St. Valentine's Day Massacre: First Impression Analysis

Many people across the world suffer from alcoholism, a family disease. It is called a family disease because the addiction harms the alcoholic, and everyone who has to live with them. Children consistently suffer when they share a house with an alcoholic. Unfortunately, alcoholism is common and many children find themselves in this situation. The emotional and psychological scars that children can develop in alcoholic homes can be so deep that they can last well into adulthood. Youth who grew up in an alcoholic home can develop similar personality traits and characteristics. Approximately 26.8 million children are exposed to alcoholism in the family and 6.6 million children 18 and younger live in households with at least one alcoholic

likely to becomes unpredictable. For example, the drinker may become easily agitated and abusive. Another area of family functioning which is often affected by alcohol misuse relates to the kind of communications that takes place between family members.

Many people, including alcoholics, are not fully aware of the devastation caused by alcohol abuse. Not only does alcohol have an impact on physical health, it causes a host of problems from a mental and emotional standpoint. This addiction is not only harmful to the body, it tears families apart, leads to job loss, and often causes isolation for the person who drinks.

During the 1920’s there was a change occurring with the way people wanted to live their life, this was called the Temperance Movement. A more religious view for things came into play which caused a prohibition to stop the consumption of alcohol entirely from 1920 to 1933. In this span of 13 years, illegal crimes not limited to drinking alcohol were high but the gang violence was on a whole new level. Different gang groups were in competition to make a profit from the individuals who still wanted to drink. This caused copious amounts of tension like violent crimes against the turfs that felt threatened. .

On the day of February 14th, 1929 Four men walked into S.M.C. Cartage Company at around 10:30 am. After a bone-rattling set of gunfire was heard, they walked back out, two of them looking like police officers, leading the other two out by shotgun escort. Little did everyone around them suspect they all were apart of the murders that were just committed, the amount of blood loss and ammunition used leading to the papers dubbing it the “St. Valentine's Day Massacre” despite only seven victims. We all know it was bloody, but what exactly happened during the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and why?

Drinking alcohol is woven into the social fabric of our culture, and indeed many people enjoy the social and cultural connection of sharing a drink together. However, because drinking is so common in our society, realizing you or a loved one has a drinking problem can be a challenge.  The consequences of alcohol abuse are serious. Alcohol abuse causes extensive damage to your health, your loved ones, and society. It results in thousands of innocent deaths each year, and exacerbates situations involving violent crimes and domestic violence.

Within this imbalance of supply and demand, gangsters saw profit.” . Organized crime started to rise because gangsters wanted money and they noticed that people needed alcohol, finally they came to the idea of selling alcohol illegally. Sometimes there were even government officials that would help control gangsters control bootlegging. As organized crime grew, more and more cities were becoming dangerous. “Of all the nation’s big cities, the most hostile to Prohibition and most openly defiant of the law was Chicago” . Chicago was once a great city but it eventually turned into a place filled with gangsters and illegal alcohol. In Chicago there were some of the most powerful organized crime leaders that led major gangs and illegal alcohol trade during the years of prohibition.

Alcohol is the drug most commonly abused compared to other illegal drugs. Alcoholism in the Merriam Webster is defined as as a chronic, progressive, fatal disorder marked by excessive and usually compulsive drinking of alcohol leading to psychological and physical dependence or addiction. In families, “alcoholism can become a powerful organizer of family life, altering the details of daily routines as well as special occasions [however], not all families suffer the consequences of alcoholism in the same way” (Bennett, Wolin, Reiss and Teitelbaum). Although it may be the case in which each family does not go through the same issues, it still has an influence on their daily routine where it becomes difficult for them to successfully fulfill them.

At home, families are destroyed because of alcohol. Seventy six million American adults have been exposed to alcoholism in the family. Alcoholism is responsible for more family problems than any other single cause. According to Silverstein (1990), one of every four families has problems with alcohol. Many children grow up having alcohol problems from being exposed to it at such an early age. Spouses are forced to watch their loved one fade away.

such as a divorce or a strained relationship with children. In many cases, the alcoholic is also

The addiction of alcohol can lead to domestic abuse in a marriage. As empirical evidence demonstrates a strong association between alcoholism and domestic abuse (Murphy & O’Farrell). One large- scale survey of the U.S. population revealed that people with higher alcohol consumption were more likely to engage in physical aggression in their heterosexual marital and cohabiting relationships

The ban of alcohol allowed for gangsters and mobs to acquire a new field of work for the general public. Gangsters provided, sold and transported alcohol throughout the nation to individuals and speakeasies, providing them with major income and influence. They were able to navigate through authorities with their use of wealth to pay off police and political figures, intimidation factors to scare police and civilians such as solving issues with weapons, and intelligence to outsmart police and other competition that fought for the same territory to operate out of. Gangsters had become untouchable by police and authorities because they were able to solve any problem with money or weapons. Gangster leaders were brilliant at creating ideas at producing profit, and prohibition was cut out for them. The general public called for illicit alcohol that many people were not ready to sober up for potentially the rest of their life. The people bought and the gangsters provided, and suddenly everyone was a common

Alcohol abuse has its consequential turns. On Niaa.nih.gov, it states that binge drinking side effect includes:Reduced inhibitions, slurred speech, motor impairment, confusion, memory problems, concentration problems, coma, breathing problems, and even death. Sadly, alcohol abuse can also be a major factor to people who go through domestic violence in their relationships . Over 95% of the battering is done by men;which leaves the woman helpless, but the percentage of women are really low because the aggression are mainly known to come from the

Good job on your post! You brought up some interesting facts that might be happening in this case. You ask how does an alcohol dependency affect the relationship in a marriage. Anytime there is alcohol or substance abuse the family will have issues. When any addiction/abuse has involved the family, their finances are in jeopardy, the family dynamics is disturbed and sometimes even destroyed. Unfortunately, the whole family suffers and just not the perpetrator.

For centuries, alcohol has been used to glamorize events such as weddings, graduations, and promotions. The sad truth is that thirty percent of people in the United States previously or currently have an alcohol-use disorder. For an alcoholic, these events are just another reason to have a drink to escape whatever problem they are facing. Alcoholism is a complicated disease that is often misunderstood and criticized. Instead of offering help to an alcoholic, people often blame them for their ways without trying to understand how the alcoholic is being affected. Alcoholism affects the alcoholic mentally, physically, and emotionally.