Scott Bremner

The Benedictine Sisters are wearing out their sneakers these days running from one eastside neighborhood to the other to hold prayer vigils to take back sites after acts of violence.

Lately it seems like the acts are happening faster than the vigils can keep up.

That’s not the sisters’ fault.

It’s no coincidence that an economy deep in the dumpster is adding to the general feeling of hopelessness in many low income neighborhoods, and that frustration is manifesting itself in physical confrontation.

And it seems as though less and less provocation is needed to provoke an increasingly violent response.

Exhibit A is the murder of 86-year old Anne Ropelewski, who was strangled and brutally beaten in her home even after giving her young assailant what money she had. Hardened veteran investigators would later call it one of the most gruesome crime scenes they had ever witnessed.

Exhibit B is the shooting death of 15-year old Daquan Crosby during an alleged robbery. Crosby was allegedly with a 17-year old shooter committing the robbery. The coroner would later report that Crosby was shot both by his accomplice and by the would-be victim.

Exhibit C came just this week, when a player wannabe held up someone on the street with a BB gun, later shooting the victim in the face while making the getaway.

Oh yea, the gunman is 8 years old.

City leaders say they are doing what they can with limited public dollars and an understaffed police force.

During a news conference Mayor Joe Sinnott called for more participation from the community, noting that they are the real eyes and ears on the street that can help the police more directly monitor problem neighborhoods.

Funny thing is, when you go into the neighborhoods and talk to the clearly exasperated and frustrated neighbors, they ask what the city is doing to address the problem.

The truth is, this is a deeply rooted problem that no single basketball program or neighborhood watch is going to address.

It’s a problem that goes to the core of the American family, to the heart of our growing economic morass, to the soul of any community who knows that our children are not only our future, but the only real measure of how ultimately our success will be judged.

We need to stop pointing fingers at each other and instead look to see what each of us can do as individuals to contribute; public and private, inner city and suburb, black and white, rich or poor.

The big argument always breaks down along political party lines:

Does it take a village to raise a child or just committed parents?

The truth, across all of society, is that it takes both and more.

Injecting hope into the lives of the hopeless takes patience and commitment.

It takes some insight into ourselves too.