Saturday, September 1, 2012

Murder In Chicago, Where Is The Outrage?

The number of people killed in Chicago , Illinois this year so far is 228, that is more than the number of soldiers killed in Afghanistan, 144 over the same time period. Obviously it has made the news but the question is, where is the outrage? In all honesty if white people were killing black people in Chicago half of the African-American population would want to mobilize, march, protest, and call for federal government
intervention. But, "black on black crime" in our neighborhood is accepted by a lot of us as a way of life. I have to admit that the phrase "Black on black crime" has always bothered me. It seems to have the connotation that crime is a disease, and a problem that is unique to our community. Therefore making a surging murder rate in a pro dominantly black mid-western city seem like it is par for the course. The problem is, nobody believe's this more than African-American's. We all know what parts of town to avoid depending on what state we're in. If you were in Brooklyn, New York there was a time when you avoided going anywhere near, Bedford Stuyvesant, also known as, (Do or Die Bed Stuy). If you go to Los Angeles you don't go to Compton, and if you're in North Carolina you don't go to Durham. If you happen to live in one of these neighborhoods, proceeding with caution has always been and always will be a way of life but, perfectly acceptable.
Apathy has always been a huge problem in our community and it is a dangerous part of our psyche because it signifies indifference. We have become accustomed, just as the rest of the country has, to hearing about high murder rates in our communities. That is why there is no out cry, or marches for justice and peace. To a lot of us the soaring murder rate in Chicago is business as usual, and not our business.

PR

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