Column: Plenty Of Ideas, But No Easy Fix For Tuscaloosa Violence

*This is an opinion column*

TUSCALOOSA, AL — We live in a society where it's often easier to look for a magic wand to wave at our problems than to think critically about how we ever got to this point. Couple the aforementioned social apathy and need for instant gratification with the exponentially multiplying toxicity of identity politics in America today and you arrive at our present state in Tuscaloosa and similar cities all over this country.

It's a foregone conclusion that violence is out of control in our bustling part of Alabama, yet we as citizens continually miss the mark when it comes to understanding and addressing it. What's more, I've seen with my own eyes officials and community groups holding long-winded talks about an isolated act of violence, expressing every intention of thwarting the source, only to be pulled in a different direction with the next shooting or killing.

I think back to the middle of March and a situation that seemed impossible to have ever predicted or stopped. It's a little after 1 a.m. on a damp Tuesday morning and I'm pacing the lawn at Dixie Pulp and Paper on the scene of a murder/suicide. On the ground just a few feet away, a man's feet stuck out from under a sheet covering his body. This wasn't the first heartbreaking scene of its kind I had ever been on, but it raised a question that echoes even as I write this ...

How could this have been prevented?

There isn't an answer, obviously, but that workplace killing in March — and the numerous others in the months before and since — have ignited outcry from the Peanut Gallery on social media and prompted discussions of action among policymakers. Unfortunately for the public, though, there has been very little, if any, consensus on how to address the problem.

On one side, many of the same people wanting to "defund the police" also lament the lack of visible action to curb the rampant violence around them. Conversely, the "Blues Lives Matter" set want more tax dollars spent on law enforcement and harsher penalties for offenders, all while turning a blind eye to the possibility that repercussions and more cops on the street have never been much of a deterrent ... especially when it comes to violence.

Separately, both sides champion low-hanging scape goats regarding education, poverty and the decay of the Norman Rockwell ideal of traditional family values. Most of this is nothing more than a dog-whistle for deep-seated political leanings and only distracts from the unseen variables leaving a trail of dead in our community.

When looked at objectively, plenty of hard data shows education and socioeconomic factors at the community level can contribute to higher levels of violence, sure, but objectivity is in short supply these days. After all, it's a quicker, more accessible stance to immediately place the blame on gangbangers, dope dealers, politicians, cops or whatever other boogeyman the zeitgeist has given birth to.

I argue the situation, at least as far as Tuscaloosa is concerned, is much more complicated than bullet points in a community planning pamphlet or topics hollered through a megaphone at a protest. We can't pray, legislate or demonstrate the violence away and I'm not so sure hedging our bets on state-funded education and improved community relations will have any noticeable effect on the ever-growing criminal element in our community. I'm pessimistic because many of the things we are powerless to change, while at the same time, even the best laid plans in the wake of violence often never make it off the ground before something else comes along to grab the public's attention.

Some of it, mainly in the raw numbers, can be chalked up to the pace of growth seen in the Tuscaloosa metro in recent years. As Patch previously reported, Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley said in June that his department had logged 206 gun arrests since January — compared to 90 during the same January-June timeframe in 2020 and 47 in 2019.

The numbers are worrisome, yes, but these stats aren't as surprising when you stop and realize Tuscaloosa is the largest and busiest city west of Birmingham. Even more so, it's shortsighted not to consider the recent economic strain placed on the myriad smaller communities within driving distance of Tuscaloosa.

Main Street was hit hard in small town Alabama during the coronavirus pandemic and when people run out of things to do where they're at, they will inevitably find somewhere else to go. So while economics definitely plays a role, I don't think it's as simple as insisting that poor people are more likely to commit acts of violence solely because they are poor.

What about access to adequate mental health or drug and alcohol abuse resources? When will this become a topic of conversation?

I'm old enough to remember the adults at the dinner table talking about the spike in crime and homelessness when so many were turned out from Bryce Hospital due to state budget cuts. That problem persists to this day and has only evolved, as brand new facilities fill up and leave limited bed space in a city and state once viewed as the zenith of American mental health treatment. As this is rarely discussed, we once again fail to remember our history and are thus condemned to still believe our own half-baked theories about what causes violences in our community.

But above all else, as Chief Blankley explained in the past, Tuscaloosa is "the spot" for many in the greater region, highlighting a stark reality that his investigators must face each day and one that we should be talking about more as a community.

Think about the murder of 19-year-old Versaun Leonard, who was gunned down last month at a residence on Willow Lane. Three arrests have been made in Leonard's killing thus far — all suspects from Marengo County. This is a hyperlocal example, I admit, and my argument is outweighed by the numerous other acts of recent violence by Tuscaloosa residents. But it's one that drives home Blankley's point about many problems coming from outsiders, which — apart from access to mental health treatment — seems to be the most overlooked contributing factor to an overly violent year in Tuscaloosa.

Another example of this could be seen on A-Day Weekend, as thousands crowded The Strip in a festival-style atmosphere, replete with a raucous crowd that had to eventually be dispersed by police. Luckily, no one was injured and no shots were fired, but numerous gun arrests were made as the Tuscaloosa Police Department responded to nearly 300 calls that night.

Among those arrested on gun charges during the busy evening included residents of Birmingham, Center Point, Hoover and Moundville.

It's also worth pointing out that I'm not suggesting residents of Tuscaloosa aren't to blame in most of the recent bloodshed. There is much for us to mull over as a community with respect to gun violence, but I'm not convinced that forming a slow-moving bureaucratic committee or organizing another benign protest will provide the panacea many of their proponents are holding out for.

What's most disappointing in the response, though, is that so much of what we see across the spectrum is nothing more than grandstanding, in most cases for nothing more than attention or favor. Especially among young people, it's chic to be socially conscious and makes for engaging bar conversation, but when nobody really knows what they're talking about — in relation to violence in our city — it becomes that much easier for ignorance to run roughshod over the truth and hijack public opinion.

I don't mean to sound like a fatalist, though. There is plenty that gives me hope.

Chief among the positives are steps being taken by TPD and City of Tuscaloosa to address pockets of high crime around the city. Initiatives like the purchase and redevelopment of University Manor could prove beneficial in the long term, while the policy changes at the Tuscaloosa Police Department are geared toward promoting transparency and better engagement with the public.

The violence the city is working to address isn't just limited to guns, either, as Mayor Walt Maddox and other officials have held regular meetings with bar and restaurant owners in downtown to work toward making the city's entertainment districts safer for pedestrians after a rash of incidents involving motorists. For example, pilot concepts like Summer in the Square could prove useful in the city's attempt to innovate its way to a better future.

In the private sector, our community is also fortunate to have more churches and active community groups than I can count, many of whom work tirelessly in the public eye to help those in need. The right pieces are all there for us to come together and effect real change, but it will take healthy doses of humility and empathy to do so.

Again, I'm nothing more than a paid observer and have no suggestions on how to pull us up from this violent spiral. But I do believe we have an abundance of well-intentioned citizens who can move mountains if they put their personal politics aside and find a way to get on the same page.

Tuscaloosa Patch Founder and Field Editor Ryan Phillips is an award-winning journalist, editor and columnist. The views expressed in this opinion column are his and not necessarily reflective of the viewpoints of our parent company.