Recent running gunbattle in Winnsboro community is but one example
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
The recent now-viral video originating from the Winnsboro Department of Public Safety of criminals shooting up a neighborhood in the otherwise peaceful town of Winnsboro, S.C., is infuriating to say the least. My question and that of nearly everyone I’ve since spoken to about it is: WHY have we allowed our communities to devolve into this inexcusable madness? Of course, the question is rhetorical…somewhat.
[Please see – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNutKLvinVM]
ELIMINATING VIOLENCE
Before we attempt an answer I must say: Violent criminal activity is evil, and I know first-hand how to quash or destroy evil and the violence emanating from evil whenever and wherever encountered: Learned in six years as a Marine rifleman (rifle squad leader and counterterrorism instructor), one year on a SWAT team at a nuclear power facility, and several years as the Counterterrorism Advisory Team director with the S.C. Military Department’s Joint Services Detachment. I’ve also experienced war four times (as a civilian military analyst in several direct-action operations embedded with British Contractors, Croatian Army Infantry, a USMC Regimental Combat Team, and U.S. Army cavalry), and I’ve participated in multiple raids with RCSD’s Special Response Team and the Midlands Gang Task Force.
Point being: I bloody well know how to eliminate the physical manifestations of evil, but reacting to evil and eliminating or quashing violent criminal activity is really not the issue. It never should be. The issue to be addressed or the question to be answered is HOW do we thwart (crush) evil on the front-end before it raises its ugly head? And why are our communities breeding criminals like those we have all witnessed terrorizing our innocent friends and neighbors in nearby Winnsboro and elsewhere across the state and the nation?
THE EXCUSE OF POVERTY BREEDING VIOLENCE
There are several reasons for the rise of violent criminal activity in our communities; and none of it has anything to do with poverty or a lack of opportunity. Those two excuses always seem to be the easiest rationalizations for sociologists and criminologists, but they don’t hold water in my estimation. Why? Because in my 67 years on this earth so far, I’ve known poor people – lots of them (everyone from those struggling to make ends meet to the homeless) – and there is nothing inherently evil about any of them, nor are they criminally predisposed toward violence. Poor people struggle in their poverty (which is terrible) but that does not mean they are more likely than others to hurt or kill people.
A poor person is poor. A violent person is violent. But poverty doesn’t breed criminal violence: If anything, poverty by itself breeds vulnerability and susceptibility to becoming a victim of violence. Yes, out of desperation, homeless people will indeed lie, cheat, and steal (shoplifting for sure), but that does not rise to the level of violent criminal activity (indiscriminate gunfire) like what we witnessed in Winnsboro, last week.
Evil (“meanness” in the vernacular of a child) is what breeds criminal violence. A man may be poor, but he must also be evil to commit violent criminal activity.
This all reminds me of the wrongheaded belief people used to hold about individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There was once a stigma attached to PTSD sufferers with the general-public believing someone saddled with PTSD was pre-disposed to violence. Not true. The VA diagnosed me with PTSD years ago, and there is nothing at all violent about me. Never has been. I love and sincerely care for others. I am unabashedly a “child of God,” and I hope that’s how I am perceived by others.
A SO-CALLED LACK OF OPPORTUNITY
Getting back to violent criminals and the worst among them: Are they committing violence because of a lack of opportunity in their lives? Some might argue that point, and they’ve argued it successfully in the past, but that is absolute rubbish in 2026. Fact is, you cannot live in central S.C. – where I live and work today – without being surrounded by opportunity (endless opportunities in fact, for all people regardless of race, sex, age, physical disability, or socio-economic status). In fact, there is more opportunity today than there ever has been in the history of this nation. And government agencies, other organizations, and individuals are bending over backwards to assist those less fortunate. That has not always been the case. It is today.
THE REAL REASONS
The problem associated with the rise in violent criminal activity lies within the broader culture, the courts, Godlessness, and perhaps too much “opportunity.” The last reason might vex some sensibilities, but I’ll explain why I say so momentarily.
First, culture is obvious. Society today celebrates (even champions) four deviant behaviors including profanity, perversion, disrespect toward any-and-all authority, and violence; and I’m not preaching something we don’t already recognize everywhere.
