man, trapped in the government subsidy scheme, taught to date only within the race, feeling inadequate around a man smarter and more successful than she is, or just plain stupid.

Can I fix all these? No, I’m not God, but I did go to church last year. Babies are not Cabbage Patch dolls or sources of never-ending love, and they ain’t all cute either. Just as America instituted an all-out war on cigarettes (very successful) I will launch a war and PSA campaign against young single motherhood.

In every high school, on TV, billboards and radio, I will lament the follies and pain of babies having babies. I will encourage women not to date, sleep with or accept thugs. I will use every dirty trick to convince women that a man without a job or education is shit on the bottom of her shoe. If he can’t read, don’t let him plant his seed. I will teach and shout that love comes in many different shades. Don’t limit yourself girl. I will make it shameful to have a thug or be a thug. Yes, there will be racial blowback, but courage, truth, and strength of will can defeat this.

I will offer free (Government subsidized) birth control (shots or patches) to high school and college age girls. But, Lance, where will you get the money? Suspend foreign aid (all of it) and a few other economic reforms I will not go into here.

Any woman, who is currently on Government assistance, must collect her checks in person, and receive her shot or patch for birth control. If you want to have more babies, you will not do it on the Government’s dime. This is not forced sterilization, or permanent. Also, I like Michigan’s welfare law, where if your child misses more than 10 days of school in a year, then your benefits will be suspended. It’s sad that poor people have to be forced to educate their kids, but how else will they break the cycle of poverty. Remember, you have no ‘right’ to someone else’s money.

Most people were really stupid when they were young. I know I was. It is in our youth that we make mistakes which alter our lives forever. My programs are designed to get young women through that period, without baggage (kids), which prevents them from achieving their dreams and goals. There is no anchor like a child. Trust me on that one.

Young Black Males - Part one:
This section will be in two parts. The young black (or any color) male. I was a young black male, fatherless, and surrounded by other males in the same boat. I’ve worked in four different prisons with men and women for the last fourteen years. I’ve spoken to, counseled, fought, cried with, read their incoming and outgoing letters, and talked to parents and girlfriends of young black males.

The one thing I know is that you cannot change the young black male directly. You cannot talk him out of being in a gang, doing criminal acts or stupid things after he starts. The gang life is addictive.

If you want him to change, you have to alter the risk and reward formula he is enacting. Guys join gangs, for companionship, structure, power, and most of all - money.  These are hard nuts to crack, but God in his infinite wisdom has put one thing on Earth that men, especially the young ones desire, crave, and dream about more than anything else. PUSSY!  Not women, I’m sorry but most young guys don’t care about her heart or what’s between her ears, just her legs.

Let’s be adults. You all know it’s true. Most bars have a ladies’ night. There is no such thing as a men’s night. Money and power don’t mean a damn thing to a man if he can’t get laid. When gang members or thugs rob people, burglarize houses, or sell drugs, they use the money to buy expensive clothes, shoes, and cars all so they can attract women and get laid.

If you want to change some men, you have to change women. If the women refuse gang members and thugs (the bad boys), and choose men with real jobs and education, then men will do those things. No, I’m not placing the burden or blame on women. I’m just stating a biological fact. I am not done with the solutions for men.

Okay, that’s enough for part two. I think I’ve offended enough people for one night. Stay tuned for part three, where I discuss schools, the legal system, and drugs.