The ridiculous violence in N.O.
I do think a lack of education has more to do with the loss of our kids to crime than poverty, and some of that lack of education can be linked to bad schools in poor areas.
I don't get this - maybe you can elaborate?
You think it has less to do with poverty, but then the example you cite are poor schools in poor areas.
in a larger sense, i guess I'm having trouble seeing where poverty ends and crime begins - to the extent anyone can say, with certainty, it's one or the other.
I think it's social critical mass of all sorts of influences. Certainly including poverty and crime.
I also agree that education is the key.
Which is a major reason why the attitudes toward education - whether by the drug dealers or our equivocating politicians - bother me so much. WIth a good education, these kids have a better chance.
All of the lamenting about parenting - or lack thereof - is also valid. But there's nothing we can do about that. We can't really control parenting. But we can control education.
That's why I think it's more important to focus on education and supporting related socioeducational policies as opposed to trying to legislate parenting.