toraerach
Active Member
I think we're kind of missing the point here. Gun violence, and especially gang violence, does not operate in isolation in one particular community or racial group. It is a problem for all of us, and we are all responsible for it either directly or indirectly. There are systemic social problems that allow a space for this kind of violence. There have been failures on the part of the police and the justice system for dealing not only with violent offenders, but also with witness protection leading to a code of silence that allows criminals to operate with impunity. There have been failures of our social services - poorly thought out social housing projects, a lack of funding for violence prevention in schools and community centres, a failure of anti-discrimination policies on the part of the police (that black parents, for example, still have to give their kids the talk is outrageous), etc. There are cultural problems, and not those necessarily tied to one community - gangster culture is a thoroughly North American invention, it is celebrated in the mainstream, and it is appropriated and propogated by large corporations. Then there's the fact that the war on drugs has been a massive failure, and that the drug trade (with customers in every segment of the population) is hugely profitible for organized crime. This isn't a foreign problem or a problem confined to the fringes of the city, it's something with deep roots all across the city.
It's also important to remember that there really isn't a single black culture in this city anymore than there is a single white culture. We have large black communities with roots in three very distinct parts of the world (North America, the Caribbean and Africa). Even within those groups there are very diverse subgroupings based on nation of origin, class, neighbourhood, etc. Reducing all of that to one label and slapping it on gun crime comes off as scapegoating more than anything of value.
Poverty is a huge issue here. Look at any city in North America (or the Western world) and an underclass will have a higher rate of crime and violence regardless of ethnic/racial make-up. Addressing poverty is the simplest way to prevent what is probably the most preventable forms of violence.
It's also important to remember that there really isn't a single black culture in this city anymore than there is a single white culture. We have large black communities with roots in three very distinct parts of the world (North America, the Caribbean and Africa). Even within those groups there are very diverse subgroupings based on nation of origin, class, neighbourhood, etc. Reducing all of that to one label and slapping it on gun crime comes off as scapegoating more than anything of value.
Poverty is a huge issue here. Look at any city in North America (or the Western world) and an underclass will have a higher rate of crime and violence regardless of ethnic/racial make-up. Addressing poverty is the simplest way to prevent what is probably the most preventable forms of violence.
