Murder City, USA. My hometown is tragically on the path to another record breaking murder tally. 2017 is no different from 2016, 2015, 2014 etc. Why? Because for most native Chicagoans this city has always been violent. If you didn't live in a violent part of town you knew someone who did or you heard about it through the grapevine, local media broadcasts or nowadays the internet. I could hit you with a lot of stats, however all the numbers are bloody.
Talking heads and pundits pontificate about the internet and social media fueling Chicago’s hyperviolence. Bull. When I was in high school - pre-internet, pre-cell phone - scuttlebutt about violence that was going to happen or already had happened traveled around the lunchroom tables through hallways and huddled at lockers. School officials would call ‘sources’ down to the ‘office’ or even come and pull you outside of your classroom to find out the ‘happenings’. Mind you, not everyone went to school in the ‘hood’ but for those of us who did and rode public transportation to school - the CTA - it was always something.
My point in referencing my Chicago Public School years is, again, that most of my community has never known Chicago not to be violent. There were no ‘good ol’ days’ just some ‘good in the old days’. Violence became like the trees and grass - background until you had to duck & dodge bullets, the fuzz and bangers.
Back then before Chicago was labeled Chiraq - out-of-towners would imitate a Tommy Gun and go, “rat-tat-tat-tat-tat CAPONE!”
Al Capone has been the face of Chicago violence and gangsterism for as long as I can remember. Capone and his kingdom could have never risen to apex predator status without five elements that are essential for the fomentation of urban violence: Politics Poverty Police Prison People
Politics: Politics is the govermental negotiation of power, access and resources. Al Capone/Chiraq/Violence could not metastisize without the toxicity that exists in Chicago/Illinois politics. Before Capone til now, Chicago is globally infamous for a political partisanship that exalts itself as more valuable than the voter; precinct deep corruption; voter fraud; backroom deals and aldermanic/gubernatorial incarcerations. We’ve always had politicians who became crooks; crooks who became politicians and elected officials in the pockets of hustlers and titans.
Gun and drug flow doesn't flood the entire city. Violence is in pockets. It is far from uncommon to see people in the ghetto or barrios who don't live there buying contraband. The manufacturers of this contraband aren’t headquartered in these areas, just the distributors. Why aren't there distributors and turf wars in the ‘nicer’ areas? Because political decisions have been made about which areas are to be protected and which areas are to be forsaken.
Poverty: Poverty is the lack of resources, access and opportunity. Who gets what? Who decides who gets what? Competition for resources is as old as humanity itself - it’s the lying, cheating, killing and stealing that’s the problem. The Golden Rule: whoever makes the rules gets the gold. So of course the vote, our enfranchisement, is the unqualified unit of power in America. Those in our country who have been historically disenfranchised via slavery, poll taxes, Jim Crow and the ‘isms’, can often be seen as the poster children for American poverty. Here’s the rub: the human urge to be significant exists in the poor, not so poor and the comfortable. People in impoverished communities develop alternative economies creating illegitimate opportunities to achieve the American Illusion. Which brings us to the next element...
Police: Crime is doing things like making money outside of the rules/legislation. The enforcers of the rules/status quo is law enforcement - the police. The majority of police are good, hardworking people but that’s not my point here. The reason conflict and strain exists between the police and black men is because those who are attempting to fulfill their urge for human significance outside of the system must be corrected in order to protect the system for those who benefit from said system. The system is good and bad which is why we vote to create legislation to shape the system according to societal agreement. If however the guardians of the status quo - the police - have been corrupted by a flawed and avaricious political process that disenfranchises those deemed less valuable or desirable by the rule makers...well this corruption bleeds into violent disruption.
Prison: Prison is a place for people - if caught, tried and convicted - who decided not to abide by the rules/status quo. All criminals are not in prison. All crimes are not punished. Little People who commit little crimes receive harsher sentences than Big People who commit big crimes. I’m not being anecdotal. Why have so many Black Americans been lynched, tortured and wrongly imprisoned in America? Think deeply about this: punished for disobeying and/or trying to change the rules/legislation that restricted ones American citizenship. Now tie this in to the disproportionate representation of incarcerated Black Americans today. What is it? Money. Money. Money.
Prison is the New Slavery. King Cotton. There are people of every stripe and color who should be incarcerated. However many of those who were gerrymandered out of opportunities outside of prison live in the irony of legitimate employment inside prison e.g., unqualified to work for Microsoft outside of prison but gainfully employed with a menial hourly wage by Microsoft in prison.
The former inmate now released and as a returning citizen is unable to get a job with Microsoft because of his criminal record recidivizes, is caught by the police in his poor neighborhood and goes back to prison and gets his old job back with Microsoft.
People: The Economics and Politics of Violence. That’s us. We the People. The average hardworking American just trying to make ends meet. We are the hub in this Chicago Wheel spoked by Politics Poverty Police and Prison. We the People are the Sleeping Giant ruled over by Lilliputians.
We’re the U.S. not the U.K. We are Chicago. One city. One people. We are citizens not subjects living in the greatest country and in one of the greatest cities on the planet. Our Republic must nurture and nourish meritocracy not aristocracy, pigmentocracy and legislation that fosters non-competitive school districts and unsupported idea/job incubators. If we want the laws to change we may have to change the lawmakers. Chicago-style Machiavellianism was defeated under Mayor Harold Washington but he died too soon. We cannot continue to ignore the 5 P’s that fuel Chicago violence. We must constantly work on correcting our system and give all the people the opportunity to pull clean voting levers instead of triggers.