Gangland

It seems the Triangle is not immune to the blight of gangs and their violence. Television storylines are making headlines in the newspaper. Witnesses are being intimidated and parents of young witnesses are not allowing their children to come forward to give testimony that would surely put serious criminals behind bars. Who could blame them? Once the felon is behind bars, and the police and prosecutors are gone, who will protect them?

The problem is not with the parents, their reaction is logical. The problem is not with the children who are not allowed to testify by their parents. The problem is the system. Not the criminal justice system, mind you, but with the socio-economic system. And it is not likely to get better for a while. An often ignored side-effect of economic difficulty is crime. Sure, the news is always reporting on job loss and unemployment, inflation (or deflation), gas prices, foreclosures. But not a word has been mentioned about crime rates.

As I discussed in "Get a Job" (December 13, 2005) and in "More Children Left Behind" (October 3, 2006), the problem starts at home. But let us not be too quick to blame the family. Parents often times have to make a very difficult decision - making ends meet or being more present with their children. What often times exacerbates the problem is the entire absence of a parent leaving the responsibility to fall on only one. The parent who chooses to take two jobs, work many and long hours spends little time with their children. Often times, these families can only afford to live in lower-income neighborhoods that tend to attract "bad elements." No matter how "tough" a particular child may be, he or she is still a child and still craves certain necessities. They need guidance, they need to feel like they are part of a family. And what often substitutes are gangs. In a gang, members feel a sense of belonging. They feel that they are being protected and others are watching out for them. Here one institution takes the place of another - gangs for the family.

Not enough attention is paid to the cause of the breakdown of the family. Too often society will blame the individuals, and in some cases, I would agree. But for it to be happening on such a large scale, it must be more, it must be systemic. What government should be asked to do is get to the root of the problem of the family - and it is NOT gay marriage. Why is it that so many children must be raised by a one parent home without support? Inadequate or no health care? Our economic system has been notorious through its history for leaving segments of the population behind. It has taken large movements and controversial exposes to get government to take notice. It has worked for child labor laws, for unsafe working conditions. What will it take for Congress to notice this large segment of the population that feeds the gangs with new recruits? Instead of treating the symptom, let's get to the heart of the problem, and solve it there.

Gang Threats Scare Off Witnesses (The News and Observer - newsobserver.com) March 1, 2009