3 ms·

The mass shootings are terrorism which are designed to terrorize as many people as possible, and it works. The homicide rate in Chicago is largely confined to s

by guelo 7y ago

The mass shootings are terrorism which are designed to terrorize as many people as possible, and it works. The homicide rate in Chicago is largely confined to south Chicago and it has been about the same for years, so it's not very terrorizing.

jeffdavis 7y ago
What you say is probably true, but it raises the question: why always guns? Surely there are other ways to cause death and terror. I wonder if it's because it fits into a narrative? An isolated incident is more easily dismissed or forgotten. Getting back to the main topic, climate change has become a narrative, too, not just an isolated phenomena. Hurricanes, even if mostly random, become part of a larger story. I just finished reading 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and it got me thinking a lot about narratives. Maybe people naturally have a strong desire to be part of a narrative. Perhaps the hero, perhaps a minor character in a big drama; or, if necessary, the villian.
tptacek 7y ago
South and West Chicago (see HeyJackass.com), and it's very terrorizing, just not to white people. I live in Oak Park, just across the street from Austin. Oak Park is upper-income and heavily college educated, and hosts one of the best school districts in the area. Austin is solidly African American (due to historical redlining), has touch-and-go spots w/r/t poverty, sharply more crime, but also a sizable portion of middle class black families. White kids in Oak Park have almost nothing to fear from Chicago gang violence. The same is not true of black kids in Oak Park --- and we're well integrated --- and extremely not true of black kids in Austin. Kids in Oak Park have, for obvious geographical reasons, friends in Austin and vice versa. Oak Park kids have been shot and killed in parks across the street from Oak Park. It is a huge problem, and one that is easy for policy-types to overlook and downplay because it isn't a problem for white people.
- camjohnson26 7y ago
  Sad but true. I live in northern Chicago and had to double check the murder rate because it doesn’t fit my experience at all. It’s easy to ignore a problem if it only has a small chance of affecting you.
Rebelgecko 7y ago
>The mass shootings are terrorism which are designed to terrorize as many people as possible Is that true? Last I looked, most mass shooting were domestic violence or gang-related

by guelo 7y ago

jeffdavis 7y ago

What you say is probably true, but it raises the question: why always guns? Surely there are other ways to cause death and terror. I wonder if it's because it fits into a narrative? An isolated incident is more easily dismissed or forgotten. Getting back to the main topic, climate change has become a narrative, too, not just an isolated phenomena. Hurricanes, even if mostly random, become part of a larger story. I just finished reading 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and it got me thinking a lot about narratives. Maybe people naturally have a strong desire to be part of a narrative. Perhaps the hero, perhaps a minor character in a big drama; or, if necessary, the villian.

tptacek 7y ago

South and West Chicago (see HeyJackass.com), and it's very terrorizing, just not to white people. I live in Oak Park, just across the street from Austin. Oak Park is upper-income and heavily college educated, and hosts one of the best school districts in the area. Austin is solidly African American (due to historical redlining), has touch-and-go spots w/r/t poverty, sharply more crime, but also a sizable portion of middle class black families. White kids in Oak Park have almost nothing to fear from Chicago gang violence. The same is not true of black kids in Oak Park --- and we're well integrated --- and extremely not true of black kids in Austin. Kids in Oak Park have, for obvious geographical reasons, friends in Austin and vice versa. Oak Park kids have been shot and killed in parks across the street from Oak Park. It is a huge problem, and one that is easy for policy-types to overlook and downplay because it isn't a problem for white people.

camjohnson26 7y ago
Sad but true. I live in northern Chicago and had to double check the murder rate because it doesn’t fit my experience at all. It’s easy to ignore a problem if it only has a small chance of affecting you.

Rebelgecko 7y ago

>The mass shootings are terrorism which are designed to terrorize as many people as possible Is that true? Last I looked, most mass shooting were domestic violence or gang-related