Chicago Street Violence

I have pondered gang violence for a few years now. I was assaulted by a gang in the Fall of 2007. That assault was a gang initiation.

Let me tell you from experience, it is very painful to get hit in the head with a gun. The pain does not go away.

In my mind there are four distinct issues that inner city gang people need to deal with in order to exist as reasonable human beings. Its not easy to change, and it is understandable to escalate violence when there is no model for how to alleviate violence. In other words, given the circumstances and understanding presently experienced, street violence is predictable. So these four ideas are not quick fixes or anything like that. They are solutions that are difficult to implement.

The first would be to understand that violence promotes more violence. In this way, many inner city people suffer from PTSD. They simply want revenge for an assault perpetrated on their own person. I know how this works as I was very interested in extreme revenge for a period of time, till I realized the personal tragedy of revenge and deleterious consequences. I have resources to help with that, inner city gang people do not. Once you are insulted on any level, the revenge has to come, that's the rule. And so the cycle has no logical closure except everyone's demise.

The second is vision. We all need a vision that moves us beyond our confinement of any type. We need mental models of decent lives. When the model is one of prison or death or violence, then there really is no vision. We need visions of intelligent successful lives.

The third is understanding what the most valuable resource is. That would be our own very lives, not our bank accounts and lack of material resources. Poverty is severe and ugly however, the most valuable thing is to be alive. We need to value our lives. The gold is there.

The fourth thing is the application of the source of happiness. That would be loving kindness. There is no other ingredient that a person can reflect onto their children that will have a better consequence. When the reflection is abuse, then we have created the source of sadness.

CS Monitor: Gangs vs. Chicago police: an open feud over blame for street violence

In an unusual move, gang representatives held a press conference Thursday on the city's far West Side to tell their side of the story – in the face of law-enforcement threats to come after them via a federal statute that targets organized crime. Their point: They can't put a stop all street violence, and Chicago police themselves have a lot to answer for in their own behavior.

At the meeting, authorities reportedly said that if one more gang member shoots another, they would prosecute the gangs' members and leaders – not just the assailants – under the federal RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act. Gang members were also told to expect more parole visits and traffic stops in their neighborhoods, according to the newspaper's report.

“They form cliques on the blocks and feel they’re untouchable, basically because no one can govern them.”