The lawlessness of street gangs has become the burning issue of many poor districts of South Los Angeles. Who can protect citizens suffering from these street gangs? It seems that there is not any justice for them. The police should keep order and calm in these districts. Nevertheless, the police are aggressive towards such anxious districts and even innocent citizens of this district are afraid of the police too. The poor citizens of South Los Angeles have the same right to live in peace and calm as other Americans. They should be protected by the police as well as the rich people of prosperous districts. Who should solve this social problem? There are a lot of such cases all over the world when people who do not have enough money have a lack of civil services.
Beth Barrett presents the problem of street gangs in Southern California in her article Living in Fear: Gangs Keep Stranglehold on Southland Cities. The author describes the life of the poor districts of Los Angeles where banditry and willfulness reign. Most families live in the fear. Their life is compared to prison when they are afraid to go outside. Their children do not have the opportunity to play with their peers outside as far as they may be the victims of fights between the police and the local gangs. People are accustomed to the noise which does not stop at any time. Their life resembles the action film with gunshots and shouts. The police fight with these gangs prohibiting loitering, graffiti and drinking alcohol in public but they do not take into account the life of peaceful citizens who are not guilty (Barrett).
People use steel curtains on their doors and windows to protect their life from these gangs. These people cannot afford to move to peaceful districts as far as it is too expensive. That is why they have to bear the lawlessness of local gangs and they do not have anything to do. The police which seems to be the only protection do not care about the life of poor people. During the skirmish between the police and local gangs, innocent people suffer.
The author provides the example of Patricia Lopez who is a Mexican immigrant who has lived with her son in this dangerous district for two years. Of course, she wants a better life for her child but she does not have enough money for better conditions. She and her son have to endure the sirens of police and paramedics, the gunfire and people’s cries (Barrett). She is afraid when the sun is down and the evening begins. She is afraid that someone gets into her apartment with the gun in her hand. She sees when these gangs sell drugs openly on the street and she does not venture to say something to them. Everyone is afraid of the gangs. They cannot call the police as far as they get mad at them and hurt them too. These people do not have any protection from the government. Their rights are violated and this fact does not worry anyone. Who cares about the life of poor people? There is not only the social division on the rich and the poor but on those who are considered to be humans and have rights and those whose life does not worry anyone. People who have money can protect their life while the life of poor people is cheap in modern society. Patricia Lopez and her son do not have an opportunity to live an ordinary way of life. Her son brings his time primarily at home because his mother wants to protect him from danger. Another woman, Catalina Herrera who lives in this district with her husband and two little children compares their life with the prison. Their life is disturbed by current street sounds, shots and blaring music during the whole night (Barrett). Although the cops are everywhere in this district, all these people do not feel the protection in these governmental organizations.
People from these poor districts do not have any help from the government. They have to protect their lives themselves. As the result, the actions of local gangs are not prevented by the police and the peaceful citizens just shut their eyes on them trying not to attract their attention. The life of these people becomes the current fight for survival. The main aim of their life becomes to protect their family. They live as though in war times. There are gangbangers everywhere. Bob Smith, the inhabitant of this district says that he tries to be used to such a way of life. He does not think about these gangs. He does not look at them when he sees them on the street as far as they may think that you look for the troubles (Barrett). Such anarchy should be stopped by the government. The security of the citizens is the obligation of any government.
Works Cited
Barrett, Beth. “Living in Fear. Gangs Keep Stranglehold on Southland Cities”. The Los Angeles Daily News (2004).