Last year in Chicago a member of the Manic Latin Disciples (MLD) shot two little girls (he was taking aim at some alleged Latin Kings in the park and missed) in a park while a public meeting with the police was going on. The Superintendent said that he was going after the whole gang and basically declaring war on the MLD’s for this shooting and will treat all other gangs the same way. I agree with the need to arrest and prosecute any individual that commits a crime what I do not agree with is a declaration of war against a group of mostly teenagers.
Some of you might strongly disagree with me and I can see why it’s not hard to get upset over a shooting of two little girls and in no way am I disregarding them. What I am trying to point out is that the shooting is on a long list of consequences to a variety of societal ills. Did that MLD have the right to shoot at anyone? No. But what we do have to consider is why did he find it necessary to take a violent action towards someone he doesn’t know and how did that handgun find its way to him.
Let’s step out of Chicago for a second and look at other violent acts around the world…lets pick Mexico as an example. Tens of thousands of people have suffered from a declaration of war against the drug cartels that started in 2006. I remember watching the Spanish language news and they were reporting on the war against the cartels and at the mic was a young Mexican military woman that expressed her desire to bring the fight to the cartels. So the War begun and quickly questions of who was supplying the cartels with weapons was on everyone’s minds.
Fast forward to 2012 and news emerges of a handgun, one of several, that was used in a fire fight against Mexican military belonged to one of the most famous CIA personal of all time, Maj. Gen. William B. Donovan. A .40 caliber handgun with a plaque on it not only has his name on it and said it belonged to him but a decommissioned inventory code is written on the side of this handgun as well. How did a CIA handgun end up in the hands of a cartel crew member? Reports say that at least two thousand illegal weapons cross the border into Mexico every single day from the USA. Here is the link to the story and it is in Spanish: http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2012/02/20/narcos-mexicanos-usan-armas-de-la-cia/
Back to Chicago, How did this MLD get this handgun? Well there are plenty of legal ways of getting a handgun as long as you don’t have anything hanging over your head it’s pretty easy. Or you can cross the border into Indiana and go to a gun show and not even leave the parking lot and get your hands on not only a handgun but maybe even some ammunition to go along with it. Unlike Mexico, where it is against the law for its Citizens to own any kind of guns, here in the US we like to have the ability to own one. So where do we draw the line on accountability? Some people like to go as far as the gun makers and some like to end it with the shooter. Recently it’s been more about the shooter and other people have their opinions on why that is and it goes everywhere from race to class and all over the place. I think 90% of the perspectives are valid but for argument sake let’s look at this from a basic plot point of view. MLD gets a gun under the thought of protection, from who is a whole other conversation later this week, MLD decides to go driving around with others to challenge his perceived enemies. They pick an area they believe will produce the best results in using said handgun and find a park that the LK’s hangout in. MLD makes a couple of passes to make sure they have an advantage and find their spot to make their stand. MLD jumps out of vehicle and begins to shoot in general direction of who he thinks are members of the Latin Kings. People run and duck for cover but at the end of the shooting two innocent little girls are shot instead. MLD realizes that he has made a mistake and jumps back into vehicle and they take off. Trying to avoid to get caught the driver is obviously driving as if he is being chased and creates a bigger scene and someone notices the vehicle and plates and reports it.
All of that happened within a few minutes and the first obvious reaction is hate for the shooter and I do not blame someone for having those feelings. The reaction of the police is to do their jobs and find the shooter but what they shouldn’t be doing is creating public policy. What I mean by that is if the Chicago police department declares war against a group of people then there is NO absolute way that the perceived criminal will ever get a fair trial. We elect public servants to communicate to the general public what the desires of that community is not the police. I’m not bashing the police what I am doing is identifying the fact that we ALL have our roles to play and we should stick to them.
I’m not making any excuses for this MLD or for the Latin Kings what I want to also do is point out that if we want certain things to stop happening then we need to take a larger look into why it does happen. To declare war on a group of youth is as ridiculous as the Mayor of Chicago declaring war on Canada!
The police force in Chicago is used for many things when it should just be focusing on policing the city for violations to established Law. We indirectly look towards the police to show us what it means to be a law abiding citizen, as a role model for “at-risk youth,” counselor in emergency situations, the model citizen, etc… That’s too much to expect out of the police force simply because they are human beings as well with real life problems and obstacles of their own.
Our youth need a stronger voice and I believe that they have a valid VOTE in our society to find solutions to some of our heaviest problems. We can’t use the excuse of “but they won’t understand the complexities of international law” or “We can’t spend time explaining tax law to them.”
If people say those are valid then do we say that it’s too complicated to explain why it is necessary for a drug dealer in Humboldt Park Chicago to continue to sell drugs so they can supply food and shelter to their family? You can’t say it’s not the same because we cannot dismiss the experience of other people based on our lack of that experience. To be honest it’s all really a mess so explanation on any level is welcomed and needed because we ALL need to learn.
The MLD’s are rumored to be giving up their members quickly to the police to avoid an all-out prosecution of the entire gang. On the face of it many may say ‘good then maybe they’ll stop’ but what people don’t see is that when you do that it creates many more opportunities for violence. The idea is to break this cycle of violence not just make it jump track so it’s out of YOUR way.
Peace/AMOR
Gerardo
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