Waters of Segregation

Some years ago, 2007, I wrote an essay called “The Sweet Waters of Discrimination in Milwaukee”, sent it to a local politicians and even got a response from a few. I have been thinking of doing an update of this essay since discrimination in Milwaukee has been significantly increased.
This can be seen in the recent upturn of violence in Milwaukee, the USA and around the world. Justice has become to mean punishment and revenge not dealing with the root causes of discrimination and violence. From the war in Syria, to the assassination by Killer Drones led by our President, stigmatization of persons with brain illnesses, to the rising homicide rates in cities like Milwaukee and Chicago politicians and many TV talking heads again are avoiding dealing with causes of culture of violence.

There was a moment after 9/11 when people, not justifying the tragedy, were talking about the cause of such hate of USA that people were willing to give their lives for revenge. But soon the talk turned to us getting revenge in wars with Afghanistan and Iraq, both countries are being destroyed by violence. Arrest, violence and new security precautions will do little to prevent the next mass or individual murder.

As I tried to show in the M.A.P.S. research, discrimination, criminalization and poverty go hand in hand. The Mayor and Governor, two political opponents, were on TV today talking about tearing down more abandoned houses in certain neighborhoods to make the neighborhood safe. The first DMZ community garden was started on a block with about eight vacant lots from destroyed houses. Tearing down more houses on the block will not make it safer.

When a Catholic University, like Marquette, can openly teach violence and reflexive killing on campus, when an Archdiocese can ignore the neighborhoods that are segregated and poor how can we talk about the real causes of violence, segregation and injustice? I do not know but will continue to follow my conscience.

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