While I may not be from the actual city of Chicago, I do live in the same county. Every night I hear ABC 7 Chicago News and read articles from the Chicago Tribune and when I can, I take trips with my friends downtown. However, sometimes watching the news is depressing as it seems like every day there is another heartbreaking story of an innocent civilian being shot and killed. So I understand to people not from the Chicago area, it seems like the city is famous for all the violence that occurs there. Movies like Chi-Raq and politicians like Donald Trump capitalize on this perception and use it to further their own interests. I'm not suggesting that violence isn't a major issue for the city and shouldn't be addressed, but that's not how our city should be generalized. As in other big cities (i.e. Los Angeles, New York City, Detroit) there will be a fair share of violence, but there is so much more that each city has to offer.
In an article by Salon, Chicago activist Mariame Kaba is quoted as saying "when we adopt war metaphors to characterize how we live in our communities, we put a ceiling on our imaginations for how we might address violence and harm...you can only respond to tanks with more artillery and not with a peace circle." How stories are framed influences the audience's view and because Chi-Raq portrays the city as a violent crime capital, the audience walks away with a heavily negative view of Chicago and might be tempted to stay as far away from the city as possible. While it's true that Chicago has had its fair share of violence and several intense protests centered around the Black Lives Matter movement, it is best to remember that the majority of Chicagoans are good people and don't support violence. "Chi-Raq" places an emphasis on the gang violence and fear impacting Chicago neighborhoods and has the potential to drive away visitors, but if you weren't aware, anyone has the potential to commit a violent crime anywhere and at anytime.
The perception of Chicago as a highly violent city came into the political game last Monday when Donald Trump suggested in an interview with Bill O'Reilly that he could end the city's violence in just one week. Personally, I'd love to know Trump's exact plan in accomplishing this because as much as I'd like to see a world free of violence, unfortunately that is not the reality we currently live in. NBC reports that in Trump's interview Monday "he believed that Chicago's violence could be stopped using 'tough police tactics'...and he added that he knows others in Chicago who would put an end to violent crime 'if they were given the authority to do it'". One week, really? What exactly would that entail? Mr. Trump, are you planning on taking everyone's gun away or are you just going to scare everyone into submission?
What voters need to realize is that it's easy to make the claim of ending violence and Donald Trump knows that his statement about Chicago will attract a select population of voters who feel the exact same way. Chicago may be home to a Trump tower, but frankly, I do not want Donald Trump anywhere near a city I call home. In addition, remember the time that Donald Trump canceled his rally at UIC in March of this year because of backlash from protesters? Clearly, Chicagoans do not want Donald Trump in our city and please, Mr. Trump, stop generalizing a fantastic and diverse city as the crime capital of America.
