Chicago might have a new mayor in Lori Lightfoot, but it still has the same old violence. This past weekend, Murder City USA tallied forty-three wounded and eight dead. That’s twice the number killed in Gilroy, FYI.
Included in the body count: two moms trying to prevent “gun violence” for an organization called Mothers Against Senseless Killings.
The two moms camped out on a street corner, apparently to keep watch on the neighborhood. They were shot in a drive-by shooting. Because not only do criminals break the law, but most of the time they don’t care about collateral damage, either.
The BBC has the story:
Two mothers in Chicago have been killed in a drive-by shooting as they stood on a street corner in an effort to deter gun violence.
Chantell Grant and Andrea Stoudemire were volunteers for Mothers Against Senseless Killings and had been camped out at the corner to prevent conflict.
They were shot on Friday evening by the occupants of a blue SUV. No arrests have yet been made.
Supporters say they are shocked by the killing and will honour their memories.
These women would have been better served with having concealed carry licenses and having their sidearms with them while camping out in that particular neighborhood. And encouraging others in the neighborhood to do the same.
“Mothers Against Senseless Killings” t-shirts don’t stop bullets or deter criminals.
On a local radio station WBEZ, the founder of the MASK group made an interesting statement.
Morning Shift talks to the founder of MASK on how the group is seeking justice for the two women killed, their families and their neighborhood…
Manasseh: People are tired of being afraid. We’re sick of being afraid.
We live in these communities and then we somehow are penalized and punished for living here. If you’re poor, you’re poor. But when women are killed, it’s not their fault. It’s not because they made bad decisions. It’s not they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s black men are getting killed and they’re poor. Black men live in homes with black women — with their mothers, with their aunts, with their sisters, with their cousins, with their wives, with their girlfriends.
Black women being murdered is no more their fault for being in the wrong place at the wrong time than a woman being raped for wearing the wrong thing. It’s not their fault. It’s not our fault. And we see a lot of victim-blaming when that happens. And we’re tired of that. We want someone to do something.
“We want someone to do something,” she said.
Rather than waiting for someone else to do something, what if members of MASK and other in the community did something? Instead of blaming the police, poverty, or guns for the rampant criminal violence on their streets, maybe they should try cooperating with and supporting the police (CPD murder clearance rate: 15% 9.1%) in reporting criminals and criminal behaviors.
Perhaps these women should have embraced legal gun ownership for residents of their neighborhood and personal responsibility instead of preaching that none of what happens there is anyone’s fault.
That beats waiting for someone else to do something. Here’s a tip: no one is going to do anything. They never have and there’s no reason to expect they will now. The Democrat political machine has run Chicago since the 1930s and residents keep voting for more of the same, election after election.
If politicians’ jobs aren’t endangered, nothing will change. Not unless the residents of that and other similarly crime-ridden neighborhoods make it happen themselves and provide for their own self defense.