FATHERLESSNESS
Exacerbating the “deviant four” is the degradation of the traditional family along with “wholesome” family values. The traditional family is increasingly under attack. Family values today are scorned, mocked, and as a result, corrupted: Fatherlessness is considered acceptable, even virtuous in some quarters. And we’ve all seen the blatant lampooning of the traditionally strong father figure in television, movies, and other media. Andy Griffith, Ward Cleaver, and James Evans (“Good Times”) have been replaced with Al Bundy and Homer Simpson.
In discussions about this, my buddy and 10th-degree Black Belt Hall of Famer Bruce Brutschy reminded me: “Street thugs often take fatherless kids and guide them down a cursed path of no respect for law enforcement, churches, teachers, or coaches. They’re like wolves preying on the weak.” Bruce is right. An aimless young male without a father – and needing strong male leadership – will often fall prey to a truly “evil” gang leader who coerces the kid into doing his [the gang leader’s] own dirty work.
FAR TOO LENIENT JUDGES
What about the courts? Lenient judges have demonstrated an aversion to permanently lowering the boom on bad people and bad behaviors. That, and there’s catch-and-release, a veritable slap on the wrist resulting in dangerous felons who are prone to violence and with multiple convictions, being released back into an unsuspecting public. Again, everyone knows this to be true. And we could spend another 5,000-plus words addressing the issue.
GODLESSNESS
We have all but eliminated God from the public square. It’s been a debate as to whether or not we should post the 10 Commandments anywhere publicly, much less heed the commandments. And in many instances, kids have been discouraged from praying in schools. People often scoff at any notion of the tangible benefits of God and faith, but a re-infusion of GodLINESS (as opposed to GodLESSNESS) back into a culture that once openly embraced God is critical if we hope to regain control of our communities.
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING
What about opportunity? In violence-prone communities, opportunity is particularly important. So why would we suggest there may be too much opportunity? Too much of anything can become problematic. Opportunity is vital, but we all have plenty of opportunities (employment opportunities, financial opportunities, mentoring, you name it) to help us rise above poverty and related struggles. Thank goodness, opportunities abound for all of us today and that’s a good thing, but some of those opportunities, aids, assistances, and helping hands may breed a bit of lethargy, dependency, and an undeserved sense of entitlement: No motivation to earn for oneself, give back, build, and contribute.
NO CONSEQUENCES FOR DISRESPECT
Beyond all this and yet in an interconnected sense, there is increased lack of respect – and overt disrespect toward – any figure of authority. I remember as a rebellious teenaged boy (yes, I was definitely something of a problem child) knowing full-well that if I back-talked a teacher there would be serious consequences. I even once had a male teacher grab me by the throat and jack me against a wall because I was fighting another boy in the science lab. Of course, the teacher couldn’t get away with that today, but I fully deserved his wrath and actions then.
I also knew if I smarted off to a cop, I might be arrested on a charge of “disrespect toward a police officer.” But those days are over. Today, the get-out-of-jail free card is the “freedom of speech” defense. So a person today might say almost anything to a police officer without fear of consequence. And they do, often shouting at officers and defiantly dictating what an officer can and cannot do during a traffic stop. Just watch any of those police-and-suspect interactions and arrest videos on YouTube or any of the pre-recorded docuseries like COPS, LIVE PD, and the in-real-time On Patrol: LIVE.
A NEW UNFORTUNATE DYNAMIC
Getting back to culture: I remember growing up in the first 40 of my 67 years so far and never once witnessing a fistfight between two girls or two women. Women simply didn’t fight when I was growing up. It was “unladylike.” TODAY there are brawls between groups of 10 or more women – screaming, kicking, wig-pulling, throwing wild uncoordinated punches – and it’s all captured on video for supposed “entertainment” purposes. I never witnessed such until about 20-30 years ago. And, yes, there was even a time, not so long ago, when a gentleman would never dream of cursing in front of a lady. If a man did, he risked incurring the wrath and perhaps fists of another man.
So yes, we as a society have lost our way – for all the aforementioned reasons and more – and therein lies the problem of violent criminal activity. It’s shameful. It’s sad. It’s frankly stupid, and it’s dangerous. But there it is.
– W. Thomas Smith Jr. is a formerly deployed U.S. Marine Infantry leader, an award-winning combat correspondent, and a New York Times bestselling editor. Visit Smith online at http://uswriter.com.
