Parts of Chicago now akin to Iraq-Afghanistan tribal/civil war

www.cbsnews.com...

Chicago police officer and Iraq/Afghan vet says parts of Chicago are like areas in Iraq and Afgahnistan in what is a gang state of tribal warfare. Over 250 people dead, many small children.

The gang unit is 200 men and there are 100,000 gang members estimated. I know no one around here is that big on the militarization of the police of any sort but that is ridiculous. How do you begin to combat that.

I have no idea what the answer is. If you send in the National Guard or the Army it WILL end up like parts of the ME, but what do you do. Seal off the areas???

I got lost about 10 years ago in the South Side of Chicago, and it was a scary place then. Parts looked like a third world country. I am sure it's worse now.

Sad state of affairs for sure....Detroit can't be much better.

I would say send in the UN peace keepers, but it seems wrong to wish sexual abuse upon Chicago seeing how much trouble it already has.

reply to post by SrWingCommander


I was in Chicago for three months last summer for work in the downtown area and it was pretty bad. There were quite a few make shift shanties and it looked like each one had 3-4 people living in it. I spoke with someone who lived in Chicago and they said it was due to the lack of job opportunities and lack of manufacturing jobs.

I was in Detroit 2 months ago and it looked 10 times worse than Chicago. There were streets that had decent looking houses that were boarded up. There are entire streets of homes boarded up and the only people around looked as if they were homeless. When I spoke with someone who lived in Detroit, they said that the steel industry and automotive industry were a large cause, but it was primarily and combination of lack of work and the casinos. They said that most people are either so desperate that when they get a little money they try to turn it into more by gambling or they are addicted to gambling. He also stated that the casinos are so busy during the first of the month but dead towards the end of the month because everyone has already gambled their government assistance away. Also, he said that the crime statistics are only a fraction of what is really going on because not many people call the police for robberies, homicides, or break ins.

I wonder if this is an epidemic in most major metropolitan areas. I live in Indianapolis and it's really not that bad in comparison. When I went, it really was like I was in a different country.

It's Turning into ChIraq out here

hey..i got a great idea...elect more republicans that will come in and cut more taxes!! all these bloated government programs are givng away money to lazy poor people, when that very same money could be going to the "job creators"...

Originally posted by jimmyx
hey..i got a great idea...elect more republicans that will come in and cut more taxes!! all these bloated government programs are givng away money to lazy poor people, when that very same money could be going to the "job creators"...

Uh huh, keep in mind in order for the government to be able to give anyone any money through a government program they first have to steal it from somebody else.

It's not there money too hand out in the first place, sorry.

Originally posted by jimmyx
hey..i got a great idea...elect more republicans that will come in and cut more taxes!! all these bloated government programs are givng away money to lazy poor people, when that very same money could be going to the "job creators"...

Elect more liberals in Chicago to continue to raise taxes and pass stricter gun laws. It's worked so far right?

reply to post by jimmyx


we are heavily taxed in Illinois--the problem is that so much of it has gone missing..we have now 2 former gov. in prison and still these politicians are draining the state and filling up their pockets..Illinois is a big money grab for anyone in office. A lot of people, especially from down state are ready to see heads roll or lynchings of these scum.

It's laughable to think Illinois could ever become a job creator state..businesses can't get out of this state fast enough. Caterpillar Corp..has been trying to run for the last few years..they can move their company to Indiana and do better tax wise. We have hardly any industry down here. Nothing..just min. wage sucka$$ jobs...no one really wants.

parts of Chicago have always been that way; nothing new.

some places would make a good setting for a horror movie after dark.

i remember a news story from a few years back where a woman that lived in one of those areas was asked what could be done to stop the violence...she replied by suggesting that to stop the violence you could hit it with an atomic bomb.

so you see...talk of violence in some parts of Chicago is sensationalism...its been that way for a long time and its far worse in many ways than any oversees battlefield to be honest.

people should steer clear of that place.

Originally posted by Neopan100
reply to post by jimmyx

 

We have hardly any industry down here. Nothing..just min. wage sucka$$ jobs...no one really wants.

And here in lies the problem. If I didn't have a job, I would happily take a minimum wage job or two and be thankful I even have those.

reply to post by Catalyst317

See, I have a problem with this line of thinking.

America has gone from the land of opportunity to the land of "take what you can get". Sure we should be thankful for what we have but I do not think it is unreasonable to expect to earn a good living wage for a hard days work.

Why should someone have to work their lives away just to buy food for their children?

We sure have a twisted view on how things should be in the US.

Originally posted by sheepslayer247
reply to post by Catalyst317

 

See, I have a problem with this line of thinking.

America has gone from the land of opportunity to the land of "take what you can get". Sure we should be thankful for what we have but I do not think it is unreasonable to expect to earn a good living wage for a hard days work.

Why should someone have to work their lives away just to buy food for their children?

We sure have a twisted view on how things should be in the US.

I agree with you to a point. We should be able to have a decent job with a living wage. However, if it comes down to not having a job or working two jobs for minimum wage, I would pick the two jobs. Especially if I have children to feed.

Originally posted by jjkenobi

Originally posted by jimmyx
hey..i got a great idea...elect more republicans that will come in and cut more taxes!! all these bloated government programs are givng away money to lazy poor people, when that very same money could be going to the "job creators"...

Elect more liberals in Chicago to continue to raise taxes and pass stricter gun laws. It's worked so far right?

liberals will no longer be elected due to citizens united and voter suppression, it's just a matter of time...you people finally get your wish!! all you republicans should be high-fiveing and celebrating. there will be just the rich and wealthy...and the poor and lower class....god bless america!!!

Originally posted by sheepslayer247
reply to post by Catalyst317

 

See, I have a problem with this line of thinking.

