Another poor black kid was killed
I don’t know where to start … this is like three blog posts condensed into one.
It’s hard to empathize with people, people don’t care about poor people, and media coverage lacks when it comes to poor people.
(EDIT: I’m going to do more posts on the various topics.)
First … I confess, I have a hard time empathizing with people. Or feeling bad for people when bad shit happens.
I’ll cry like a baby when some bad shit happens to innocent people. This is probably one of the most profane videos I’ve ever seen. And I had a disgusting feeling in my gut watching a kid in his final moments. How could you not feel bad about that?
The two or three dozen people involved in that kids death will get theirs one day, and I can’t feel bad for them. They’ll go to prison and get spit out, or avoid jail time and go to a group home, or never get caught. They’ll get theirs, at some point in life, and I can’t feel bad about it.
Feeling bad for kids and other innocent people, though, is about the extent of my feelings for “man kind” in general.
When you do bad shit to people, bad things happen to you. That’s life.
How many people died of gun violence in Chicago last year? More than 500. To say it was a long hot summer would be an understatement.
There’s another video floating around of a guy who stuck a gun in someone’s face, then got the shit beat out of him by someone who fought back. It was gruesome. The guy who had the gun was on his back, on the ground, with a guy over him throwing punches quicker than most. Left, right, left, right. Just laying into him with a disregard for his well being.
But when you stick a gun in someone’s face, that’s what happens. Someone’s gonna fight back.
What’s bothers me, I think as much as the problem itself, is the media coverage. The Chicago Tribune’s editorial board isn’t in the streets pounding its chests about the lack of parenting, policing, whatever it is … that’s leading to 500 violent deaths in the city. You don’t see any special projects, either.
(Disclaimer: of all the papers in the country, I have more admiration for the Trib than any other paper. Their political coverage is what, in my humble opinion, what political coverage should be.)
Under its “Watchdog” tab, you don’t see “violence in the city.” Or anything similar. It’s not to detract from their state coverage (out front on almost every story involving Blago and observing the Trib’s bureau in Springfield was a learning experience in itself) or their city hall coverage (I still point to the “Neighborhoods for Sale” series as an example of what I one day hope to do) but they aren’t dedicating resources to this like they are other things.
The closest thing I’ve seen to a comprehensive look at what it’s like to be in the hood in Chicago is Alex Kotlotwitz’s “There Are No Children Here.” And that story details life two decades ago.
Maybe I’m wrong, and the Trib has three people in Englewood right now working on a project. But I doubt it. I just don’t see it, and it’s something we should be seeing.
