Posted on 01/08/2017 5:28:57 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Congressman Danny Davis is a Democrat representing Illinois's 7th District, which includes some Chicago neighborhoods hardest hit by gun violence. His own grandson was shot and killed last November.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We hear now from Congressman Danny Davis. He's represented the 7th Congressional District since 1996, but gun violence is not just an abstract concept to him. His 15-year-old grandson Javon was killed in a dispute over borrowed clothing last November, and Congressman Davis delivered the eulogy. He was kind enough to host us in his offices on Capitol Hill. Congressman, thank you so much for speaking with us about this difficult topic. And if you don't mind, if I may say, I'm so sorry for your loss.
DANNY DAVIS: Well, thank you very much. As a matter of fact, a good part of getting over it has been the reaction of people all over the country and in many other places throughout the world.
MARTIN: One of the things that came out, though, when your grandson was killed is that you noted that you've delivered eulogies for some two dozen young Chicagoans who've been killed. So the question is why? Why is this happening?
DAVIS: I mean, the over-arching, over-reaching issue is poverty. Black unemployment in Chicago is off the chart. I mean, there are communities where literally 40 to 50 percent, especially of the youth male population, is unemployed. I've been around low-income people all of my life. I mean, growing up, low income, the community where I've chosen to live, low-income. But there's never been a time, to my knowledge, I would say, where the lack of positive thinking - I mean, everybody that I knew growing up practically had little in the way of resource, but we all have the hope and the possibility that as soon as we finished high school and went to college or went to the Army that we were going to have access to employment. We were going have a chance.
Many of the young people living in inner-city America don't see themselves - I mean, they even talk about things like death and dying. And there's a tremendous loss of hope. And of all the things to lose, I think nothing is worse or more difficult to overcome than the loss of hope.
MARTIN: The terrible incident that took your grandson's life, they were fighting over borrowed clothing. Like, one kid had borrowed something from another...
DAVIS: Well, they had a little...
MARTIN: But the question I have is they were all 15 and 16 years old, why did a fight over borrowed clothing, like, you know, somebody borrowed somebody's pants and they wanted their pants back result in somebody shooting somebody?
DAVIS: Because it's more than that. They had a swapping group where you swap me your jacket for a week, and I swap you my gym shoes. Part of the group decided that, hey, I want my item back right now without returning your item. And then the overall frustration was such and they had such a sense of protectiveness and a sense of machoism that, as a result of the discussion, somebody feels that, hey, I can come invade your space and take back whatever the item is that we had been dealing with.
MARTIN: Congressman, do you remember when you got the phone call? I don't know where you were when you found out about your grandson. Can you take us back to that? What...
DAVIS: I do remember. As a matter of fact, one of my staff persons and I had just come back to the office and one of the police commanders was on the phone and he said, I have some bad news to tell you. And I said, bad news, well, I'm pretty accustomed to bad news (laughter). He says, but not this kind. He says, I want you to just brace yourself. I understand that your grandson may have been shot.
And I say, well, where where was it? What's the address, so I can get over there? And he said - he gave me the address, which was their home address. And I said, how is it? He say, it's pretty bad. He said, it's pretty bad. I think you may want to come right away. I couldn't, for the moment, think. And by then, my son called, and I said, oh yeah, I heard that Javon - he says, daddy, he's gone. That's how it felt. That's how it felt.
And so, you know, I've kind of pledged to myself that I will spend more time, more energy if there's any way that I can to try and influence some diminution of guns in our society. One thing I always say when I discuss guns with people - if a gun is not present, it's generally more difficult to do irreparable harm.
MARTIN: If there hadn't been a gun there, they might have had a fistfight and then it would have been over, you know.
DAVIS: That is correct.
MARTIN: Do you see any sign that people agree with you that something about this country's use of guns and the role that guns play in this culture has to change?
DAVIS: There are millions and millions of people who think about guns the same way that I do. You know, one of my favorite songs, something by a guy named Sam Cooke used to sing - oh, it is so profound. It may be a long time coming, but I know some change is going to come. That's the way I feel about this issue.
MARTIN: That's Congressman Danny Davis. He's an Illinois Democrat. He represents the 7th Congressional District in Chicago. Congressman Davis, thank you so much for speaking with us. And once again, I just want to say I'm very sorry for the loss of your grandson.
DAVIS: Thank you very much. And I do believe the change will come.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "A CHANGE IS GONNA COME")
SAM COOKE: (Singing) It's been long, a long time coming but I know a change gonna come. Oh, yes it will.
IDIOT not worthy of Congress. Wake up Illinois. Think.
