GREENVILLE - Crime is a human phenomenon that many people believe is something that will never happen to them. The personal intrusion is someone else's problem.
When the infringement does occur, we often throw up our hands and shout "Why me, Lord?"
Let's face it, we are living in a terribly violent society. For some time now, the entertainment media have delivered a violent message - take what you want, just don't get caught.
In Greenville over the past couple of weeks, people, hard-working folks, have had their personal space violated by thugs. One aspiring young man was killed for no apparent reason. He happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
We know about Kendric Lee of Greenville, because this 19-year-old's story played on the front page of the region's newspapers. But there other people just like Lee who have had their dreams of a better day suddenly annulled by the growing violence that has become America.
The only difference? Their stories never get told.
In my America, we all should be protected from the wanton violence that is sweeping the nation. Certainly the Delta is not the exception. Yet in a rural-urban center, the violence is often unfairly magnified because of the majority black population.
Nonetheless, violent crime is not an ethnic oasis. The social aggression cuts across all socio-economic levels. No one is immune from its tentacles.
In the Delta, an area that has experienced a pronounced exodus of jobs and commerce, violence has an impact on the economy. Simply look at the departure of the so-called "mom and pop" entrepreneurial endeavors. In the Delta of yesteryear, the small business was the engine that drove this economy - one of the staples of commerce.
Bubba knows first hand what violence can do to a man's business - depriving him of a livelihood, snatching bread off the table. A lifelong resident of the Delta region, Bubba, and many like him, say crime - exacerbated by a sluggish economy - is slowly squeezing small businesses from the commerce equation.
Bubba tells of many harrowing stories of thugs holding up his grocery store at gunpoint - menacing his family in the process.
In one incident, Bubba chased down one motorist who drove off without paying for gasoline, captured the individual, but is facing an aggravated assault charge in connection with the incident. Where is the justice, he wants to know?
"I don't understand this. I just want to make a living to support my family," he said with an air of resignation. "I cannot go on like this for much longer."
Don't get the idea Bubba is alone, because he's not.
There are many Bubbas, Bobs, Bettys and Brendas out there - business people facing the same economic frustrations. Remember, crime cuts across all racial and socio-economic levels.
"One day last week, a guy comes in and grabs a bag of potato chips and says, 'I'll catch you later,' then scoops up some candy and walks out," Bubba said. "It's only 32 cents, but it all adds up."
What's a man to do? Bubba certainly doesn't know. But he wants to know what is going to be done. The questions go largely unanswered.
"Businesses are not being protected," he lamented. "It has gotten so bad, many businesses don't even report it to the police when people drive off without paying for their gas anymore. And that is sad.
"I have been in this business long enough," Bubba continued, "that you can just about spot someone who is going to do something."
Nonetheless, even with the antennae raised, Bubba feels hamstrung to do something. Remember, he did take action once upon a time, and he is facing assault charges.
"As deep in debt as I am," Bubba said, "I am ready to go. Why should I stay?"
With mouths to feed, Bubba cannot exactly pack up and leave, as much as he would like to. So the Bubbas of the world simply suck it up and make a go of it.
Sadly, what is happening in my America is that hard-working people are being held hostage by the lawless. Isn't it about time we all stood up to the violence? Because you never know when the next victim will be you.
