BULLETS, ANGER, LIFE!

BULLETS, ANGER, LIFE!

(The Root/Frazer Chronicle)

Picture it, a sunny afternoon, kids giggling, playing little kid’s games and little hot Tamales, lemonheads, Gummi Bears stand in front of a house in North Austin, a Chicago suburb. Shots ring out and a little 7 year old girl lies bleeding to death with a bullet wound in her back.

Out of school, not a care in the world, her only thought, "how to sell her next Gummi Bear," not a thought about any political question, and not a thought about any of the hundreds of gangs that roam the streets of Chicago.

Gang warfare, fueled by broken homes, parents that don't care, rampant drug and alcohol use, sex, and a feeling of hopelessness, and in many cases, homelessness. They are seeking a mast-head of stability in their lives, a brotherhood or sisterhood. They need to belong, and need someone caring.

Many of these gangs, "most in fact," are populated by kids and young people of color, many of us do not understand the gang member’s mentality and their drive to become "made" members of such a violent society. I don't understand, but then again, I'm white, 68 years old, had pretty much a loving family, a safety net to fall back on.

I can't imagine walking down the street with a knife, or a hand gun, mostly for self protection, but also to attack rivals intruders on a moment’s notice. The value of life in these neighborhoods is low, so low that I can't relate, I have absolutely no idea of the value of life by these "gang bangers." I'm a racist, I make no bones about it, but to shoot a beautiful little 7 year old girl is just.....well.....I don't know, unbelievable to me.

I think everybody is a racist to some degree; we all worry about the brown or black guy if we happen to be walking down the street late at night. Hell, even the brown or black man worry about that, my point is that we all have hang-ups with race, it's sad but true.

The Chicago area has "per-capita," the highest rate of gang related deaths in the United States, and it's getting worse, up 38% from last year. So far this year, 2012, there have been over 260 homicides, and cops say that up to 80% of these killings are drug and gang related, that's well over a hundred fifty child deaths.

To help combat the problem, Chicago police Superintendent Gary McCarthy wants to maintain a force of 12,500 cops, including 9,600 officers. I guess the idea is a decent 1^st step, but force vs. force, to me.....it's the best solution. Let’s see, "trigger happen kids," against "trigger happy cops,” I wonder who wins here.....Smith & Wesson.

The street violence has city officials alarmed, and willing to pour tax dollars down a hole to help any way possible the situation on many of Chicago's streets. Plans are in the works to hire 450 to 500 officers this year to maintain the Chicago "cop shop." Everybody in the world knows that Chicago and Illinois is broke, so how in hell are these additional cops going to be paid, and more important, "from which fund?"

Estimates put 600 organized gangs in Chicago, with as many as 150,000 active members, those numbers are a bunch of unorganized kids running around the streets of Chicago, and it’s more like a semi-military army, with colors, slogans and weapons.

These gangs look at everyday life like it is a war, and to a degree, it probably is, maybe much of the United States is just like Afghanistan, or Iraq, except maybe for the I.U.D.'s along the roadways. Maybe we are so busy trying to solve the world’s problems.....for our best interests, that we have forgotten things that are happening right here on the home front.

The murder of Heaven Banks on the streets of Chicago is a tragedy, actually a national tragedy, and an incident that needs to be addressed now. Possibly not with more police officers, and more guys and bullets, but rather with the thought in mind of "understanding" exactly what went wrong with these young people?

What went wrong, and then fix whatever problem exists, not for the black or the brown, but for all society. It is way past the time when we need to nurture our potential, to put it in a morgue, death and “warring” never solved anything.

Chicago killings of their young has been going on at an alarming rate for way to many years, there is a problem there, most of us know what the problem is, we just need to address it.....and fix it, for the better of our fellow citizens.