Life Matters
- Kari Fisher/Gibson
- Jul 7, 2020
- 2 min read
All life matters. Life is too short and therefore precious. There is an argument when you state an identifier you are saying some lives matter more than others. I am not going to discuss that here not because I do not think the argument can be made, but rather, it misses the point in my opinion.
If you believe that lives matter, then you do not fight against only a small, and statistically far less significant cause of death or violence but rather look at the issue impartially and address it effectively. Using statistics for ethnic breakdown of homicides in Chicago it is found that black on black crime/murder is more than twice that of the population representation. Where is the concern, protest, anger for this? The number of blacks killed in Chicago is staggering. There were 510 homicides in 2019. The article below describes the ethnic breakdown. Chicago in the last census had a 32.9% Black population.
According to the medical examiner’s office, the majority of Chicago’s homicide victims — 315 as of Monday — were African American males between 15 and 40 years old. Forty-eight of 2019’s victims were Latino males between 16 and 40. African American women accounted for 43 homicide victims in 2019, ranging in age from 18 to 70.
The data on offenders also tells a troubling story: Young, Black males are overwhelmingly committing most of the murders. Based on the data on the victims, that means young, Black males are primarily killing other young, Black males. What a terrible situation.
Year after year the statistics are similar, the pattern is not changing. And why should it? No one seems to care, if media presence tells us what is important.
If someone reading this wants to have a civil discussion and help me understand the point of view that Black Lives Matter is truly about ending violence against Blacks. I want to understand. Because it is not making sense.
I lived in Chicago from 1967-1975. That time period encompassed the riots after MLK’s assassination. I had to travel from where I worked through the west side of Chicago which was considered a ghetto to get home on public transportation. It was pretty scary for a 20 something. Fortunately although I heard lots of gunfire I was not harmed. Gun and gang violence were epidemic then and it makes me sad to realize that 50 years later not much has changed. What needs to happen to make a change? It seems to me no one has found an answer, at least one that is sustaining.