A real life horror story. I almost never say this but this really is one of those articles that everyone should read. Really incredible journalism and writing. The levels of dysfunction and despair inflicted on those who lived in the Chicago Housing Authority projects is truly unimaginable.

“You get desensitized by what goes on here every day,” the Janitor says. “It’s animalism over here—that’s the prevailing life condition of the people. Animalism—where you worry about those who are stronger and you care nothing about those who are weaker.”

“When I first came here, I used to feel so sorry for the children that I almost would cry,” the Janitor says, “just to know the terror they see. But they’re so animalistic in their own right, in the games they play—I see little kids throwing bricks and bottles at each other, and this is their game. Now I get mad—’Goddamn these little bastards.'”