Chicago is in the national news again. And it is because of violence on the South and West Sides of Chicago. Again. From ABC 7 Chicago:
CHICAGO (WLS) — A violent weekend in Chicago left 10 people dead and dozens more wounded, police said.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson plans to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Monday.
Despite the decrease in homicides over last year the violence continues at an unacceptably high pace. Gun control won’t solve this problem. The problem is caused by unemployment, desperation, and gangs.
Trust between the black community and the Chicago police is low, a situation created by decades of police abuse and malfeasance. Nonetheless more and better policing is really the only short term solution. Otherwise there will continue to be a steady stream of mostly black victims.
“Trust between the black community and the Chicago police is low, a situation created by decades of police abuse and malfeasance”
How can you trust the police to do the impossible? Protecting witnesses and their families in perpetuity from retaliation by armed gangs?
Has Chicago ever tried a curfew?
Folks in the black community know who the killers are. They don’t turn them in because their loyalty to the killers is greater than their trust in the police.
Yes, but they fear the killers too, and the killers themselves get killed or imprisoned eventually for one thing or another. It solves nothing because the next class of fifteen year old killers is ready to pick up the torch. It is a terrible, terrible culture, but culture it is, not an aberration. Chicago may lead in numbers, but many other American inner cities share the same culture of death.
Very sorry to say I don’t have the solution.
It might be better to say more and better policing is the only short term tactic. But I fear the cultural will overwhelm. And with the victimhood/grievance industry in full flight, and politicians only too willing to build stronger voting blocs through additional programs and spending, I don’t see any reason for expecting substantial change.
Just a stray thought, we now have in America a very large number of African American icons, wealthy in cash and respect, they can sure as hell sell shoes. Let them sell a healthier culture, if they care to.
You know it and I know it, teenage Black kids don’t give damn what White authority figures have to say.
“But I fear the cultural will overwhelm.”
They just should just forgive and forget that the police were torturing them.
Steve
I don’t see any other alternative. Do you see one?
The ACLU of Illinois filed suit against the City of Chicago about five years ago complaining that the police were not responding quickly to calls from majority black neighborhoods and assigned fewer officers to neighborhoods with higher crime rates (i.e., minority neighborhoods). It was dismissed under the political question doctrine, but reinstated on appeal. Underpolicing is a civil rights issue.
“Under policing is a civil rights issue”
Well Jeez, so is over policing. If you really want things to get better, you’ve got to stop shifting the blame. It’s a bad culture that’s developed blame who you want. But if you want to stop blaming and start doing, you have to operate during daylight hours. When night falls, decent people are at a disadvantage, that’s why I said curfews.
Enforce the curfews and the rest will follow.
“…Nonetheless more and better policing is really the only short term solution. …”
Black people have no agency? Black people aren’t responsible for their actions?
Defense is the most basic responsibility of government.
What do you think should happen? Those who don’t belong to gangs should arm themselves and fight it out with the gangs in the streets?
“I don’t see any other alternative. Do you see one?”
Long term, no. It would probably help if the Chicago police would stop shooting unarmed black people and trying to hide it. If black people need to change their culture, it looks like the Chicago PD needs to do it at least as much.
Steve
It’s good to learn that Boston, NYC, Chicago, LA cops etc were such color blind gentlemen in the good old days
I couldn’t agree more. How is the latter to be accomplished?
” How is the latter to be accomplished?”
Like most organizational change, it would require strong leadership and strong backing from the community. I would expect strong pushback from the police union. (I assume Chicago PD is unionized.) It would take years of sustained effort, and would be hard because the community would not believe it for several years. They should still do it.
Steve
That is a very fine, articulate statement of the point I was trying to make.