Venezuelan slums rife with crimes

Just imagine your life in a Venezuelan slum where you couldn't even where a pair of NIKE shoes. These were not a pair of Jordan's, not a pair of Iverson's, and not even a pair of D.Wade's that were stolen, but a pair of three day old Charles Barkley's. That is sad when you have to steal somebody's Charles Barkley's. That's not even the worst part of the story. The worst part is that the boy who had the Barkley's on was shot in the shin. That is messed up. How dare those thieves shoot him in his shin...now he can't even walk in the Barkley's if he had them. I don't understand what this world has come to these days. Why is it necessary to steal somebody's shoes? I have family members who have lived in the "slums" aka "projects" of Durham and I heard stores about how some of their friends who were also drug dealers and Wal-Mart thieves would take peoples shoes just because that was the ultimate "diss" to somebody. Could you see yourself walking down the street and a bunch of guys/girls come up to you and demand you to take off your brand new or even old shoes? What would you do? You would probably say no at first! Then, they pull out a gun. What would you do then? You would give them up if you smart. This article is very interesting because it's something you would expect in the "slums" or the "ghetto." If you were to ask someone in the bad parts of the inner cities of the U.S. if they had seen someone get their shoes taken from them, they would probably tell you yes. The article states the reason for the increasing crime in Venezuela because they are an oil exporting country awash in money and they are not using the money smartly. Instead of providing the law enforcement with new materials and new personnel, they are using the money for something else. At this time, they are going through an election between two people. The challenger is challenging the Venezuelan president by making his theme for election to be against crime and for change and the health and safety of the people. If the people are smart, they should opt for a new president and a new way of living because something has to give if they want to live.Headline: Venezuelan slums rife with crimes; Corruption, killings fuel public angerAuthor: Jens Erik Gould, THE WASHINGTON TIMESCopyright 2006 News World Communications, Inc. The Washington Timeslexisnexis