The Problem with The Problem of Violence
We often hear about the "problem of violence in our inner cities". It's a phrase we hear so often that we don't even give it a second thought. But here's a question for you: do we really have a violence problem in the inner cities?
Now, I'm not suggesting that there isn't a lot of violence in bad neighborhoods. What I am asking is whether it is accurate to describe the problem as one of violence. Are the people committing all these violent crimes happy, healthy, successful people who just happen to enjoy killing the occasional passerby? Not really. We are talking about people who are generally uneducated (high school at best), career criminals with long histories increasingly violent behavior.
So, is it accurate to say "we have a violence problem in our inner cities" when the violence is a symptom not the source of the problem. I subscribe to the view that the root cause of most of the inner city's woes is culture. People of a left leaning persuasion feel otherwise. Either way the "problem of violence" still becomes a symptom of other issues rather than a cause on its own.
I think it's time to start challenging (politely, of course) the use of that phrase. The language used to describe and debate issues matters very much. We should not be so quick to cede our ground on that.