An On-Line Publication of the Anonymous Anything Society
GUN VIOLENCE
I was scanning the web this weekend when I was caught by a
story posted by The Chicago Tribune, titled "Deadly Gun Violence." No big
shock here, I told myself. The Second City is infamous for shootings.
However a smaller second column headline compelled me to pause. "Surge
in gun violence affecting children younger than 10 years old is three times
that of the same period last year."
Chicago or not, that struck me as totally bizarre. According to
data gathered by The Tribune, 24 children younger than 10 years have been
shot since January 1. 2020 in Chicago. Five of them have died.
Read on: As of the first day of August, "The Trib"
counted 2,268 shooting victims of all ages so far this year in the
"Windy City." That's 45 more than in the same period in 2019.
Furthermore, 30 of the victims killed in shootings were under
the age of 17.
They were shot in their homes, They were shot while walking
down the street. They were shot while playing in the yard, They were shot
while on school play- grounds, they were shot in hallways, in stairwells and
in every sort of public and private conveyance.
They were shot on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Thursday, Friday,
Saturday and Sunday. They were shot before 9:00 am., just after 12:00 noon.
at 4:00 pm, 6:30 pm and after 12-midnight.
-Phil Richardson, Storyteller and Observer of the Human Condition.