When I was reporting on gun deaths in the US a few years ago, African American parents and youth workers would invariably evoke the ancient art of pugilism. “In my day,” they reminisced, “there were disputes but they would be rectified by these,” and they held their fists up as though about to box. “Nowadays they just reach for a gun and start shooting. A life means nothing any more.”
“What changed?” I’d ask.
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