Upper Middle class white kids freaking out about ISIS despite the fact that we live in the middle of no where. We're not even near a lake.
If it's recorded, sure.
From Chicago. No, not Naperville or Elmshurst. Or Rosemont. I'm from the City of Chicago, North Side by Lincoln Park.
I was under the impression that it was still, but I wasn't using that stat because it's redundant. Everyone knows Chicago has a murder problem whether or not they have ever lived or visited there.
Just looked it up - Per Capita.. Chicago isn't even the top 30. I think I'll share this stat... It doesn't affect the message of "There's a crisis going on here".
I'll just post my presentation/speech here, it's gonna be long and I'll try to break it up.. I apologize for the extra scrolls needed to get the bottom of the screen. Let me know if there's anything wrong or why you think I'm moron. I accept constructive criticism and attempts to lower my self esteem.
Stats are from Crime in Chicago Wiki, HeyJackass.com, ChicagoMag, Tribune, Sun-Times, and Politico.
Arguments are my own but are inspired and backed by several Chicago history books, Chicago documentaries, and Chicago the musical.
Presentation:
Chicago is about as safe as it was when Capone was in the city - 435 murders in 1928, 439 in 2015.
Chicago's murder rate has decreased and is much safer than has been in almost 60 years. -
1974: 970 murders
1984: 741 murders
1994: 943 murders
2004: 601 murders
2014: 432 murders
80% of victims are African-American. 70% of shooters are African-American.
Most of the drugs funneled into Chicago come from Mexican Drug Cartels because it's the transportation capital of the country. All roads lead to Chicago.
Getting on with the point: Isn't it weird that most of the cities poorest Hispanic neighbors lie around the Stevenson, the Dan Ryan, Metras, Eisenhower expressways, and blue island avenue? That's not by chance.
I talk about how Chicago being a gun free zone has no impact on crime at all. Open Carry/Getting rid of Gun-Free-Zones isn't going to stop the violence because:
A) Permits cost money and legal guns... Money isn't something just floating around, if it was I wouldn't have anything to give this speech on and there wouldn't be over 1,600 deaths in the past 4 years as a result of gang violence.
B) The homicides aren't directed at law abiding citizens.. They are directed at gang members. Almost all of the murders are gang related. Chances are that if you're a person who is conceal carrying or open carrying... You aren't going to be caught in gang cross fire too often.
C) Even though Concealed Carry has been legal in Chicago since 2014 only 4.6 per 1,000 Chicagoans have a permit. Residents who live in the suburbs though own 11.2 per 1,000 residents. Crime hasn't dropped because of it contrary to what the Illinois NRA says. We're close to breaking 500 murders. The only that has dropped is Suburbanites fear of crime (which is good).
D) The major issue isn't the Gun Ban, it's the lack of punishment. If you're going to have a gun ban, you need to enforce it with strict punishments. When you read the rap sheet section of the Chicago SunTimes or Tribune.. Most of the people arrested have been arrested 5, 12, 15, 30, 45 times because there's not a larger sentence for repeated arrests for possession of a loaded fire weapon. I don't know if you guys have ever watched ChicagoLand but Superintendent Gary says it himself "It's not even considered a violent felony in the state of Illinois for sentencing purposes which is why you see the revolving door".
I talk about how there isn't a simple solution to the problem and address myths commonly held by people in order to fix the problem:
A) Chief Keef and the drill rappers of Chicago are what's causing the violence.
Chief Keef's first hit songs were "Don't like" (where he discusses things he just generally doesn't enjoy.) and "Love Sosa" (where he talks about how females are infatuated with the south side of Chicago)... It was just recently in which the Chief of the Keefs started being a jackass but he's in no way responsible for 99.9% of the violence. The rappers aren't causing violence, they are profiting from the violence.
B) This much crime is directly related to the Gun Ban
Uhh.. No? Al Capone, Bugs Mahone, John Dillinger.. They used Chicago as a battlefield. Organized crime has always been a thing in Chicago. It was a thing in the 1860s with Bathhouse John and it was a thing in 2009 when a US marshal leaked info to the Mob.
Chicago has always been so violent because of its geographic location, the fact that the mob (formally called the Chicago Outfit) managed to get itself into the Government, and poverty.
C) "If they don't want to get killed, then don't join a gang, if they don't want to be poor, go get a job"
The City of Chicago is set to close 129 schools by 2018. 54 of those schools being in the poorest areas of the city. Take into account that these are bad neighborhoods so opportunities are already scarce without the school closing.
I don't know if anyone remembers the two times
Obama spoke directly towards the black community. Both times he basically criticized black fathers...
72% of African-American kids are born out of wedlock, which often means absent fathers. Not having a male role model leads right to crime but also to poverty.
One parent makes 30k, two parents make 80k a year... (That's the national average) That extra 50k a year is the difference between Englewood/Garfield Park/Austin and Logan Square/Lake View/Lincoln Park.
And I feel obligated to talk about Cabrini Green. Cabrini Green was affordable housing done in a high rise. Gangs took over the entire thing which actually lead to less violence because it turned into one big gang, the Gangsta Disciples.. The living conditions where horrible though. In the early 1990s, they took the leaders into custody and charged them with what you would charge a gang leader with. After that, they closed it down and moved the people in the affordable housing complex into the south and west side. Remember when we took out Sadaam (Cabrini Green) and Bin Laden (the leaders)... The region was destabilized causing there to be like 400 different terror groups and constant havoc. Well similar situation in Chicago when they broke up Cabrini. A lot of gangs formed because of the power vacuum. It's reported that there are over 200 different gangs in Chicago. All fighting for territory. Which as you can see means more violence. Those gangs all over an opportunity and that's the chance to make money...
When you're walking into a locked door day after day, it gets old and you would do anything to unlock that door.
There's no solution to Chicago. But caring about it and actively bringing attention to it is a good place to start when it comes to finding a solution.