Shaun KingVerified account

5) ...lives don’t deserve to live in peace and harmony—just as you and I do. Thanks for sharing my column with your audience.

4) ...teaching things like conflict resolution for those swept up. And to prevent others from taking that path towards violence. We must resist the injustices of the criminal justice system. But we also can’t act like those who live with violence every moment of their lives ...

wow. This is the same Roy S. Johnson that I used to read in Sports Illustrated.

Something about those Roy's from Alabama...

1...In this situation I feel the usage of the word fits. Cancer is an illness that can cause harm to an entire body. Our communities are dying! Children are being killed by stray bullets and have difficulty sleeping at night due to fear in some neighborhoods. How is that fair?!

2...By removing these “cancers” it allows an opportunity for the community to heal and thrive. Now we cannot throw away these “cancers”. They must be healed as well. This is a time where rehabilitation and counseling can be offered. Through these efforts we can grow and heal by

3...receiving the “medicine” each involved needs for survival.

3) As journalists, we can be vigilant about speaking out against mass incarceration and unjust sentencing while also being honest about individuals who are bringing harm to our communities. I also make it clear in the article what is needed, too, is rehabilitation and programs...

he does talk about rehabilitation further down, but that is after the match has been lit and thrown on gas (or dog whistle blown) by using the word 'cancer' gratuitously.

A guy cut in front of me this morning for coffee. @royjohnson, just wondering if he's a disease we can destroy too. #notcancer

1) I did not use the word lightly, Shaun, or without significant thought. It was intentional and deliberate. Cancer KILLS and too many of our neighborhoods—in Birmingham, Chicago and elsewhere—ARE dying due to violence perpetrated by some of their own most violent residents...

2) These sweeps specifically targeted those offenders and guns. Cancer evokes fear, which is exactly how many residents feel. They constantly tell me of feeling like hostages in their own homes due to the fear that they live with each day. You know this...