It is no secret that there is a major problem in Chicago. HUGE. It’s awful. And here, Roland Martin is offering up what he calls a “short term solution” for the issue.
To save the Windy City, we have to use everything at our disposal.
A major American city is quickly being lost to guns, gangs, drugs and hopelessness, and political and business leaders are giving lip service to the problem. Yet while our politicians dither, the city’s Southside and Westside residents are living in perpetual fear, afraid to walk the streets.
It’s time for Mayor Rahn Emanuel to put his ego and political ambitions aside. It’s time for him to ask the state police and the National Guard to come into Chicago and assist the police department in regaining control of the city’s streets.
The July 4th weekend saw 84 people in Chicago shot and 16 killed. More than a thousand people have been shot since this year began. Nearly all of those killed, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, are black and Hispanic men 35 and under. There is no doubt in my mind that if 16 people were killed in one weekend on the prosperous North Side of Chicago, this country would be up in arms. It would be the No. 1 story in every newspaper and on every news channel nationwide. But I’ll save that for another piece.
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said Sunday that hundreds of extra police officers were on the streets over the holiday weekend, and for a little while the streets were relatively quiet. But then things went haywire on Sunday, and 21 separate shooting incidents occurred.
His piece originally showed up in The Daily Mail, where he goes on to say:
Some critics have said that putting troops on the ground is the wrong signal to send. I disagree. There is no reason the National Guard can’t drop a dragnet over the hot spots in Chicago. They can erect barricades and check points, inspect cars, confiscate guns, run warrant checks and shut down the cartels in the city.
In effect, Chicago needs a troop surge like what we saw in Iraq and Afghanistan. If we wanted to make the lives of residents there safer, why not do the same for Americans?
Honoré says that’s exactly what needs to happen.
“And the police know how to do that. If [this violence] was happening on Michigan Avenue, they would have done that already,” Honore said.
“They would not allow that to happen at Soldier Field…You do need a surge on the Southside of Chicago…it has to be a collaborative effort with the people…these are tactical moves.”
He later added: “Secure the streets, take down the cartels and provide some security so people can sit on their porch and enjoy the liberties of this country. Because right now these gangs are running Chicago, not the mayor.”
This isn’t going over very well.
And I struggle to offer anything useful because I honestly understand the frustration. I don’t know what else to offer up as a solution. I just know that something MUST happen, and soon. The problems in Chicago are generational. We’re talking years and years of a violent mentality that has been reinforced and glorified. And it’s going to take years and years to correct.
Here’s one conversation happening:
I understand the desire to add more law enforcement to Chicago.But it’s a reactionary & counter-productive measure. @esglaude @rolandsmartin
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) July 9, 2014
@marclamonthill @esglaude @rolandsmartin Roland Martin may have a point but he’s having a hard time arguing it.
— …. (@Stephan873) July 9, 2014
@Stephan873 @marclamonthill @esglaude not at all. I put down my short term solution. Still waiting on theirs — rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) July 9, 2014
@rolandsmartin @esglaude I’m happy to discuss solutions, but those facts aren’t enhanced or diminished based on my counter-solution. — Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) July 9, 2014
^^but isn’t that the point? These solutions have been “discussed” to death. Where is the action?
For the THIRD time @marclamonthill @esglaude, where is your short term solution to confronting the violence in Chicago? Stop dancing.
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) July 9, 2014
@rolandsmartin @esglaude for me that means, re-opening schools, finding teen employment, and opening more community centers, parks, etc.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) July 9, 2014
.@marclamonthill @esglaude all those suggestions I’m fine with. But not confronting the escalating violence will mean more mayhem/murders — rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) July 9, 2014
@rolandsmartin @esglaude no one is opposed to confronting violence. that’s a straw man. the debate is about HOW. National Guard doesn’t work — Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) July 9, 2014
@marclamonthill @esglaude Straw man? Please. Ain’t nobody sending their kids to a re-opened park if they fear their kids getting shot
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) July 9, 2014
^^He has a point
@rolandsmartin @esglaude the straw man is the argument that we need to confront violence. not one person has asserted otherwise… — Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) July 9, 2014
@marclamonthill@rolandsmartin I suppose the National Guard will be more judicious in how it polices our communities? I don’t think so.
— Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (@esglaude) July 9, 2014
More reactions:
Or provide jobs. RT @KingMike33 @SoulRevision The National Guard isn’t going to feed the poor and build more affordable housing and schools!
— Asia Chloe Brown (@AsiaChloeBrown) July 9, 2014
You want to use that hackneyed Chiraq term and evoke “solutions” we used in Iraq @rolandsmartin. Because that worked out so well
— W.E.B.B.I.E DuBois (@fivefifths) July 9, 2014
I’m not even trying to clown Roland. I truly think he doesn’t understand how dangerous his call to action is
— W.E.B.B.I.E DuBois (@fivefifths) July 9, 2014
Maybe @rolandsmartin needs a history lesson to understand how this kind of idea usually plays out
— W.E.B.B.I.E DuBois (@fivefifths) July 9, 2014
Again, I get that there is a need for short term and IMMEDIATE action, but is this the way?
Yes, education, youth programs, and jobs…all of those things are important and crucial to address. But. What should be done now?
Thoughts?
