Is Chicago A Serious Problem - 1641 Words

Chicago is facing a serious problem. Over this year s Fourth of July Weekend, eighty four people were shot resulting in fourteen deaths. After this violent weekend, Mayor Rahm Emmanuel nearly called for total martial law, calling upon United States Military s support to help protect Chicago s citizens and patrol Chicacgo s streets. So far in 2015, over 2,300 people have been shot in the city of Chicago, and it is only a matter of days until the death toll surpasses four hundred on the year. There are a number of factors that contribute to this inflated level of violent crime. Some would point to loose gun restrictions, others to gang fragmentation. I believe the most influential factor leading to these high rates of crime in certain†¦show more content†¦Keef is well aware of the trials and tribulations facing the youth who grow up on his gang riddled streets. He is also aware of his claim to stardom, as well as his influence and power, with which should come a greater sense of social responsibility. Imagine being a thirteen year old growing up with a single mother in Compton or Chicago, two communities heavily inflicted with poverty and gang violence. Too quote the website, Teen Ink says American youth are a target of the marketers of rap and hip-hop. In many low-income areas, some youth, particularly African-American males, are growing up with limited opportunities. Some of them have no important male role model in their lives, so they look up to a rap or hip-hop artist. Without a father figure, American youth is subject to the dignitaries of rap and to those higher ups behind the scene who target and take advantage of the disadvantaged kids; living in broken homes, without an identity, and desperate to be a part of something. It is so easy to exploit troubled youth because a vast majority of the artists influencing these young kids came from the same city, started from the same projects, and escaped from a similar, hopeless situation. In his essay Realness and Hoodness, Ginger Jacobson states, â€Å"Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the information they are exposed to because they are likely to use it as a basis for decision making without the cognitive ability to consider other decision-making pathways.