By Lucius Gantt
Americans love their gangsters. The United States is full of lawbreakers, hustlers, and criminal opportunists.
Gangsters of European ancestry are recognized, idolized, celebrated, and immortalized in books, movies, plays, and television shows.
Most Americans have watched “The Godfather” movies multiple times.
You know some of their names, Bugsy Siegal, Lucky Luciano, Dutch Shultz, Meyer Lansky, John Dillinger, Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, Baby Face Nelson, Frank Nitti, and many others.
White gangsters are often recognized and celebrated as heroes. Some have statues, streets, and buildings named after them, and they are recognized as wise and inventive “business” men.
Black, Hispanic, and Asian lawbreakers are primarily considered to be thugs, outlaws, vagabonds, invaders, and troublemakers.
In my mind, many African Americans should be thankful for the support our communities have always gotten from ghetto and barrio entrepreneurs.
Think about it. How many Black men, women, and children got job opportunities at businesses owned by hustlers of color? How many families of color got rent payments, groceries, utility payments, bail bond money, college tuition payments, and other types of help from people like “Queen”, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Lucus, Henry Wynn, and others who constantly gave back to our community?
Your children and grandchildren think Thanksgiving turkey and ham giveaways began with rappers and athletes.
No, it was the hustlers of color who looked out for us back in the day and made sure Black and Hispanic families had food to enjoy on holidays.
Today’s gangsters are different. They rarely give back to the communities that spend money with their organizations.
Too many of today’s gangsters are political gangsters who want to steal your human rights, your voting rights, your right to make your own healthcare decisions, the right to read the books you want to read, the right to love whom you want to love, and political gangsters are hell-bent on stealing your freedom and your democracy!
The word “freedom” sounds good, especially in a Beyonce song, but we can’t always sing for freedom, our ancestors had to fight for “freedom”, and our ancestors had to vote for freedom. Your ancestors loved to sing, but, more often than not, they had to “swing” for freedoms and civil rights.
I have friends who have rarely traveled and who believe the world is like the United States, but it is not.
Every country is different. Each country has different challenges and different laws. However, all countries have gangsters and wannabee gangsters.
The worst gangsters want everything for themselves, want everything for the mob boss, or want everything for the dictator.
I know people who believe all elected officials are crooks. I believe all elected officials have imperfections and I believe politicians oftentimes misrepresent things and misinform the citizenry.
In November 2024, vote for the politician who respects, assists, protects, and will serve you!
If some politicians are gangsters, at least you can vote for the gangster that is best for you and your community!
Vote for the truth instead of the lies and pimp talk!
