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pinkpistol wrote:My Mom was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago. I visited there 6 years or so ago. A nice mix of peaceful black/white integration. A few dozen streets or so to the NW, there were 12 year old hispanic children flashing gang signs as we crossed a street, from one neighborhood, into the next. The barrio, or, the demographics changed to reflect the new wave of of immigrants to Chicago, our nations Second City.
Chicago is BESET by racial/gang warfare. That is why they have attempted gun limits. The current City administration has said, We will not blame this on the weather, although that has allowed more people on the streets in this Northern Climate city earlier than before.
Gang activity always uses the summer months for all-out warfare. It's the summer vacation, homes. So different from when I was a kid. Cali set this precedent, as did NY.

Gotta be smart and aware. And sad. It's one thing to be a great "melting pot." And another to be a country where so many different cultures, clash.

No real bottom line here, just an awareness that we need an open eyed look, and a reasoned conversation about this.

There have been clashes of cultures since this country was founded. Not all of the colonists appreciated the revolution so conflict existed then, too. There always will be tension between communities with different heritage. That even happened in small towns in PA.

Gang problems exist nationwide. The question is to what extent does the local government allow them to control their respective turf. The Chicago method of flooding an area with officers after an incident seemed to work. Now, that isn't the strategy. I'd venture a guess that there are more than a few neighborhoods in the Chicago area have very little police presence most of the time. With that kind of geographic power in the hands of the gangs, it is no wonder that they are killing one another - an a lot of innocent bystanders, too.

I do not believe that the police force in Chicago is used for the good of the residents. That is a political decision not a LE one. I suspect that it has been that way a very long time, probably well before prohibition but it was that law that really was the forerunner of the current setup. I don't believe it would be possible to root out all of the corruption in two lifetimes. In the mean time, the gangs control the streets and kill one another.

rp_photo wrote:Maybe they should consider making it easier for good people to own guns and carry.

I agree with you the Chicago residents need to be able to defend themselves. But all indications on this murder rate increase suggest that it is rival gang killings.

There were two other interesting comments in recent articles on the subject. In addition to blaming the previous administration, the Mayor's office blamed the heat. Apparently it is the heat that makes people murder one another. According that theory, Texas should have been a massacre last Summer

The second interesting point was the they have no plans to change their strategy. It's working....it just needs more time. Hmmm...that sounds awfully familiar.