I posted earlier in this thread that until the systemic underlying causes are addressed nothing will change....someone else also called out the need to address the 'root causes'...another individual jumped on that post asking for clarity on what the 'root causes' are.
this is not my area of study, nor profession, but IMHO... here's my shot at what some of the systemic issues just may be:
- these folks live with an absence of hope, folks in these communities have no expectation that their lives will ever change for the better
- education is totally under valued, it is not openly encouraged by parents nor the leaders in the community, yet openly discouraged by peer pressure, as a result there is no real learning...and it has little to do with the condition of the school building, teachers aren't able to teach
- the family unit has broken down
- drugs are rampant and gangs control the streets...the inner city deaths due to gang gun violence is horrific
- living off welfare has become a generational dependency, rather than being the helping hand to get up on your feet that was originally intended
- thugs like Al Sharpton that prop themselves up as leaders are merely in the game to line their own pockets....just like Adam Clayton Powell did for years in NYC
- the British couldn't handle a rioting mob back in Concord...some officer feared for their lives and shots were fired...nothings changed...our police are human beings, emotions are going to flare and things are going to happen that shouldn't
....not a very pretty picture is it....and these are just a few things
It's no wonder that these communities 'explode'...and destroy the very neighborhoods that they live in
each one of the above represent a huge, huge challenge
and what has our society been doing about it?
well, we keep on addressing the symptoms vs. the underlying systemic causes....yeah build a new school, yet do nothing about fostering respect for the teachers and for the value that an education brings by parents, grandparents, community leaders, elected officials...let's put the responsibility where it belongs and where it will do the most good
ya, start a war on drugs....all that does is push it further underground
continue to 'feel good' that we're listening to the likes of an Al Sharpton and giving him a voice (that crook should have been thrown in jail for tax evasion just like Al Capone was)
Bermuda also has a welfare system....it works because it doesn't create a dependency upon it like ours does....In Bermuda if you are unable to live a comfortable lifestyle because the job you have doesn't pay enough, the State will subsidize you so that you can. The only catch is that you have to have a full time job
If we continue to only address the symptoms nothing changes...it's just like "eating an English Breakfast" (it keeps coming back on you)
Hopefully greater minds than mine with the resources will focus on how to address the systemic underlying issues and put all the puzzle pieces together....
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