There was a time, back when “daddy was a cop, on the east side of Chicago, back in the USA, back in the bad old days” it was “when a man named Al Capone, tried to make that town his own” and “brother what a night it really was, brother what a fight it really was.”
That was when “the sounds of the battle rang” until “the last of the hoodlum gang had surrendered up or died.”
OK, it’s just the Paper Lace song, “The Night Chicago Died” from back in the ‘70s, but that one-hit wonder was about people standing up to organized crime and being heroes for it.
It was a terrifically popular song in its day because it was about a theme that was, and still is, popular in America.
We will stand up to crime.
Only now we can witness that crime on the Internet and that has some people scratching their heads and wondering. But they really don’t have to wonder too much, because just as was the case in the old song, this is really about turf. Who is going to ultimately be in charge.
The Associated Press reported this week: “It seems to defy the logic of committing crimes: Ruffians intentionally recording themselves on video beating and robbing someone, then posting it on YouTube so anyone anywhere can see it, including police.
“The latest example of this disturbing but increasingly common phenomenon comes from Chicago, where police Wednesday arrested seven teens who apparently did just that. Their video had gone viral.
“The practice, some experts say, is a modern twist on the age-old human penchant for boasting about one’s exploits to impress the community at large and to warn perceived rivals that their group is more powerful than others.”
There’s no need to over think this thing.
What it is really about is the lack of concern these criminals have for our system.
This is a declaration of war against decent American society and the criminals who are posting these video confessions on the Net know they will be caught. They don’t care.
They don’t want to be part of our system, our culture, and by defying us publicly, they are taking their stand against all we hold true.
They defy our system because they know it’s a good investment in the future. So what if they get a slap on the wrist and a short jail term? When they get back on the street they have earned their place in the criminal culture they honor.
This is about a counter-cultural movement. We won’t stop these criminals by holding them to our standards, because they don’t recognize our standards.
We will have to defeat them. Period. Permanently.
— Chuck Smith