Finished Fr 1/13/17
This is a trade paperback that I got when I belonged to Quality Paperback Book Club. Originally I finished the book We 9/14/94.
An outstanding expose of Black Man's Rage.
Cavalier Manor- Portsmouth VA. He was not from the ghetto and had working class parents, yet he makes it very clear as to how he was made a victim of racism.
The rapes (pullin' a train) are described in detail and seems to have turned off many readers. However, I think he shows that although he might have participated, he most definitely regretted his actions.
Important Insight- In groups, one is capable of doing terrible things that wouldn't occur to an individual.
Also- You can't be rehabilitated if you have never been habilitated. Def- "habilitate- to make fit or capable (as for functioning in society)". Jobs, incentives, or opportunity can't solve the problem if an individual has never felt part of something larger than himself.
Also, his experiences as a Black man in the White world of journalism is especially insightful.
I loved the book and although it's almost 25 years since it was written, it is still sells. It might even be even more relevant today. America's strategy of welfare and 'lock 'em up' has clearly failed, and maybe it's time (long overdue) to chart a new course. I wonder if McCall is aware of how some of the nordic countries handle these same difficulties- they are much more effective.
The author's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_McCall
C-Span conversation with McCall
https://www.c-span.org/video/?203800-1/qa-nathan-mccall
(to 12" Su 1/15/17)
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