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Why would they have cried racism. Is it not a fact that gun violence is the number one leading cause of death amongst black males between the ages of 14 - 38?
Because right wing Obama critics see racism in virtually every comment Obama makes concerning race.
They would have accused Obama of favoring Blacks, you know it.
Since Obama has resided in Chicago for a number of years, one would expect that he would have spoken out, but besides uttering maybe a sentence or two about 'stopping the violence,' no serious intervention has been discussed at length or devised.
Your remarks indicate that you don't know what you're talking about and that you haven't listened to the President address the gang-related deaths/violence in Chicago.
It cost money to reside in "nice communities" with friendly police and ample amenities. If people do not have jobs or good credit, how exactly are they supposed to up and relocate to the "nice areas?"
This is why it's so important to mentor the youth from these communities, during the early stages of their development. Exposing a child to a better way of life allows them to understand that they can live a completely different existence, if they make the right choices in life, and work hard.
As I already said in an earlier post, from the vantage point of those NOT living in those areas, we think we would do whatever the hell it takes to get out of Dodge, good credit/jobs notwithstanding. And we knew that there are people who have done it because we know them--they are scattered amongst the folks in the nice white suburbs everywhere. You can get a Section 8 apartment in a better town. You can get food stamps and WIC if you live anywhere. You might be different from your neighbors, you might truly find yourself a minority in a better neighborhood, you might be far from the familiarity of your surroundings no matter how awful those surroundings were if they were "home" to you, you might be far from the people you've known most of your life. But it can be done and it's done all the time.
I used to live in a small suburban town called West Paterson, in NJ. It's not a particularly wealthy town, except for one area with newer, larger homes. Most of the town is blue collar, with a lot of two-family houses and a huge apartment complex at the top of the hill. I lived in the apartment complex for nine years. West Paterson, now renamed Woodland Park to dissociate it from its rundown, crime/drug-ridden, impoverished adjacent namesake city of Paterson, has long been a draw for Paterson residents, usually minorities, who did not want to bring up their children in Paterson's schools, where crack vials litter the playgrounds and the school is broken into regularly. They don't want their kids worrying about getting shot for wearing the wrong color jacket. They don't want their kids watching drug deals and prostitution exchanges occur on their corners every day. They make up their minds to get the hell out of there--the very first step in the process. Making that decision.
These people don't have money. Often they don't have jobs. They are not always greeted with open arms by the longer-term residents of West Pat, many of whom are descended from parents who fled Paterson a generation ago when the drugs and crime moved in and fear that the new residents from Paterson will bring that with them. But, their children mean so much to them that they are willing to take that leap into the unknown.
The question is, why do the others remain behind? Is it the old "you won't try to escape from a dungeon unless you know you are in one?" Is it lack of hope? These are the things that have to be addressed. Why do some people have the drive to take the risks of change and others do not, and is there anything that can be done to get more to join the former group?
My guess is, when they are having sex, they are not thinking about how they are going to provide a nice home for the child that's inevitably created from the act. Typically, it's a cycle. Older men from these communities are able to date and impregnate young girls, because there's often no father in the home, to act as her protector. The young girl in this example, more than likely thinks it's normal to have a child at a young age, even if she doesn't have the means, because she watched her mom, sisters, and friends survive and raise children with government benefits, and/or a combination of government benefits and off the book jobs.
It would be easy for me to point the finger and state, they made bad decisions, but the truth is, many of these people do not know any other way of life. Chicago's Southside is heavily impoverished and segregated. There is no real diversity of thought, behavior or action; therefore, the children are left following the same sordid examples.
That's exactly it. The cycle is all they know. Another article I read by a social worker who works in a DC clinic says the babies coming in for their shots and checkup have 47-year-old great-grandmothers.
I think the reason it's harder to sympathize with the violence in Chicago is that you get the sense that most of the victims bring the violence upon themselves. Gang activity is likely a driving force behind those deaths, and in those cases, the people who die are choosing to live dangerous lifestyles.
No they are not, you can own a firearm in Chicago.
There was a 28 year handgun ban in Chicago until 2010. Open carry of any and all firearms is prohibited in Illinois in all but a few unincorporated areas in which the respective counties have not made open carry illegal. The statewide decades-long ban on concealed carry was just overturned a few days ago by a Federal Appeals Court, but will likely face a Supreme Court challenge. Illinois concealed-carry ban tossed out by federal appeals court - Chicago Tribune
Because right wing Obama critics see racism in virtually every comment Obama makes concerning race.
They would have accused Obama of favoring Blacks, you know it.
Obama would have been accused of favoring blacks, despite him, flying down to Newtown (a predominately white upper income community) to discuss gun violence, when in truth, gun violence is actually the leading cause of death for young black men who reside in the inner cities of America? Truly amazing...
If anything, I think a sizable number of people from the inner cities (who voted for Obama) are angry that he chose to discuss gun violence, only within the context of Newtown.
There was a 28 year handgun ban in Chicago until 2010. Open carry of any and all firearms is prohibited in Illinois in all but a few unincorporated areas in which the respective counties have not made open carry illegal. The statewide decades-long ban on concealed carry was just overturned a few days ago by a Federal Appeals Court, but will likely face a Supreme Court challenge. Illinois concealed-carry ban tossed out by federal appeals court - Chicago Tribune
It's 2012, and you can legally own a handgun in Chicago. As long as I can remember rifles have been legal in Chicago.
Excellent points. There are people within the community who are working to enact viable change. The Interrupters PBS documentary is about one such community project, to thwart violence on the Southside of Chicago.
^^^ This looks interesting. Will try to watch it at home (currently solving social problems on CD while listening to a boring conference call, hehehe.)
I think the reason it's harder to sympathize with the violence in Chicago is that you get the sense that most of the victims bring the violence upon themselves. Gang activity is likely a driving force behind those deaths, and in those cases, the people who die are choosing to live dangerous lifestyles.
What about the innocent children and adults who are hit by stray bullets? Many of these people work minimum wage jobs and simply do not have the means to afford housing for their families, in other "safer" communities.
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