How to stop the violence

On Tuesday evening, Nov. 3, network news programs aired a breaking story of a 9-year-old boy having been murdered on the South Side of Chicago. Few details of the incident were available during the investigation. There were no arrests and no suspects were identified.

Such shootings have become a weekly occurrence in Chicago. Invariably the perpetrators vanish into the night, leaving no trace of their identities. Only the grief-stricken parents are left in the aftermath. Most often, the victims are innocent bystanders. This time, however, the young victim had suffered several gunshot wounds, indicating the probability that he was the intended victim in a gang-related reprisal.

Within minutes, while the story was still developing, Father Pfleger and other community activists started venting their outrage at the murder of a child. They also were outraged by the community’s lack of cooperation in sharing information with authorities. There was an outcry by the community activists: “Somebody knows something! The code of silence must be broken! Prayers and candlelight vigils are not enough!”

In principle, I agree. However, the people’s reticence to interact with police is not intended to aid the criminals or to hinder law enforcement. The people are silent not because of a code. Rather, they are afraid of retaliation by the gangs. The communities are under siege. Gang wars must be viewed and treated as terrorism. It’s goon controls that are needed. 

Shortly after repeal of 1920s Prohibition, the gang wars of that era stopped. The alcohol-based underground economy collapsed. There was no need for the crime syndicates to compete for territory or to dominate a market share. Instead organized crime chose to undergo a corporation-like restructuring and relocated. 

Violence of current-day gang wars is an outgrowth of the drug-based underground economy. It can be eliminated by the disruption of its supports. A swarm of marauding ants is best stopped by eliminating the food supply for the colony. A similar strategy would likely succeed in eliminating gang violence. Information-gathering capabilities of the National Security Agency could be put to a useful purpose. All gang members could be located and tracked. Their activities could be monitored and their operations could be disrupted. Thus, violence could be reduced. 

Gun violence is not confined to gang territories. It spills over to other areas of our city. Over a holiday weekend this summer, there were more than 60 gunshot victims in Chicago. Thirty of them died. News media proclaimed that Chicago had earned the dubious distinction of being the murder capital of the world. There were no details released of how many shootings were related to robberies, individual fights, domestic violence, or how many were gang related.

The sheer number of shootings alone demonstrates that the shooters do not value human life. Such disregard of law and civilized living is evidence of social and moral deterioration of the community. 

It’s true that prayers and candlelight vigils are not enough. Gun controls alone are ineffective. Parents, teachers, community activists, and religious leaders must rebuild social and moral values. Only then violence will stop.