Crime Incidence

Crime has been a public nuisance since the beginning of time. Someone always wants what someone else has and takes it. Openly is robbery. Sneakily is stealth, theft. Beating the owner is battery. Threatening the owner is assault. Killing the owner is murder. Wanting that which another nation has and taking it through violence is war.

Simple isn’t it? Well. No. It is not simple.

A starving family may steal food to feed its loved ones, shrug off hunger. Shoplifting a piece of clothing may clothe the naked. Bits and pieces of want for good cause, is poverty waging its war of survival. A crime, yes, but one which ought not happen. The problem is not crime in this case. The problem is poverty and the need to be addressed.

But crimes of violence? That is another matter. It is unsettling. It is fearful. It hampers our freedom of movement. It pinches off our sense of freedom, of creativity, of wellness.

Case in point: I learned my seminary sold its age-old building to the University of Chicago. The seminary built a new building south of Midway Plaisance near the Law School. I want to visit it, see it, tour it, and then wander the old neighborhood where it once was. But the random shootings on Chicago’s expressways keeps me from doing that. Walking the streets in the University area is dangerous too with random shootings, beatings, muggings. Sadly, this violence keeps me from visiting. I may be overreacting but at my age, I am sensitive to these things, much more so than I once was.

Just going into Chicago to visit old haunts and neighborhoods seems more and more a threat, so I don’t go.

Yet, I don’t blame the police, the mayor or the governor. I think these public servants are doing their best in a bad time. You see, I feel the times are bad for this behavior. Why? Not sure I have an answer, but I do see a society complacent with too many contributing causes to the violence. Guns is one issue; unrestricted access to guns of all types by all sorts of people, some of whom are incapable of controlling their behavior with guns.

Poverty is another. Unremitting levels of poverty and hopelessness among vast numbers of our public cause many to reach out for what they need, strike out against people they feel are benefiting from their poverty.

I know there are programs to address these issues. But you see, they do not work entirely well for the outcomes we hope for. Why is that? Why do these programs miss their mark? Could it be they are underfunded, understaffed, and thus our expectations are dashed from the beginning?

The intent is good. The outcome is not good.

So, let’s get involved and fundamentally fix the contributing causes of the big problems. It will take sacrifice to make this happen. It will take our money and our time and effort. Rather that than being a victim of violence, don’t you think?

So much need. So much work to be done. All we lack is resolve to see it through. For this problem and so many others. First, we need to care.

April 12, 2022

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more