Some famous person reckoned reality is a left-hook. If that is true, the folks of Chicago got decked last weekend. But then, they are used to getting pummeled.

Last weekend 70 of them were shot. Eleven died. In a city with strict gun controls. As of this writing, police arrested no one. No one. Ho-hum. Business as usual.

In 2017 nearly 700 folks were murdered in Chicago. How many of the murderers were arrested? Only 17.5 percent were arrested or identified. Many of those identified vanished, of course. So the number of murderers captured is a small number. Small compared to the number who got away. What a painful reality for Chicago’s residents.

I once debated against a team of prisoners at Rikers Island. The question debated was “It is better to rob a bank than go to work at McDonalds.” The prisoners were required to argue that flippin’ burgers was the better choice. Our team – from outside – had to argue that bank robbery was.

With tongue in cheek I laid out the stats. The chances you would get arrested for your heist? Small. The chances that you would actually go to trial? Tiny. The chances you would be convicted and jailed? Extra tiny.

“Go for it!” I urged the cons. “The odds are in your favor. And you will be following a great American tradition. After all, John Hancock was a smuggler!” The prisoners gave me a standing ovation.

We don’t like facing realities. Even exaggerated ones are uncomfy. For instance, you are not going to star in a Broadway musical. Your partner will never play in the NBA.

Chicago is not an exaggeration. Nor are other high-crime cities. The reality is that crime does pay. You can gun down an enemy and probably get away with it. Witnesses will keep mum. Good chance your victim will refuse to identify you. Who can blame him? The odds are heavily in your favor that you will get away with murder.

In many cities you can break into an apartment and never fear being tracked down. You can mug people (Knifing is all the rage in London these days.) and figure you will be truly unlucky to be caught. In many cities the police won’t investigate break-ins. Too many. Too much paperwork. Too many dead-ends.

In the UK you can rape and mutilate women to your heart’s content. If you do your raping in one of the many “no-go” Pakistani zones, that is. You can torch cars in many a Paris suburb without fear of arrest. Rioting has become a tradition there.

The reality is that authorities don’t know how to stop or prevent the crime. Or if they do, they don’t have the resources. Or politicians tie their hands. Or the victims and witnesses will never squeal. Or…whatever. A left-hook is a left-hook.

We live with many milder realities. For instance, we New York State residents live with corruption. We know it is the mothers’ milk of state government. We know it is but a breath away from the governor. Yes, that governor. The one who shut down the commission that was investigating corruption of his pals.

We know the Big Apple’s mayor faces more accusations of pay-to-play than Central Park has trees. We know that the well-trod tradition in our legislature is to go to jail. The same with the state comptroller’s position. We know if the state launches any program with billions in it, millions will be earmarked for bribes and kickbacks. Hey, this is reality.

I suppose it is better to live with such realities than to die within the realities of Chicago.

We have jungles of savagery within our civilized society. If, indeed, we count ourselves as civilized we need to face this reality. We need to do more than we do to severely reduce this bloodshed. Many thousands of inner-city Americans will be shot over the next month. This is not right. It is worthy of shame.

Yes, this column is bleak today. The larger picture is indeed bright in countless ways. We are blessed in these times with riches galore. We should appreciate and enjoy them. But while we are whirling around the dance floor we need to do something about that drunk in the corner. He has a wicked left-hook.

From Tom…as in Morgan.

Find Tom on Facebook. You can write to Tom at tomasinmorgan@yahoo.com.