Today, a reader asks, "What are your ideas of battling crime and poverty in NYC?"
Well--
That is a difficult one, because often the two go hand in hand. As to crime, I would beef up the NYPD with more staff, even undercover, but before doing I would vet each and every one, thereby eliminating any potential Derek Chauvins. And I know, they are out there, darlings. Why not just start with every male cop on Staten Island?
Once vetted, forces should be sent to the more problematic communities, which means just about every neighborhood in The Bronx. Laws must enforced, with each officer on the same page about how to do so. Gun use should be allowed, but only if necessary. The law cannot be enforced without them. Otherwise, there will be handfuls of dead cops. And change the gun laws to make them less accessible, as the cops disband the gangs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The harder part of this equation is poverty. It has always been in existence. One reason for that is lack of education. And here is where I get radical. Children from these areas can be sent to school as much as possible, but once puberty hits, they will be sucked up into the bowels of the community. What does this mean? It means that, at said point, children should be removed from these families and environments, to keep them from re-absorption. There are private, boarding schools for the affluent; why not some from the poor? Black or Hispanic, or whatever, history proves the kids who make it OUT are the ones who make it. The system in place does not reinforce this. It just assures those who want to deride these folk that things will go on, as usual.
Federally and city funded, of course, as these groups lack affordability.
Am I being realistic? I wonder, myself. But, unless real, actual, CHANGE is implemented, then, half a century later, when most reading this are gone, things will be the same.
Wrong. They may be worse. Covid, and the rent protections, while necessary, have placed tenants in an impossible situation; how will they pay this money back? Either rents will plummet, and the city will collapse, or the whole economic system will have to somehow be overhauled.
Hmmmm....that could lead to an end of corporate greed.
Maybe that is not such a bad thing, after all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A wise thoughtful answer.
ReplyDeleteMade me think.
Victoria,
ReplyDeleteSame here, as I was writing this.
Most of my ideas came from a 2003
book I read called "Random Family,"
by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc. Non-fiction,
which I rarely read, but highly recommended.