Urban Slums: A Breeding Ground for Gang Violence

[Warsai]

Take a good look at all the inner-city areas in America, Chicago, LA, DC, the list goes on. These places have become a breeding ground for gang violence, drug distribution, rape, etc. WHY? Why is it that one of the only ways to make money in the ghettos of America is to sell drugs. Why is it that the only way to be safe in the ghettos of America is to join gangs? Yes, we live in a capitalist society, there will always be rich and poor neighborhoods, but the poor don't need to be this poor, there doesn't have to be such a large racial division in the socioeconomic classes, the kids don't have to join gangs and sell drugs to survive. It doesn't need to be like this.


What are your thoughts?

[Tombstone]

Great question! I'm afraid to touch this one. I'm curious to see what plazul has to say on this topic.

Riddle me this:

1. Why do many people *successfully escape the slums?
2. Why are there a great number of very successful folks who make it out and go on to lead productive lives?
3. Why is this misery concentrated in very distinct areas?

I'm inferring one main thing. I'll post my "I'm sure it'll be controversial answer" a little later today. Back to work I go!

Originally Posted by Warsai

Take a good look at all the inner-city areas in America, Chicago, LA, DC, the list goes on. These places have become a breeding ground for gang violence, drug distribution, rape, etc. WHY? Why is it that one of the only ways to make money in the ghettos of America is to sell drugs. Why is it that the only way to be safe in the ghettos of America is to join gangs? Yes, we live in a capitalist society, there will always be rich and poor neighborhoods, but the poor don't need to be this poor, there doesn't have to be such a large racial division in the socioeconomic classes, the kids don't have to join gangs and sell drugs to survive. It doesn't need to be like this.


What are your thoughts?

[plazul]

A disfunctional education and welfare system, teen pregnancy, and the loss of entry level and blue collar manufacturing jobs have contributed to the decline of the African American family in which slum bound single motherhood is now the norm and fathers are often confined to the prison system or otherwise absent from the home.

There is a thriving black middle class anchored in the church and contributing to society but they too have abandoned the poverty culture and often refer to the black underclass with the N word. They resent being stereotyped when they walk the streets as potential threats and possible criminals and the popular media has done black America a disservice by not showing more of the positive aspects of the, "African American community."

The fact that we still see our fellow human beings in a racial context speaks volumes about our problems. We need to get beyond race and just see the underclass as a reflection of our failed political and social policies. I am focusing on the black family (Latinos, Native Americans, and other minorities have issues too) because I see it as America's biggest failure and an integral part of the fabric of American history.

It will take more than money and creative social and economic engineering to salvage the African American family. It will take a sea change of attitude in a culture where racial prejudice and low expectations for blacks and other minorities is pervasive and political power is in the hands of a privileged few who never come in contact with, "those people."

[Pearl Harbor]

Originally Posted by Tombstone

Great question! I'm afraid to touch this one. I'm curious to see what plazul has to say on this topic.

Riddle me this:

1. Why do many people *successfully escape the slums?
2. Why are there a great number of very successful folks who make it out and go on to lead productive lives?
3. Why is this misery concentrated in very distinct areas?

I'm inferring one main thing. I'll post my "I'm sure it'll be controversial answer" a little later today. Back to work I go!

I'll take a bite at this one. Are you referring to education?

[jayboy]

I have rebuilt some of these areas. To bring a small amount of civil society to folks who have lost hope is a monumental task. Not knowing to clean up milk spilt in a new fridge to keep the newly rebuilt apt from smelling. Learning not to stick a broom handle behind the exterior door hinges, so the door won’t lock negating security. so mom can shoot up and the kids can get in without spoiling the trip, ad infinitum, are all up hill battles. I have suggested making the moms and dads attend learning automated cartoons on how to survive and advance before they can collect welfare but always on deaf ears. Make the kids attend interesting movies about how others have won the fight and have them realise it is not the honky way but the best way to survive. Enough sorry about that.

It would take building a group of voting strength to demand bureaucrats put some palatable learning demands in the system. We could do it.

[Warsai]

Originally Posted by Tombstone

Great question! I'm afraid to touch this one. I'm curious to see what plazul has to say on this topic.

Riddle me this:

1. Why do many people *successfully escape the slums?
2. Why are there a great number of very successful folks who make it out and go on to lead productive lives?
3. Why is this misery concentrated in very distinct areas?

I'm inferring one main thing. I'll post my "I'm sure it'll be controversial answer" a little later today. Back to work I go!

Yes, it is possible to get out, but the many problems within ghettos are problems that don't need to be there in the first place. What's even worse, the media is promoting the idea that getting an education is a "white thing" when 50 years ago, getting an education was something a black child wanted to do because that meant becoming truly equal to whites. The media creates a prejudiced view of blacks. Every black man or women you see on TV has to always play basketball, or always listen to rap, or always has to fit the definition of a "gangsta". It's not right. The media is only putting thoughts in young minds that would make destroying the racial divide in school and in life much harder.