America has gone from the land of opportunity to the land of "take what you can get". Sure we should be thankful for what we have but I do not think it is unreasonable to expect to earn a good living wage for a hard days work.

Why should someone have to work their lives away just to buy food for their children?

We sure have a twisted view on how things should be in the US.

twisted view?? no, this has been normal for countless centuries in human history...the exceptions are brief and far apart, they last for a generation or two and then sink back into 2 classes, the wealthy and everyone else.

A possible and valid solution for this and other related situations occurred to me while reading this.

Hire all the willing veterans, who since having completed their service, have returned home to a nation worse than when they left. In addition to having the highest unemployment over the national average, veterans are nearly on hold for getting their VA benefits ...

Why not utilize these experienced and well trained people, to fill roles they already have the skill sets for?
Returning vets are also MPs, police work is what they did while under contract with the DoD. Combat arms could provide tactical response, the ground work is already there and the build on it is all that's left to do.

Medics have dealt with every form of lethal and non lethal injuries, they are expert first responders.
Hopefully the idea is getting across or starting to form, if these people are assets and go un utilized by our country it is not only their loss, it is our collective loss as a nation.

America can and has done better, we have no excuse.

Not our government, it is as broken as we have allowed it to become, we failed by not using proper preventive maintenance. It is not our politics, they are as backwards and blind to reality as the constituents who elected them to begin with.

No excuse no matter what, we the people as a unwilling majority will never get over the irrelevance of polarized divisive party games of divide and turn against. That is why throughout history the small group of willing movers and shakers from Sparta and their 300, to the Patriots of the American revolution, are the types who will make a difference for the current de evolution of society and repect for moral ethics.

Our foundation as a Nation and people, is only as strong as our weakest link so to say. Letting the youth adopt subculture of thug life doesn't improve anything and only enables the problem to persist.

I vote the people go to the local town hall, create and sign a petition to their sheriff, to make able and willing veterans a deputy posse, and regulate our neighborhoods like we had in the old west.

Who in their right mind, would want a Veteran Posse can of whoop a.. err "worms" opened up on them?

Originally posted by jimmyx

liberals will no longer be elected due to citizens united and voter suppression,

What? Liberals have never been elected. The closest things to a liberal is Bernie Sanders. The U.S. has always been fundamentally conservative compared to the rest of the developed world. Even the Democratic party isn't liberal. The problem is the country has moved so far to the right once centrist positions are now considered extreme liberalism. Even Reagan would be called a liberal these days.

Anyway, Chicago has always been bad. It's a place I won't go.

Detroits cureing their problem by not trying to rebuild and turning city blocks into farmland. Our little town has turned down federal money for low income housing becaus it didn't include more money for police. You have one you need the other

reply to post by ADVISOR


don't you think it would be better for you to find out about the details of why the violence in those areas is actually occurring before you send veterans to die in those communities? don't veterans have it hard enough already.

chicago gangs, from what I have observed, are not youths that have adopted a thug subculture. when you see the 70s years old grandmother gangbanging you'll understand.

and these gangs have deeply embedded blood roots reaching into all areas of American society; especially in the deep south, from people that worked the land in this country for hundreds of years.

in short they've been here far longer than the Mayor that seeks to convince them to curb their violence and i'd suspect more than one person responded to Emmanuels request by suggesting he should be happy they are not firing on him.

my statements should not be taken as me condoning the violence but to point out that people who show no regard for authority, government leaders, are expecting others to show regard for their authority. everyone sees the hypocrisy.

people who are corrupt have created an environment where the only way for others to have order is to become vigilantes; thus, turning parts of that city into a war zone.

reply to post by michaelbrux


www.uic.edu...

Most people think of gangs and think of the Crips/Bloods wars of the 90's. Chicago is different and has always fostered gangs since the early 1900's. Nothing will end them, where poverty is crime follows. Not even the end of prohibition will get rid of them, they will simply find some other business.

reply to post by Catalyst317


I didn't say people didn't take these jobs..I said they didn't want these kinds of jobs. At the end of the day though by the time you pay for bare necessities and child care..that's it. Eat, sleep, sh!T, pay childcare and do it again. There is no pleasure..no room for expansion or climbing back out of poverty. I can see why it's easier just to give it up and go on the dole.

For along time people had good jobs they could see a brighter future..being promoted or gaining pay raises in the dollars not cents. My dad worked as a coal miner from 1975-98. He raised 5 kids and we had a good life. He worked hard and brought home enough to have a nice home, drive good cars and take us kids on vacation at least once a year. There was always room for improvement and incentives for him to work hard. How many times do people get promoted or get pay raises in the dollars at min. wage jobs.

I know and I "get" that we shouldn't expect or rely on our jobs for our next vacation and that people are there to do the job and do it well..Employers aren't there to provide us with anything but what is laid out when hired..but don't you think that people would be excited and motivated if they had a chance? Instead I feel like some employers drain their workers..and there is only so much people can take. If there is no real reward..what's the point?

We do our own thing but we do depend on people making good wages. If they don't have enough money at the end of the week--we can't sell them our products. Bad jobs--bad wages can kill other businesses. New start ups are dead in the water without the public being able to afford them..

After my dad got laid off from the coal mines he went directly to nursing school and became an RN. Since most of the coal mines closed their doors at approx the same time the local colleges were overrun with men and women wanting to become RN's/LPN's. Now only 50 people/year can enter the nursing program. 20 people/year can enter the Dental/hygiene program. Those are both really good jobs here..but without funding the colleges can not allow more than 50/20 per year. So anyone that can't pass the entrance exam is left with the leftover which are places like McDonalds, Subway and Walmart.