NBA star and basketball legend Charles Barkley has some advice for the black community in the wake of recent shootings and attacks on police.
In a July 12 interview with the Dan LeBetard Show on ESPN radio, Barkley talked about black crime, black violence, and black attacks on law enforcement. Said the former NBA star:
“We need the cops, especially in the black community. We as black people, we’ve got to do better. We never get mad when black people kill each other, which that always has bothered me.”
He acknowledged that both police and black people have “made some mistakes.” He said, “We have to sit back and be honest with each other.” Cops making mistakes doesn’t give black people the right to riot and shoot cops, said Barkley.
The real issue, he pointed out, is black on black violence. Few seem to want to talk about that, apparently preferring to save their righteous ire for white police officers who kill someone. Barkley added:
“We don’t have near the outrage we do when a white cop kills somebody. I’ve been black my whole life. Most black people I know killed are killed by other black people, and I’ve never understood why there’s not this moral outrage the way we treat each other as black people.”
He also said black people can’t demand respect from white people and cops when they don’t give respect. He said he “respects and admires” police and decries “stuff on the media” as “Monday morning quarterbacks.”
“Without cops, we’d be living in the wild, wild West” said Barkley.
What say you?