[plazul]

Originally Posted by jayboy

I have rebuilt some of these areas. To bring a small amount of civil society to folks who have lost hope is a monumental task. Not knowing to clean up milk spilt in a new fridge to keep the newly rebuilt apt from smelling. Learning not to stick a broom handle behind the exterior door hinges, so the door won’t lock negating security. so mom can shoot up and the kids can get in without spoiling the trip, ad infinitum, are all up hill battles. I have suggested making the moms and dads attend learning automated cartoons on how to survive and advance before they can collect welfare but always on deaf ears. Make the kids attend interesting movies about how others have won the fight and have them realise it is not the honky way but the best way to survive. Enough sorry about that.

It would take building a group of voting strength to demand bureaucrats put some palatable learning demands in the system. We could do it.

Yes, I too at one time had residential rental property and unless you're in it big time and are willing to deal with contant headaches, I don't recommend it .

Much of the problems that you mention are the result of arrested maturity and lethargy that comes with ghetto conditioning and lack of positive role models. Teen age mothers tend to never grow up as they reject the adult responsiblities that are thrust upon them by ealy parenthood. They escape through the artificial euphoria of drug intoxication. Consequently, their offspring never learn the basics when it comes to personal responsibility including not cleaning up spilled milk.

Your audio visual instruction tapes idea has some merit but there's nothing like a real adult role model.

[Warsai]

Now seeing that I made this thread because someone on the UK gun policy thread wanted to have a thread that discussed how we got ghettos to become as violent as they are, let me ask how did they get to be this way?

[oldfred]

My knowledge of American urban life is very sketchy and consits mainly of what I see and read in the media.

What I have picked up is that there seems to be a whole lot of prejudice, both black and white, in the US. (It is just the same over here but to a lesser extent).

I also believe that what are often referred to as African-Americans are in fact mostly descendents of slavery. If that is so you have a large group of people who live in America not so much by choice but because of what happened to their kith and kin.

Maybe, just maybe this group of people feel a deep-seated resentment towards the land of their birth and the rest of the mainly white population.

I also know that at the same time as I was finishing my formal education (yes I really am that old....hench my nic) black children were still being kept out of white schools in parts of America.

Is it any wonder then why these blacks felt more comfortable moving into areas with their own kind....and being mostly unskilled and poor they had no option but to move into the cheapest and likely already run down areas....hence the formation of what can only be described as the culture of the slums and all that that entails.

Would these early slum areas have had good schools for the children to attend, or good medical facilities when they and their families were ill....of course they wouldn't....which no doubt helped to reinforce the resentment issue.

Am I on the right track, or as sometimes happens, flying off on a tangent?

Fred

[Warsai]

Originally Posted by oldfred

My knowledge of American urban life is very sketchy and consits mainly of what I see and read in the media.

What I have picked up is that there seems to be a whole lot of prejudice, both black and white, in the US. (It is just the same over here but to a lesser extent).

I also believe that what are often referred to as African-Americans are in fact mostly descendents of slavery. If that is so you have a large group of people who live in America not so much by choice but because of what happened to their kith and kin.

Maybe, just maybe this group of people feel a deep-seated resentment towards the land of their birth and the rest of the mainly white population.

I also know that at the same time as I was finishing my formal education (yes I really am that old....hench my nic) black children were still being kept out of white schools in parts of America.

Is it any wonder then why these blacks felt more comfortable moving into areas with their own kind....and being mostly unskilled and poor they had no option but to move into the cheapest and likely already run down areas....hence the formation of what can only be described as the culture of the slums and all that that entails.

Would these early slum areas have had good schools for the children to attend, or good medical facilities when they and their families were ill....of course they wouldn't....which no doubt helped to reinforce the resentment issue.

Am I on the right track, or as sometimes happens, flying off on a tangent?

Fred

It's not really a matter of black families wanting to be with their own kind, but moreso a matter of being forced into these positions. African-Americans had to stay in the city for work while whites, with the creation of the car and therefore the suburbs, moved out of the city. Fast forward to the 50's. African-Americans now by law, get total freedom. But just because it's a law, doesn't mean it's gonna happen. Overtime, because of the illiteracy in the inner-city and because of the neglect of these poor areas, ghettos become poorer and poorer, one of the only ways to get money quick is to join a gang or sell drugs. Rape becomes more common and mothers keep getting younger and younger. The mothers can't find a job because they have to take care of their kids. This combined with the racism and prejudice towards African-Americans in the media and the institutionalized racism in the government has only fueled the endless cycle of violence and poverty in the ghetto.

Since this has become an interesting thread, I think I should recommend a book to you guys, America Behind the Color Line.