GANGS & VIOLENCE

Saw a post from Earthquake Jake today on KUPL’s Facebook page. 

So there's been a lot of talk in the news about gang shootings. They're on the rise, I guess? Honestly, I don't put that much thought into it. But SHOULD I worry about it? Is it the media making a big deal of it, or are we all actually in danger? ~Jake

I also read several of the responses.  Over all, it sounds like, yes, most people do think it’s something to worry about; myself included.  At the same time, I also see where maybe the media IS making a big deal of it. 

With that said, the rest of this post is purely how *I* feel about this whole situation.  I guess you can say I’m too wordy to post on Facebook.

As I stated, I do worry about all the shootings, gang related or otherwise.  I worry about the rise in crime in general.  I worry because, as one person posted, there are a lot of innocent people, including children; that sometimes get caught in the middle of these shootings

While I believe these crimes should be reported by the media, I’m not sure it should be blown out of proportion.  That means, yes, report about shootings; just don’t make a big deal about it.  To me, that would cover both sides of the debate.  People would know the shootings are happening; yet, if the stories are buried among others, and not standing out, those doing the crimes won’t get the attention they may be looking for.  One person mentioned in a post, they thought that’s why there’s been a rise in shootings recently, people looking for attention.

I’d like to be able to say it’s because of how kids are raised these days; though that really wouldn’t be a fair statement.  While it's probable that there are those who are a product of how they were raised, it's not true of every child.  You can have a child raised "properly", (by society's standards), and they could still turn out to be a criminal.  Likewise, you could have a child with everything against them growing up; yet they turn out to be an upstanding citizen.

Yes, things have changed a lot since “the good old days”.  Those days when you knew your neighbors, people got along, etc.  We don’t live in “simpler times” anymore. Then again, the world has never been a perfect place.  There's always been crime; the difference is, you just hear about it more now.  It could be a rise in crime, or it could just be news spreads quicker in this era of electronics. It could even possibly be a bit of both.

As far as whether gang related shootings are up, I honestly don't know.  I do know that gangs have been around for eons though.  Why do we hear more about it now?  I'd have to give the same answers I've given earlier in this post; news spreads quicker, there are more people sharing space in the world, possibly how a person was raised; the list could go on and on.

I guess my whole point to all this rambling is:  Yes, there's a problem with gang shootings going on.  Is it on the rise?  Possibly.  Should people be concerned?  Yes, because if we aren't things will only get worse.  As one post mentioned, we can't just sit back and watch it happen.  While we may not be able to fight back literally, we can take precautions to protect ourselves and those around us, and we should.  If everyone opposed to gang violence stood together to help end it, that would be a great start.  There really is force in numbers; if there wasn't the gangs wouldn't be getting such a strong hold on things like they are.  

Do I think it will ever totally end?  Probably not.  That's not to be negative, just realistic.  There are always going to be those people in this world who are no good; it's part of life.  Since it will never totally go away, the best we can do is put up a resistance to what's already going on; try to keep it from getting worse.

As I said, this post is just my two cents' worth on the subject of gang shootings.  I don't claim to be right about what I feel or think, and I don't claim to be wrong; I've simply chosen to post my thoughts here.