unsafe passage

i'm rereading octavia butler's parable of the sower this week, and i've been telling my friends that it's hard to get through because the 2025 butler presents seems less and less farfetched every time i read about it.
there's an article in the times today that makes it that much more real. there are a number of high school children in chicago who are afraid to walk to school alone. this is probably not new news to people that know chicago, kind of like the random section in today's times article on KGIA acts like children bringing weapons to school or using racial slurs in the presence of teachers is a new thing. most of the sensation is a result of ignorance. but. children are afraid to walk to school for fear of being shot in the midst of a gang war. read parable of the sower and tell me what's different. tell me the world butler creates isn't possible, or maybe even likely.
these are troubled times.