Dennis Plante wrote: > It is absolute hogwash to blame the recent spike in murders > and crime on the current "socio-economic" conditions. > > Even in the worst of economic times, the overwhelming > majority of people, do NOT resort to killing someone else > because they have no other way to obtain > an income.
Boy, I feel really conflicted about this issue. First off, I don't think that you can really understand poverty unless you've stared it in the face. There was a distinct point in my life where, without a lucky break, I would have ended up in a lifetime loop of incarceration as did many of my friends. Breaks are important, connections are important; social support, mores, and minority culture are important. You can gain more of a perspective on this if you have lived in the South and know that the culture of poverty is not limited to minorities. I don't think that anyone who believes it's just a matter of family values has ever grown up in an urban culture of poverty. But okay, as a conservative I will concede that, "yes," any one individual can make it in America on will power alone, but we're concerned about the aggregate here, not special cases. The fewer the opportunities, the more children who will disappear into crime. I've stressed over and over again that we need to do something about Minneapolis' 47% high school dropout rate. If you don't realize that lowering the dropout will have an impact on crime rates, then I don't think you've thought much about the problem. The difficulty here is that many people believe that it really is, "just a matter of family values" and not systemic problems within the educational system. Why? Because I don't think that people are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to provide an equality of opportunities. Would equality of educational opportunity eliminate crime and poverty? No, of course not, but it would reduce their pervasiveness. Michael Atherton Prospect Park REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
