Chicago considering having The National Guard patrol their streets..

It's sad that it's come to this....in any U.S. city, sure....

But particularly in the Land Of My Birth.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/26/lawmakers-military-quell-chicago-violence/?test=latestnews

Hell, I woulda seriously expected this to transpire in Detroit *before* back home....


The homicide rate back home is, most likely, the CHIEF reason that the Olympic Committee opted NOT to make Chicago their choice to host forthcoming games..

And I hate to admit it, but when I *do* tune in WGN News (via satellite when I am back home in The U.K.), the FIRST thing I think...upon awaiting the Top/Lead Story is...."Who died now??!?"

Sad to tell...but it IS fact..:-x



Still & all, there's NO ambivilance of MY proudly proclaiming that *I* am a Chicagoan...wherever I may go! To-day, for example, I *am* attired in my custom-made Cubs jersey...and I shall be at tomorrow's NCS awards ceremony also...






One question: This National Guard thing..Do ya think it's a panacea? Or a panmalefic?

Sorely needed? Or mindless overkill?


Whatever the case may be....chicity and all the other Fellow Chicagoans here...and from all 'round....let's not make this something to discourage ANY of us..Let's hold our heads HIGH!
















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I think it's a little nutty to think about. I mean, there aren't riots or anything. But I agree that something needs to be done.

I'm tired of getting my newspaper in my inbox and reading about all of the deaths that happened the night before or over the weekend.

It's gotten completely out of control. I think Daley has no clue what to do. He wants more laws....but the gun ban that's been in place for however long, surely hasn't helped keep crime down in the city.

A lot of the killings are gang-related, it seems like. It's time for the citizens to take back their streets!

 

I would think it would feel weird to have the Natl. Guard patrolling.......kind of like living in a war zone. But like bookie said what's to do. I love Chicago having grown up in Illinois I always wanted to live there.

 

What else is there to do? Things are out of control.

If it was my city, I would feel weird about having them patrol the streets, but shit, somebody's gotta stop that shit. It wouldn't be the same with them dudes walking the streets. Hell, they'd probably enforce hella curfews, and wouldn't let people cruise the streets, like me and my friend do, which is like our tradition. They'd probably stop anybody at 3 in the morning n' shit. That would suck. My city already has kind of a problem with people just cruising.

 

I lived in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago, back when I was a young Woman.

I don't think the National Guard is the right answer. What would be the exit plan? How do they prevent it all from starting again, as soon as they leave?

We are institutionally broken here. The judicial system is hopelessly corrupt. We do, and have, regularly jailed (and occasionally put to death) perfectly innocent people for generations now for quick and popular resolutions to criminal cases. And thus we have built a system that allows actual criminals to walk free.

We outlawed poverty, pushing those receiving any form of aid into conditions where they nearly must break the law to survive -- even if it is just in the form of petty transgressions, like illegally selling candy in the projects. And eventually the law meant nothing.

Our cops are often indistinguishable from the gangs they are meant to protect us from. Beating barmaids and driving drunk and hitting people with their cars and passing information on to gang leaders.

Everywhere the thug is adored and attended to, while "nerds" and "vics" are treated as disposable aliens. Over and over, we hear of honor students being killed. The smarter a young Black boy is, the larger the target on his back.

The city created great abandoned monsters out of projects. Giant communities that operated in a manner completely unlike the world around them. Then, when the monster became too big, they tore them down, and spread the residents all over the city where they set up new territories and began new wars.

The city ignored and neglected schools in poor neighborhoods, allowing them to fail their students, parents, and communities. Then No Child Left Behind closed those schools and dropped the jaded, angry, already gang-recruited students into other schools full of nerds and vics and drama students. In a very short time, the original students learned the choices the new students had faced in their old school, and the culture of hopelessness spread.

All winter long, this city hoped this year would be different. The winter was so peaceful. But the cold was our National Guard, and eventually it left. The first warm day, there was a shooting. Nearly every warm day, there's a new tragedy. It will go like this until fall, most likely. So it's not like we haven't tried temporary fixes before. I admit, it's better than nothing.

But we have real problems in this city, and we need some more lasting solutions than band aids.

 

Always, my friend. I love this city. I doubt many other places could handle this all so well. Chicagoans have the steel in our backs to get through this, and make the city better for it.

Violence schmiolence, there will still be people filling the streets at the festivals this year, on all sides of the city, celebrating with their neighbors.

There will also be young people who do amazing things. This kind of terribleness also inspires greatness, and I have seen many awesome programs begun, run, and supported by teenagers recently. They are doing great things now, and as they grow so will their dreams for a better Chicago.

