Have you noticed when there is some disruption in the African-American community, the government will send out a high-paid black person to pacify the situation by telling residents that everything will be all right “by and by?”

With respect to the recent violence around several Austin schools, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) sent out their “top guns” to give a good presentation and yet say absolutely nothing of substance. It is even worse that black parents and so-called “community activists” listened to the CPS officials’ nonsense and went home satisfied.

In fact, according to the Austin Weekly News, a so-called “Reverend” and “community leader,” both did not wish to play “the blame game.” So they allowed CPS leaders to leave without finding fault or proposing a resolution to the criminal behavior perpetrated by some students. If Austin were a white community and violence had escalated in the schools the way it has here, blame would be placed on someone.

Public officials would demand a public hearing to find out the reasons for the violence”who was responsible at the system level”and the hearing body would be required to make written recommendations. One of the suggestions most certainly would be to fire someone. However, African-American CPS officials understand that black parents are basically cowards. They will come out, engage in an emotional catharsis and then go home, forgetting the entire incident.

During their venting, adults will declare that young people need after-school programs, when in fact most of these juvenile delinquents need better parents. Too often African-American parents are engaging in negative behavior such as drinking, drug abuse, cursing and fighting. Furthermore, they view themselves as second-class citizens, unable and unwilling to stand up to a system that may be trying to destroy their children.

This parental impotence is illustrated in the teen job arena as well. While thousands of young people living in the Austin community are seeking summer jobs, it appears from an April 18 article that appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times that certain elected officials are giving away jobs to the relatives of other elected officials. According to the Sun-Times, City Clerk James Laski has used his summer internship program in recent years to hire the sons, daughters, nieces and nephews of ward bosses.

The Sun-Times further stated the city hiring records show that U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Ald. Michael Zalewski (23rd), Ald. Eugene Schulter (47th) and State Rep. Robert Moaro have all placed student relatives on the clerk’s summer payroll at salaries ranging from $7 to $10 an hour.

Officials like Laski and others can easily ignore young men and women from Austin so long as their parents refuse to stand up and demand a fair share of the jobs offered by the City of Chicago and the companies doing business with the city.

Why aren’t more businesses and city agencies hiring the young from Austin? Because these children have trifling, lazy parents who will not pick up the phone and demand that aldermen Mitts, Carothers, and Smith seek more summer jobs. Nor will they require the City Council to investigate the hiring practices of city agencies and firms doing business with the City.

With parents and a community that refuses to protect their young, provide guidance and job opportunities, is it any wonder that Austin’s young people are engaged in uncivilized activity?