TRUMP is RIGHT about Chicago South Side (“ChIraq”)
Chicago is perhaps the best City in which I have ever lived. It can be described as a cleaner and more modest, and kinder version of New York, where people truly enjoy life and each other, and where millennials thrive in creativity and entrepreneurship.
However, this amazing city’s uniqueness is often overshadowed by the reputation that its infamous South Side has bestowed on it as the Murder Capital of the U.S. The contrast between the South Side and the rest of Chicago is astounding. Unlike thriving Black communities of Brooklyn, NY and Boston, or Atlanta, the South Side of Chicago is almost analogous to the story of Detroit, except that it never seemingly enjoyed any glorious days. But, like Detroit , a great percentage of it (except areas like Hyde Park, near the University of Chicago) is occupied by Black Americans, many of whom are seemingly disenfranchised and heavily involved in criminal activities (e.g., gangs and drugs) and thus want nothing to do with other areas of Chicago and the State of Illinois. Accordingly, it might as well be another country. It is often referred to as “ChIraq” due to its murder rates and so many people have a bad opinion of Chicago because of its only bad part. I find that to be utterly unfair to the hard working citizens of this amazing City who are not involved in this lifestyle.
As a Black person, while I understand the past occurrences that might brought that state of being, I would prefer to ask for RESULTS and not EXCUSES because we cannot have BOTH. I enjoy going to the South Side once in a while. I often ask the leaders and regular folks about what they thought the solutions should be. More often than not, I hear only about the problems, and not one realistic and readily implementable solution. The children are beautiful on the South Side, most of them face a bleak future. It really hurts my heart. The first six years of a child’s life almost always determine his/her future. Their language and thought patterns appear to be sub-par and often foul and their future seemingly bleak. It truly hurts my heart.While there are pockets of very decent, educated, and morally-sound Black families there, they are seemingly outnumbered by “lost souls” who have no interest in community building, and seemingly the plethora of churches that have seen appear to be seemingly useless. There is a lack of structure, community morale, communication and sense of direction. Its police department is currently under FEDS investigation and its leaders appear to have given up on the literal "Black sheep of the Chicago Family".
Chicago is one of the main reasons why I haven’t been very happy with the tenure of Pres. Barack Obama. As a man who arrived in Chicago at the tender age of 20 and found his success and future there, I expected him (and even felt that he had a duty) to do or at least say something meaningful about the South Side of Chicago. Something that would have been amenable to change which is the only way we make progress as human beings. Moreover, I expected him to use his power of persuasion, especially with his friend Rahm Emanuel in power as the Mayor, to create structure or constructs that would induce change in Chicago. This is what all great leaders have to do, and as a man who became President of the United States by identifying himself as a Black Man (even though he is genetically 50% Black), I expected him to do something meaningful for the plight of Black American men. I believe he erred by focusing on health care as opposed to this issue. Nothing affects Black men more than Black-on-Black or Police-induced deaths. This should have been his man agenda for Black America, coupled with educational reforms/changes via the ultimate tool of persuasion, something that he is capable of doing as a professional with stellar legal credentials and a former constitutional law professor and senator.
In my 30 years of living in America, TRUMP is the first president who is finally speaking about the HIGH CRIME LEVELS in places like the SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO (a primarily Black American Area)… In fact, he specifically threatened to send the FEDS in should Chicago’s mayor who has had some choice words about TRUMP lately does not get his act together. I wanted President Obama to do the same particularly since HE WAS FROM CHICAGO... He FAILED to have done so... A STATE has the police powers and thus the duty to regulate health, SAFETY, WELFARE and MORALS. ILLINOIS obviously has failed to do so regarding the SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO, and so has its Mayor... In the legal field this amounts to a BREACH of DUTY, which equals "NEGLIGENCE". The other parts of Chicago are STELLAR and BEAUTIFUL PLACES. TRUMP IS RIGHT to assert what he did....If they can't do their JOBS, then the FEDS should step in. PERIOD! There is currently a TWITTER war going on between Pres. Trump and Mayor Emanuel… While I’m not sure who is winning the Twitter war, I tend to believe that in the end TRUMP will win the war on the State of Chicago. Something has to be done. ANYTHING, and thus far he is the winner on that topic!
Dr. Pete Lorins is the Chief Editor of LorinsPost.com. This article is sponsored by www.LORINS.biz