To say its about poverty is just a sales job. Its Davis looking for more pork for his area. If Davis could guaranty that some amount of money or services would cut the crime, most of us would give it to him. But he has collected money over the years. The state, the city and the federal government all have put money into this venture.
In 2008 the democrats were in charge of the city of Chicago through both the mayor and almost every alderman. They also controlled the state with a democrat governor and both state houses. And to top it off, they had the Presidency with a local boy and both houses of congress and a filibuster proof Senate. But did that help Chicago’s murder rate. Nope. Cops were added, social workers were added. Tax benefits for businesses were added. And still the murder rate is the highest among major cities.
Sometimes you just got to look at the people. Chicago is not a poor city. It has jobs. It has services. The crime is not about people stealing bread to feed their family. Its not about gun laws. Its virtually impossible to get a gun permit in Chicago. And guns have been totally outlawed for over 2 decades before the supreme court forced the city to allow gun licenses. And still they are the strictest gun laws allowed.
Its about random shootings that kill unintended targets on sunny Saturday afternoons. Killings skyrocket on nice summer weekends. Sometimes its babies and sometimes its teenage girls or basketball stars or straight A students. Its often that random. They don’t know their killers, and their killers never knew them.
Many times its a boyfriend who is mad at his girlfriend so he takes it out on her and everyone in her family including kids and the elderly. And almost every time its in a few black neighborhoods, the south and west sides. Not the poorest neighborhoods. Generally they are lower middle class. That’s the saddest part. You know where its going to happen. You know when its going to happen. You know the shooter will be black. And the victim will be black. And still it goes on, for decades now.
The sad part is that the real people really are trapped in there, the ones that aren’t part of gangs, the ones that are just trying to go down to the Jewel and work... Like a police state you never hear about them, unless they get shot in the crossfire. It’s the gangsterism, stupid.
Hey Congressmoron, ConservaTeen has a gun, yet he never used it to murder someone. He knows that he is responsible if someone takes it and accidentally shoot someone.
But the dumb black dems keep voting for their “massers” who give them food stamps an “bama phones” ... and keep them right on the plantation, slaves to the gov instead of individual working individuals. That’s what they want, they keep voting for it.
Loss of hope comes from a corrupt government promising everything from housing to food for a vote. After more than 50 years of lies they still don’t get it.
It must me annihilated with great force. Those people are woth saving. Those terrorist are worth killing.
No it doesn’t.
The culture of ghetto dwellers in the US is a culture of brazen criminality and violence. Period.
This is a creation of the destructionists.
This is fostered and protected by the degenerate policies of the destructionists.
Poverty is an excuse that the destructionists trot out to confuse and neutralize the weak and stupid so they (the destructionists) can continue their destructionism unfettered.
Using that logic Appalachia must suffer a major bloodbath on a regular basis. Oh, wait.
So, all these Shootings were actually Robberies that went bad, is that it?
How do the Perps afford Guns and Ammunition. Heck, I just dropped $100 on some Ammo and my Wife was not pleased. LOL
Motivated blacks tend to become preachers, lawyers, and politicians. Prestige-for-me-only type jobs, which are used to hassle and beg whites for more handouts. The guy in the OP is an example.and he’s part of the problem.
Rarely do we see black men start businesses that could hire dozens of other blacks.
Blacks complain about not having grocery or other retail stores in black neighborhoods. Why don’t they learn retail and do it themselves, and hire neighborhood people to work there?
They complain about their trashed out ghettoes. Why don’t they start construction and renovation businesses, carpet and tile, plumbing, electrical, welding, etc etc and hire young black men to work, cleaning up their own neighborhoods?
I’m sick and tired.
As someone else said, everything white people can do for blacks has already been done. It’s on them now, to do for themselves.
I don’t disagree with what you write. My point was that LBJ’s prescription for the cure of inner city poverty was the same as today’s. Throw money at it. Money that was first stolen from productive taxpayers.
Then the murder rate in places like Appalachia should be off the charts...yet it isn’t?
And “progressive liberalism” plays a big part in the poverty that plays the part in said gun violence......get rid of the root cause and the rest will wither.
Are the drug dealers and hit-for-hire guys counted as unemployed? < /sarc >
I’m in Chicago, and I agree with you. During the Depression, the poverty rate was higher than the currently poverty rate. The crime rates, for the majority of crimes, are higher now. Crime is caused by people who have low morals.
Not a peep out of him for the last 8 years. Suddenly, Danny finds his voice. It’s a miracle.
I like that: Congressmoron. Has a nice ring to it.
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