Two Americas: Black Rednecks and Karmelo Anthony — and Civilization

Simply put, society-wide disgust with ghetto culture and its values must intensify.

Selwyn Duke | June 18, 2026

When thinking about poor Austin Metcalf, I sometimes wonder about his reactions during those last fatal moments on April 2 of last year. When murderer Karmelo Anthony drew that knife, could he not, being young and athletic, have avoided at least a deadly strike? Perhaps Anthony was just too quick. But then I realize something:

The two boys were from vastly different worlds.

Austin occupied the world most of us inhabit. It’s a place where, among other things, proportionate force is instinctively understood. Sure, boys and men, being boys and men, will sometimes have physical conflict, and we understand that part of manliness is standing up for yourself. But we also reflexively know that a shove is to be met with a shove, a swing with a swing. This norm, reflected in Queensberry rules, is necessary for preservation of life and civilization.

Anthony’s world is clearly different. Egos are as big there as virtue is small; touchy and prideful to the hilt, the instinct can be that if you feel “dissed,” you can smoke the other guy. This is why it isn’t unusual hearing about ghetto altercations in which an “offended” party departs, returns with a gun and shoots multiple people. It’s why so many rappers (e.g., Tupac) suffer violent deaths.

So Austin, perhaps poorly acquainted with this world, might understandably have been completely shocked at the drawing of a knife amidst an adolescent locking of horns. It’s not something civilized people may expect. (Perhaps such warnings should be in an updated version of “The Talk: Nonblack Version” — the article that got commentator John Derbyshire canceled.)

Whatever the case, Anthony’s world is reflected in his reprobate supporters, too. Out protesting and uber-emotional, they generally speak as if a shove among youths can warrant deadly action. Yet they don’t just reject proportionate force, a foundational principle in Western law and something operative in all 50 states.

Such people also reject the other laws, rules, social........

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