Violence wounds grieving city's soul

By THE REV. DAVID J. KALKE

Article Published: December 2005

The city's soul has been exposed with seven homicides in such a short time.
San Bernardino already was California's city with the second-highest crime rate and the nation's 13th. That seems to be the only thing the city's mayoral candidates can agree on.

The soul of San Bernardino is hurting. Children come to worship with skits about violence and shooting. Their little hearts open up as they pray for their brothers and sisters who are older than they are. They pray for the families they know whose children have been killed. Their souls have now been injured. Innocence is lost. How can a city be about healing? How can a city be about becoming whole again?

As we move into this holiday season - some now without our children, our loved ones - it is a time to reflect. How can peace be created in our city? How can all things be made anew as we wait for the equinox to move us from long days of darkness into a season with more light and brighter days?

Finger pointing does not help. The problems of San Bernardino go beyond what one mayor, city attorney or chief of police could or could not do. Let us not fall into the trap of ``hard on crime'' or ``soft on crime'' arguments. The issue is more complex than that.

Single-issue organizing does not help. The issues giving birth to crime cannot be so simply reduced to saying it is a ``gang problem.''

Let us not fall into the belief that gangs are the problem. They reflect a much deeper social and economic problem baring the injured soul of this city.

Quick solutions will not be found. What has taken 25 years to create will not be changed during a mayoral election or within the first few years of whoever becomes mayor.

Let us not believe that a new mayor can ``fix'' it in one term. It will take several years to rebuild a healthy social fabric in our city.

It is not people who can be blamed. Systems ranging from a failing school system to low-paying jobs in the private sector to churches focused on ``individual salvation'' to an old boys' club political system to a lack of tough gun laws - and the list goes on of system failures in this city that combine to create the conditions for violence.

The soul of our city is torn apart by systems that work against people.

The issue is not ``crime.''

What about a city with few activities for its youth? What about a city with the second-highest teenage birth rate in the state of California? What about a city where televised City Council meetings compete with Jerry Springer for modeling violence in conflict resolution?

The soul of this city is hurting.

No quick solutions can be found. A commitment to long-term problem solving at every level is needed. Here are some elements to look at:

• A school system needs to work. By the time teens graduate, they should be able to read and write. Too many still cannot. Let us not blame the victims but look at a system that has failed our youth.
  
• A private sector needs to create jobs that provide for a living wage. Part-time jobs flipping burgers that barely pay minimum wage and provide no health-care benefits are not the kind of jobs this city needs.
  
• Banks need to invest in neighborhood-development projects that are not just quick profit-producing enterprises, but projects that build social capital enabling a city to be rebuilt because its people are being cared for.
  
• Public health-care workers need to not fear our neighborhoods and come work with the people.
  
• A Police Department needs to be seen in our neighborhoods and as residents who are stakeholders in our communities.
  
• Youth culture needs to be seen not as the enemy, but as the cradle bearing our future. Youth culture is a vital instrument for developing a new value system in our streets.
  
• Churches need to address social and community problems and issues.
  
• Community-based courts can provide a hands-on justice that holds neighbors accountable to neighbors for crimes that can be controlled.

The list goes on.

The soul of San Bernardino is suffering.

A reflection that looks at the whole picture is needed by those who would lead this city to a new birth. The Rev. David J. Kalke is executive director of the Central City Lutheran Mission in San Bernardino. He can be reached at (909) 381-6921.