TODAY, THE POLICE tell us a tale in figures that many of us already instinctively knew, that gang violence is driving much of the horrendous murder rate across the Corporate Area.
Of course, not everyone who is murdered in a gang feud is a member of a gang; being a relative of a member or standing in the wrong space at the right time for the 'shottas' is enough to make an unlovely picture for the newspapers. In fact, living in particular communities is enough to make it open season on your 'headback'.
As disturbing as the continuous slaughter due to the gang warfare is, there is another very terrifying prospect, that of unity among the warring gangs and the forging of a purpose higher than revenge and the pursuit of wealth through extra-legal means.
If the members of the various gangs have enough firepower to do such damage to each other and the people around them, as well as keep the police busy, the very thought of them coming together and exerting their concentrated firepower and efforts in a common cause is frightening in the extreme.
The common saying "united we stand, divided we fall" does not quite apply here. Instead, it is a case of the more divided the gangs are, the stronger the country as a whole stands.
The prospect of the various gangs uniting and looking outwards for their prey is simply not an option that we as a country can afford.
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