The first of the "10,000 Men" step out for some "field training." (program against violent crime)

[jody]

The first of the "10,000 Men" step out for some "field training."

On a sunny, brisk day, the initial public patrols of "10,000 Men: A Call to Action" set out from the Vare Recreation Center at 26th and Morris Streets to canvass about 16 blocks of South Philadelphia and Point Breeze.

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The 10,000-men organization was introduced to the public last month amid substantial fanfare - and some skepticism that the effort would be short-lived and fizzle. Using volunteer labor and private contributions, organizers are methodically building the group as quickly as possible, they say, to prevent a loss of fervor among the more than 11,000 people who have registered with the organization.

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The unarmed field patrols will function as a kind of hybrid town-watch organization that will patrol neighborhoods and encourage young men - who commit much of the violent crime, and are its victims - to put down their arms and pursue a more productive path. The volunteers will attempt to steer the men toward services such as job-training programs.

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Islam said the organization was struggling to overcome some perceptions that it is a paramilitary force or an extension of the Nation of Islam, whose Million Man March and its offshoots did provide some inspiration.

This is the kind of community activity that could succeed in the war on violent crime in inner cities.

Now if congress would spend a few billion dollars when needed for such programs, a fraction of the trillions Bush is wasting in Iraq with only death and destruction to show for his effort.