I’ve found myself opposed to a lot of what’s been coming out of the White House lately, yet when it comes to describing cell phone footage of an innocent 16 year old Chicago student being savagely beaten to death, we’re in complete agreement: this video “is among the most shocking you can ever see”. To say I was speechless at what I saw is the understatement of all understatements, and it only goes to raise the question—why are we worrying about Iran and North Korea, when the greatest threat to our own safety is right in our own backyard?
As an intern at a local news station this past summer, I came face-to-face with the gruesome reality of just how cruel people can be. Just consider: former world champion boxer and philanthropist Vernon Forrest was cowardly gunned down during a robbery while his young godson sat in the car watching, a city councilman was carjacked at gunpoint outside his elderly mother’s home after bringing her back from a concert, and a college student was killed on university property by a wayward bullet fired during an exchange of gunfire between two thugs. There were plenty more, but these three corroborated what I heard from so many people in so many places, that they lived in constant fear.
Bad as this sounds, however, what really makes my blood boil is the apparent impotence of law enforcement when it comes to taking back the streets. I’m not sure about other cities, but in Atlanta at least, the Mayor and Police Chief believe that their lame-duck statuses allow them to curtail their responsibilities to the citizens. General indifference has resulted in nothing short of anarchy in some neighborhoods, and even in many of the “safer” parts of town you probably don’t want to walk the streets alone after dark.
Now, I’ve heard people say it’s just a matter of being street smart and
avoiding certain less than desirable areas, yet the irony of such a response baffles me. We talk about charity and noblesse oblige, pouring money into improving education and living conditions in lower income neighborhoods, but what good will this do if people aren’t safe to enjoy it? One evening, I went out with a photographer to attend the grand opening for a women’s shelter, and while the experience itself was uplifting, I couldn’t help but feel that it was all for naught after hearing about the multiple murders that had recently occurred just around the corner.
While I acknowledge that this isn’t exactly a situation that can be remedied with some quick-fix, we have an obligation to try. Most crucial is increased police presence in the most dangerous areas (there were two police officers nearby during the deadly Chicago beating, yet they did
not act due to their being heavily outnumbered by the perpetrators). Beyond this, we need stricter punishments for criminals, especially in cases with heavy publicity surrounding them. I applaud the DA for seeking the death penalty against all three suspects involved in Vernon
Forrest’s murder (the robber and the getaway driver, in addition to the actual shooter), and if we continue to show criminals that they’re going to get a lot more than a slap on the wrist, chances are at least a few will think twice before they pull that trigger.
I realize that this is a very rudimentary analysis of an incredibly complicated issue, but just for a moment forget about all the politics behind it. Forget about who’s committing the crimes and who is (or is not) stopping them. Just think about Darrion Albert, a 16 year old honors
student from Chicago. All he did was try and walk home from school, and now he’s dead. Darrion Albert wasn’t the first to fall prey to senseless street violence, and unless something is done he certainly won’t be the last.
Loading ...