Surviving the "CZ"...

The most recent shootings in our city, which left one woman dead and a man downgraded to critical, should be making every one of us stop and think WTF is happening that people will kill each other over some dried and rolled plant, or household chemical concoction.
One thing I found that is STILL cheap in this city.....LIFE.
Now I could go on about how the SOUTH side of the city always gets the "bum rap" and has been a media target for decades...but I won't. The fact of the matter is that it IS all too true. It's not just one person's perception. It's life...if we can call it that, and it's still cheap enough to waste. Are there good aspects to this part of town? Yes, but they are far overshadowed by the bad aspects. It's just being outnumbered to make any good of it.
I could also go on about how the city has meticulously herded all the wrong people into this part of town, as a way of "keeping all the eggs in one basket". And let's face it; It's much easier to track criminal behavior when you can have the majority of criminals in ONE area of the city, isn't it? Woe to those decent folks still trying to survive among this growing number of thugs.

I could expound about how the city ignored any redevelopment down here for the last 20 or so years, and only NOW (as an afterthought) is doing anything to bring back something remotely resembling retail or any other business. Sure the Menards and Wal-Mart are welcome additions here, as is the new Regional Police/Fire Academy at Southtown Centre, but this is something that "should" have occurred ages ago, long before things got as far out of hand as they have. It's akin to finally fixing that damn gate after all the good horses have left the corral.

I could go on about those things...but I won't.

This latest homicide has to make you wonder about these things, unless you feel so secure in your own little "ivory-palaced" suburb. Just remember that every one of YOU are only a heartbeat away from becoming so much collateral damage IF people such as the ones involved in these shootings decide to empty a hi-cap mag in your general direction, because if there's one thing I've learned down here, it's that people such as this DO NOT give a rat's ass WHO gets in the way when they unload. And bullets ARE just as stupid when it come to seeking a "destination"...they don't have the luxury of deciding to change direction because someone not being targeted is in their way. It makes no difference to them if you're at home, in your car, or walking from A to B. Bullets are items born entirely to the realm of PHYSICS.
How many houses have we seen shot at or hit for no good reason (other than the shooter needed glasses or lessons in aiming)?
How many innocent people are gunned down due to a bad drug deal (and a lot of poor shooting)? How many more will be made to suffer at the hands of society's dregs?
Sadly, this is a colorblind conundrum, as people of ALL races are involved with illegal activities such as the ones that claimed the life of a 37 year old woman the other night. And when you (the city) goes to great lengths to place mostly those of a SPECIFIC race in a SPECIFIC area of the city, it can make the job of policing a bit easier, but it also exacerbates the problem, because of certain cultural factors that make enforcement more difficult. People with a predisposed (through indoctrination) hatred or distrust of ANY law-enforcement will be less prone to "snitch", to volunteer time to watchdog the area, and even make a simple call when they see something bad going down...until it hits a little too close to home.
By then, it becomes REACTIVE instead of PROACTIVE, and that creates even more problems.
Gun laws will never work with these people. For that matter, law ITSELF will never work for these people (just like THEY never work at all).
As long as they keep killing EACH OTHER, I don't have much of a problem with that. I'd personally love to see them off one another...it makes the job of the police easier (but we might need more help for the coroner).
Now there's a use for that new "Costaplenty Square" ballpark during off-season...send in the perps, give them all the drugs and guns they can carry, and then let them shoot the hell out of each other while we watch behind some ballistic glass, enjoying our hot dogs, drinks and Junior Mints!
Don't think it's not coming to something like that...it's already playing out that way on our streets.

Maybe it's time to make their behavior pay off for the REST of us.