Over this past weekend, sixty-three people were shot in the city of Chicago, with, as of Monday morning, nine fatalities.  Have you noticed the overwhelming news coverage of this travesty?  I've not seen it.  Sixty-three shootings, and outside Chicago, it seems nothing more than a footnote on news ("by the way, a lot of people were shot in Chicago this weekend...again").  How many cities actually have an online shooting tracker as does Chicago?

It appears that none of the shootings were committed by white separatists, racists, or members of the KKK, which at present seem to be the primary objects of overwhelming media interest.  (To be fair, I can't rule out the possibility that the mass shootings were precipitated by statues memorializing the U.S. Civil War.)

This is the same Chicago where Mayor Emanuel, after the election of President Trump, welcomed those in the country illegally by saying, "You are safe in Chicago, you are secure in Chicago, and you are supported in Chicago. ... Chicago will always be a sanctuary city."  How has this sanctuary city decision, one might ask, benefited those living in Chicago?  Does anyone in Chicago feel "safe, secure, and supported" other than criminal aliens seeking to avoid capture and deportation?  Who else today actually feels safe in Mayor Emanuel's Chicago?  Certainly, those trapped in inner-city neighborhoods where police fear to police and crime and gang violence is rampant don't feel safe.  They don't feel secure and supported.  Chicago is not a sanctuary for them; it is a nightmare. 

You might think the mainstream media would have at least as much to say about the weekend carnage in Chicago as they have to say about President Trump's assessment of blame for recent weekend violence in Charlottesville, Virginia – violence that pales in comparison to an average weekend in the Windy City.  However, in spite of the oft heard refrain "Black Lives Matter," such lives don't seem of much concern if the deaths happen to occur in Chicago.  Neither do they elicit much response if their ends are brought about at the hands of other blacks in drive-by shootings.  Indeed, black lives seem to matter to our politicians and their media acolytes only if deaths can be blamed on the police or other so-called racist bigots.

For those running for public office as Democrats, "Black Lives Matter" makes an effective campaign slogan to gin up the minority vote every two and four years.  To our progressive media, it's a persuasive mantra to discredit Republicans and white males who by virtue of skin color are labeled racist.  But for minority Americans living in the poorer neighborhoods of Chicago, black lives truly do matter.  It is their reality.  It is their tragedy.  It is they who live in fear.  It is their lives at risk daily.  It is their lives that should matter to all of us.   

Why don't black lives matter enough to our politicians to force the removal of criminals and gangs who, in our country illegally, prey on the helpless?  Why don't black lives matter enough to enforce our laws and get the violent criminals out of the neighborhoods and off the streets?  If black lives really matter, why are state, local, and federal governments so reluctant to take the steps necessary to put an end to this needless and wanton loss of life?  One has to ask just how much liberal politicians and the progressive media really care about black lives.

Do black lives really matter to those in authority having the duty to protect?  If so, where is the evidence to demonstrate such concern?  It is certainly not to be found in the city of Chicago!