Bitcoin Trading Platform FTX Invests $8 Million In ‘Peace & Prosperity’ Plan Aimed at Halting Surge in Gun Violence in Miami-Dade
By Ty Ross
1980’s Miami, an intersection of drugs, crime and violence. Lots and lots of violence. Mostly related to the booming drug business of the likes of Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar and America’s own cocaine king pin ‘Boston’ George Jung. Located at Florida’s tip with easy access to Latin & South America, Miami was as dangerous in the ‘80s as it was exciting.
But they cleaned things up. The bubble burst in the drug trade with the arrests of many of the top drug smugglers, and soon you could walk down the street without fear of being gunned down. Caught in the middle of a feud and shootout between rival drug cartels. By the ‘90s South Beach would become a mecca for the nouveau riche. Models, entertainers, designers like Gianni Versace were synonymous with Miami night life, glitz and glamour.
Fast Forward to 2021. Miami has once again found itself at the center of gun violence. But not like before, when the targets were mostly in the drug game. Rivals or someone owing money. Yes, occasionally innocent people did get caught tragically in the middle, for the most part if you weren’t involved in the business, you needn’t worry. No today, the violence is wanton and random. Can happen anywhere to anyone. At a mall, at a home, in a drive-by.
No one knows exactly why gun violence in Miami-Dade has spiked the way it has. The city has seen as many as 23 people shot in the span of a week. Over Memorial Day weekend, one shooting alone saw 20 people wounded and 3 dead after a mass shooting at a banquet hall. A week later saw at least 3 dead, including a state corrections officer, an 18yr old boy and 3 yr old child. And many more injured, when gunmen opened fire on those leaving a graduation party at a Hookah Lounge.
Law Enforcement officials in the city have launched ‘Operation Summer Heat’ a 3-month long program that seeks to crackdown on illegally run businesses and increase police presence. In the first week alone OSH resulted in almost 180 arrests and confiscation of over four dozen firearms. But while the city of Miami responds with more police, a private company is responding with what’s really needed. Community programs to get to the root of the problem.
FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange platform has stepped up to the plate and will work with the city to focus on reducing gun violence. The $8M program ‘Peace & Prosperity’, will focus on those already in the juvenile justice system, as well as troubled teens. Providing counseling, jobs and access to summer camps. Additional monies will be provided for police, and the installation of CCTV cameras to capture video in areas lacking a police presence.
But in our capitalistic and transactional society, nothing is as altruistic as it seems. Everything is a barter. An exchange. Everything comes with a price. Lucky for the city and citizens of Miami, that price doesn’t include their souls. No, just naming rights. The American Airlines Arena, home to the Championship winning Miami Heat, will now be called FTX Arena.
The irony in all of this is that a state that seeks to lessen gun restrictions and enable anyone and everyone to own and carry a firearm, then confiscates those firearms and arrests the people who use them. Leaving a private company to step and do the job the city and the state has neglected to do. Invest in the very community they have failed protect. With the gun violence in this country becoming increasingly frequent, and alarmingly random, it is time for us as a people to come together and demand reform. Shout it from the rooftops until we are heard. It has become painfully obvious that more guns is not the answer. This isn’t about the constitution but about community. Mine. Yours. Ours.
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