I have to admit that I have had second thoughts this past year about going to Chicago for a weekend. My husband and I used to do that a lot -- it's not that far a drive and it's a great town.
What has given me second thoughts? All the press on the shootings/murders there, that's what. I keep thinking that it's not safe anymore and Steve and I can figure out somewhere else to go for a getaway.
Then I saw this story today on National Public Radio's website. It's an interview with two young students who wrote an op-ed this week for the Chicago Tribune called "You Don't Know Us." After reading the article, it made me think twice about what I am reading in newspapers -- even ones I used to write for, and the Trib was one of them.
But I can't lay this one on them -- I've been reading about the Chicago shootings on NBC's website and because of it thinking I shouldn't consider Chicago as a weekend destination. The bottom line is I gave Chicago the short shrift because of it, and that's wrong.
What is even more wrong is the media painting the Windy City as a war zone. I really don't want to treat mainstream media like grocery store tabloids, but I'm thinking it may not be that far off the mark anymore...and that's a shame.
