The first
day of summer usually brings up thoughts of cold drinks, beach attire and
vacations.
That is
no longer true in Chicago, where the summer solstice is approached with fear
and dread, because recent history has seen temperatures rise with a corresponding
rise in violent crime.
This past
weekend brought more than three-dozen shootings around Chicago. No one even
dares ignore the link between warm weather and street violence anymore.
But it
isn’t the summer. It isn’t even the heat.
It is US.
Of
course, we can see a causal relationship between the proliferation of guns and
the fatal shootings. Guns certainly are the weapons of choice in these violent
confrontations, and a realistic and legal plan to keep guns out of the hands of
so many violent people (not just felons) would certainly lessen the carnage.
While
some point to the terrible state of the economy, and especially in minority
neighborhoods as adding fuel to the fire. Joblessness is not an excuse for
committing crimes, and it is certainly no reason for the kind of senseless
violence that has dominated the news. People are being shot for perceived
insults, or standing too close, or standing in the wrong place, or standing
when someone thought they should be sitting. It is not t he economy, stupid!
Several
agencies have come up with summer programs to help keep young people engaged
during the summer. While we applaud the attention being paid to our youth, we
also have to be careful to not fall into the habit of seeing our children as
just a summer program away from being a criminal.
The
police union says that the low numbers of cops on the street is a reason for
the rise in crime (even though violent crime statistics are lower now than 10
and 20 years ago - and even lower than last year). To his credit, new police
superintendent Garry McCarthy is not using the officer levels as a crutch. He
has vowed to stem the tide with better policing, better utilization of the
police and re-establishing relations with the general public.
While any
one of those factors could lead to lower numbers of assaults and shootings and
deaths, we are convinced that crime, particularly violent crime, can only be
solved when WE stop doing it. That means we don’t pull out a gun during a
friendly game of spades.
We don’t
take a gun to the movies, or to a funeral or to a wedding. We don't think of
violence as the first alternative - before talking or just walking away from
trouble.
We also
don’t continue to shield the malefactors from punishment. We can’t afford to
embrace some hoary idea that talking to the police about violent offenders in
our neighborhood is “snitching.” If snitching will save your son, or your
daughter or your grandmother from a violent death, you should have the police
department on speed dial.
But We
also need to communicate to each other - in the strongest language possible -
that every life is precious, every life is valuable. We have to set the tone
that this violence is unacceptable and we won’t stand for it, no matter what
season, no matter what temperature.
Copyright
2011 Chicago Defender
