Winning? Really? If this looks like them winning, I’ll take all you got.

Black Guns Matter will make national headlines when the news media stops trying to pretend they don’t exist.

Compton, eh? Good ol’ Compton. Ranked #15 by the FBI among California towns and cities for violent crime; #11 for murder and #19 for aggravated assaults. Compton moved up when it comes to robberies, rankings #8. Compton barely made it into the top third for rapes, though: It was #123 in 2019.

Maybe your activists need to get a bit more active, though I will admit that might be difficult in a state with as many gun control laws as the Assembly can pass. Then again, as is so often the case, guns may well have nothing to do with it.

You are correct: I know nothing about the communities in and around Compton and the issues they are facing. Other than wishing them well in their efforts to deal with those issues, I don’t particularly care about them, either.

Bet that caught your attention, didn’t it?

Those communities will resolve their issues when they commit to resolving them. Nobody can impose a solution on them; nobody can buy their way out of it for them. This doesn’t mean others can’t help; it means the communities have to kickstart and spearhead the changes. If the change comes from within, it’s more likely to stick.

Unfortunately, this also means facing up to the issues and taking ownership of them.

I honestly do wish the best for every struggling community. But I can’t put my heart into it unless I can see them earnestly and honestly doing their utmost to get on the path to a community of which they can be proud. I have lived too long to not have seen shining hopes and glittering plans crumble or fade away.