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Rich People, and Roving Bands of Young Criminals
by James Glaser June 27, 2011 
If you think about it, neither of the above groups have that much in common, but I believe that is going to change. When I was a kid, the rich people lived in about the same place everyone else did. This was Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the doctors lived on "Pill Hill" with nice homes, and the real old rich lived on Summit Ave. But you didn't have to go that far away from those rich homes to find where the poor people lived. First there was a buffer zone of upper middle class and then another with the middle class, but in truth the rich were still within walking distance of where poor people lived. It isn't that way any more. Yes, there are still rich people on Summit, but the buffer zone is smaller, and many of those old rich mansions have been cut up into duplexes and apartments. The really wealthy people, and that is what they call rich people these days, wealthy, have moved out to exclusive gated communities where you can't even drive by their home if you don't live there. Some of those places have their own security company so they don't have to depend on the police. Other people with enough money move even farther out, so they don't have to be near anybody. Back in the cities things are just now starting to get real tense:
I am sure I could go on and on with recent headlines about how things are getting out of hand. How about this, if you really want to scare yourself, Google "Home Invasions." Another thing you should think about—very little of this violence in America gets reported by our major media. They focus on politics and sports with which they add on a never ending campaign season for political office. You can hear the President talk about how things are getting better. Sure, not as fast as he hoped, but still, according to him, things are going in the right direction. However, in the real life world most of us see food prices going no where but up along with the price of gas. Millions of Americans are out of work, but worst of all, young people can't get a job. Young people have an even higher rate of unemployment than their parents do. When it gets hot in the city, and you don't have a job, and you have no prospects, what can you do? You stand around and hang with everybody else. You have no money and neither do your friends. People without hope get pissed, and unlike older folks, young people don't have a history to look back on so they can see things will get better. They think now is forever, and if this is forever, some of them are going to get what they can, any way they can. Now, here is where the rich come into this. Rich people have things poor people think they want. It doesn't take long for a group of young people that have some leadership to see that staying in their neighborhood and stealing isn't going to get them anyplace. I say these people have some leadership, because somebody is thinking and leading. Fifty young people don't all have the same idea about hitting Walgreens or Sears at the same time. Somebody figured out told the group that if they all did it at once, most would get away. Well, that kind of crime can work well one or two times, but it really changes nothing for the people doing it. They still have no job and no future. The only people in a position to give these people a future are the rich. Yes, it is great living out in a gated community or in the rural areas of America, but if you can't feel safe about going into the city, America will rapidly go down the tubes. The rich have to get things started, and that means creating jobs for the people who have nothing. I don't think we as a society can depend on the government doing anything, because no matter what they try, it will be more expensive than if private sector does it, and the rich know this. Rich people don't want to see the government getting bigger in order to create jobs, and rich people don't want to spend the money themselves to create those jobs. However, rich people are starting to see where things are headed, and they don't like what they see. Most people will think it is Pie in the Sky if you think the rich of this nation will get us back on track, but I believe they will. Rich people want their kids to be able to safely go off to college. Rich people want to be able to go to see a football game, concert, or an art opening They are just like you and me in that they want to feel safe. Sure some will split and head for Europe, but are things better there? Americans really like America, and the rich know better than we do just what a land of opportunity we really have here, and they don't want it screwed up. So, if things do work out, and the rich decide to pony up the money to get things going and start the American dream over again, I guess we will have to look back and thank those roving bands of young criminals. On the other hand, what happens if the rich do nothing? Well, those roving bands of young criminals will be joined by older people, and they will get better leadership, and then do you know what we will have? We will have another American revolution. |
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