By Kenneth L. Hardin

I humorously recall an Iraqi newscast being played on American TV back in 1991 that poked fun at a news anchor. He denied that U.S. and coalition forces were closing in on their city during the buildup to Operation Desert Storm. Although it was obvious they were outmanned, outmaneuvered and outmatched, the news anchor stayed firm that there was no truth to the reality right outside his window. I’m certain he was forced to engage in this pitiful charade by their brutal dictatorial leader, Saddam Hussein. To watch him failing miserably in his obvious propaganda filled with purposeful deceitfulness was both sad and funny. It brought to mind a line the late comedian Richard Pryor uttered in a stand-up routine, “Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?”

I found myself asking that same question and experiencing similar sad-humorous feelings 33 years later as I sat in the city council meeting last week listening to the triadic relationship rationalization of the mayor, city manager and police chief. Their performative oral missives were verbal comfort to people in attendance who needed it the least but missing those who will never know their words existed. Therein lies the problem. Words and resolutions are often created by those never impacted and felt by those impacted even less. The people who needed to hear their hollow words don’t attend city council meetings nor do they pop a bowl of microwave popcorn and log on at home to view it. So, the people espousing emptiness feel good thinking they’ve connected and those who missed the clearly rehearsed and robotic messages continue to believe no one cares about their pain. Those sitting in the comfortable high-back chairs leaning on statistics fail to comprehend or even care to understand their message is falling short and no dots are being connected.

I sat there listening to the “heartfelt” messages from the mayor and city manager and it sounded no different than when our congressional leaders offer their “thoughts and prayers” to the grieving parents of innocent children massacred in school settings. They think the thoughts and prayers offer comfort in place of actual action and legislation, but it only appears to assuage them of guilt and the need to accept real responsibility. Instead of simply acknowledging they’ve dropped the ball and don’t understand the root cause of why there is so much gun violence amongst our young people here, they try to convince you this current gun violent enemy isn’t perilously close to our own city gates. It’s obvious our elected officials suffer from the Dunning–Kruger effect. They have cognitive bias brought on by their limited competence in what is truly going on in the streets. They’ll never admit publicly they don’t know what they don’t know and will continue to erroneously overestimate their ability to address it. They toe the company line of  “Nothing to see here” while senior citizens, who are diving on the floor and crawling under furniture, see the enemy clearly. While residents in poor and Black neighborhoods live in constant fear and terror, they’re given empty promises, speeches and assurances that something will be done. Sports camps, festivals and parks aren’t the answer.

The people impacted are told to “say something if you see something” but feel little to no connection to police officers who criticize and judge them for not doing so out of the same fear why they won’t. Residents are asked to provide information to the police but, in turn, the police won’t even provide basic information to the public on violent crimes committed. This lack of communication has created a level of fear and mistrust that has motivated residents to no longer look to the police for answers. They’ve created their own intricate communication networks to keep each other informed.

Instead of our elected officials honoring their pledge to represent the people who elected them, once they put their hand down after the oath, they’re only concerned about protecting the image of the city. They no longer work for the citizenry and residents don’t view them as an ally nor anyone they can trust to address their needs. In 1995, gun violence, gangs, drugs and dilapidated housing were identified as priority. Three decades later, we’re still facing the same issues. Instead of criticizing people for being angry, frustrated and apathetic; imagine dealing with the same issues for 30 years and every two years hearing people at election time tell you how much they care about you. Then, after decades of continued gun violence, all you get is a “thoughts and prayers” message and statistics at the start of a meeting.

If people like me, who are working in the community to keep calm, grow weary, throw our hands up and quit, this city is going to need all those thoughts and prayers.

Kenneth L. (Kenny) Hardin is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.