I am riled! My bristles are up on my neck and I am ranting a BIG rant! My girl Nanetta who is not only my confidant but is my navigator through all things in the chasm that is the social divide, we were discussing the latest shootings and boy did it get my dander up!
Can someone out there please educate me as to why the Chicago School system sanctioned students to be allowed to attend a gun control rally instead of attending school? Now this is a system that has a 52% of all students NOT graduating high school and they think it is a great idea for the students to skip school. Their parents should be coming together cohesively and start to strategize how to weed out the bad element in their neighborhoods not sit passively on their backsides and not get involved.
I am really sorry that 20 students have lost their lives to shootings. I do agree that this wave of violence has to be stopped. It is vile and should not be allowed in our society ever. But it is. And why? Because the people that should be raising the biggest stink ever, don’t. And by that I mean the parents and any witnesses to a shooting claim they “didn’t see nothing”.
I am sick of seeing people on TV lamenting the latest vile shooting but when asked who did it they don’t know. They don’t know because they choose to not get involved. And that my friends, is the despicable action that needs to be addressed first before any protests, shouts to the Mayor or the inevitable "woe is me" attitude that sweeps our neighborhoods. They know who the bangers are! And you can’t tell me that no one knows who committed the Lane Bryant murders. It is their uneducated assumption that if they call the authorities they will be labeled a snitch. So what! Take that label and be proud of it! At least you are doing something!
And you cannot tell me that parents do not know who the gang members are. You also cannot inform me that I do not know what I am talking about because I do and I have been in situations where I had to open my mouth regardless of the preconceived risks I might be taking. You see I did not always live in whitebread suburbia, I spent a lot of time in downright awful areas.
I will never tell you that my sons were saints. In fact they were downright miserable teenagers that tortured me at every intersection. But I will tell you that when the big bad Chicago drug dealer set up shop in my complex, I called the cops and stood by his car so that they would have a proper identification of it. I did make a visit to his connection JoBo and warned him that I would not tolerate his BS and reported him to the authorities as well. Granted my sons were angry, embarrassed, whatever. But I let them know I was not placed on earth to be their friend.
So parents in violent neighborhoods open your mouth! Tell the authorities what you know. Tell them that so and so is causing trouble. Snoop on your kids, go through drawers and be aware always that your children know more than they claim to. Parent your children so that society does not have to in your irresponsible wake.
4/3/08
Snitch or Not to Snitch: That is the Question
Author! Author! Chooch at 2:04 PM
Tags Chicago, Gangs, Gun Control, Shootings
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 Comments:
You know Chooch, I won't argue with your premise, but to answer the question of why people don't speak up, the answer is obvious...FEAR. Unfortunatley everyone does not see things the way you do. Personally, I think I would be right with you, but I think a lot of people look upon their plight in life as being helpless and they fear the bad element and would rather not piss 'em off. And why do they let kids out of school, kids that need to be putting MORE emphasis on education instead of being distracted from it, because these people that feel threatened believe that if they show unity they have a better chance. They come to the point where surviving is more important than the task at hand. But I do see your point. I guess I'm sympathetic because I believe that the solution is to unify and resist the violence as a whole community. It is definitely a complex issue. Nothing is sadder than hearing about an innocent 6 year old who really wants to go to school killed by a random bullet in a driveby shooting. Then the parents fear saying a word for fear that their other children will be the target of retaliation. I don't think it is a simple problem. It would be less of a problem if more people stood up to the violence, but like I said, people feel more comfortable as a group. There is strength in numbers.
You have great points there John. There is strength in numbers but sometimes it only takes one to upset the cart. Remember Kathy from Lake and Lake? She was one person that would not back down even after she received death threats and bricks through her windows. She refused to back down in the face a adversity. She stood up to the gang bangers and won... Her neighborhood is a bit safer for that. By her courage she rallied the other neighbors and now they are all taking an active role in keeping that area free from swaggering criminals.
In today's Chicago Sun Times one mother, Annette Holt, who lost her son last year to gunfire, said the following:
"It all is in the hands of the parents. It's something the teachers can't do, the police can't do. It's up to the parents to raise their children. We got children out here being raised by gangs, being raised by TV, and violent video games that show carjackings."
"Parents need to be held accountable."
Hey Jude, do you have a link to this story? I do find it rather strange for the Chicago school system to place interest-group politics above education. I can understand a social studies teacher talking about the pros and cons of gun control in their class, as just one of many political issues to allow young minds to explore, but this type of one-size-fits-all rally is just too ridiculous.
Unfortunately Jude, you are right--a good part of the blame does belong to the parents. Parents do need to take the initiative to identify the drug pushers to the police, and watch what their kids are doing. However, parents may be too overwhelmed with work, taking care of kids, too much debt, and a whole host of other stresses--you can double or triple the stress if it is a single parent. They may not have the time, or the emotional strength and courage to single-handedly take on a violent neighborhood filled with crime and drug trafficking. What is more, they may have been terrorized and threatened by those same drug and gang elements to keep quiet about the crime and violence taking place in their neighborhood. Yes, it is the responsibility of the parents to take care of their kids, and to transform their neighborhood into a safe place where their kids can grow. But if these parents have been pummeled into submissiveness by the gangs, the drugs, and the violence, then is there some means to weave the strong neighborhood fabric of all parents watching out for each other and for each other's children? Is there some way for local governments to provide a safe program which will allow parents to regain the self-confidence they need in order to band together and protect their neighborhoods? I don't know the answer to these questions.
The Original Story was on Channel 7news so I do not have a link. The mom's story link is http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/882850,CST-NWS-holt08.article
Post a Comment