This is a tough town and you might expect the violence to cause us to fear one another, but this is still a place where the neighbors help dig each other out in the winter. This is still a place where most people help strangers with a jump. This is still a place where people stop their cars for crossing ducklings.

I love this city, and I have no doubt it's mutual. We're better than the situation we're in, but we'll fix it, and then we'll move on to the next day's work.

 

I don't quite think it'd be a case of leaving....

Not at all. They COULDN'T..

I saw the barmaid attack on WGN some time back.

And that officer that did that...has the gall to consider himself a "man"?

Damned well FUBAR it all is, m8..

The "thug is adored and attended to everywhere" bit is *spot on!*

And I say again, you have the Mass Media to thank for that, m8..

As an aside here, anybody wanna put their further tuppence down on that bit? Particularly how "good" of a job BET is in helping to perpetuate that hateful, odious image?

As far as the "smarter a young Black boy..." bit...you win the 64,000 dollar question's prize..

Remember Derrion Albert..






















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This law to ban guns is clearly illegal. It goes against the right to bear arms. outlawing guns only allows fo rthe outlaws to have guns

 

Frankly I don't give a hoot. As long as it is not in my city, I'm fine with it. They need to figure out how to solve it.

 

Very true.

Now try telling that to Mayor Daley. He thinks that's solved all of the city's problems. Now we also have people getting bashed on the head with a bat so the robber can get their purses.

Not that that stuff wouldn't happen without a gun ban, but seriously, this city sometimes feels like it's under siege and I don't even live in the city.

 

I am generally very libertarian about guns. I don't support most gun laws.

But I get ambivalent about Chicago's handgun ban, because of the number of teenagers from Englewood who have made a big deal about wanting that law.

I may think they are misguided, but honestly teenagers in Englewood are the most likely to be affected by this law. I may think they're wrong, but who am I to think theirs should not be the greatest say in this matter?

 

Talk about the national guard in chicago goes all the back to the 20's and 30's.....this is nothing new.

I wouldn't be surprised if the authorities themselves aren't committing MANY of these crimes just to justify bringing in the guard...kinda like sinking the Maine as an excuse to invade Cuba or sinking the Lusitania as a pretext to enter WWI..

 

Oh, I disagree, but only because of the details of our local politics.

Daley will never consent to the National Guard. He finds it personally degrading as a strong-man Mayor to have outside authorities coming into Chicago. His daddy ran this city like it was a second country inside the US, and it would be a huge blow to Jr's ego if the National Guard came in.

Which is why that will never, ever happen.

At the same time, when you're referencing Chicago's historic relationship with the National Guard, it's actually a very positive one. During the Chicago Race Riots of 1919, (back when White cops invented the Drive By, and Black WWI vets fought back with weaponry they brought back from the war), it was the Guard that was able to put an end to the White-on-Black violence, and rein in the out of control White racists.

 

I was talking about the Al Capone era.

 

Not really..............

Wasn't a put down, m8...just stating opinion...

Well...kinda....just recently on The North Side of Chi-Town...a truly horrific crime occured...even with no firearms involved....VERY disturbing..


http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/20100423-women-struck-with-bat-and-robbed-in-bucktown

For the most part, yes...I do concur..

By the way, I *did* visit Detroit in 1996...and *I* didn't have any problems there, either....

Fair enough, m8..

Just pray to Ther Corporation Above that it *stays* that way..

I know *I* do..

No matter *where* I might go..

Not much is *promised* to *anyone on God's Earth....















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Actually, I've been giving this more thought, and I'm starting to feel differently about this.

When you research & read about the projects in Chicago... we used to have whole vertical neighborhoods in this city, which were rampant with crime that never got reported. Nobody ever called the police, much less the press, so no one heard about it.

Then we tore down those projects and spread the residents all around the city, to different places, including a few where people still call the police and sometimes the press.

Is there really a violent crime uptick, or is just the same thing as usual -- minus our usual ability to ignore it?

 

This may very well be the case..............













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Actually, m8...if I *truly* were looking for ANY city on Earth to put down..

It WOULD in all truth...be Cleveland, Ohio.

I'm not kidding. Though I *do* try my best to *pray* for said city...there are truly *more* problems there (Including and ESPECIALLY said dilemma apparently/allegedly necessitating the presence of The National Guard)
that, in all honesty, shall NOT be alleviated/solved by prayer alone..



'Nuff Said!!!!
















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...and still, no one wants to touch 'any' kind of gun reform... ah well.. might as well stock up...