Weekend Roundup...
Before we jump into Friday with both feet, I want to add something regarding yesterday's post about our veterans.
Veteran's Day is but ONE day out of our year that we honor those brave souls that serve, fight and sometimes die for OUR liberties and freedom.
But there ARE 364 OTHER days of the year as well.
To set aside a special day to recognize our veterans is one thing...
To recognize them all the REST of the year is another.
And those of you with family members who are serving and will become future veterans...you know exactly what I mean.
Blue Star moms and families can totally relate, as can the Gold Star moms.
It might sound corny to walk up to a vet in a public place and just thank them for their service...especially if it's in the middle of February, or even late July.
But YOU will feel better by doing so, AND (more importantly) you will make that vet feel better as well.
You are able to do such things because of what THEY did, and that makes this nation stronger through such unity and recognition.
Now...on to "The rest of the story" (as Paul Harvey would say)...
*** In yet another update to that triple shooting last Sunday morning, some things are never "quite" what they appear, especially in the "Badlands" of Fort Wayne. (that would be MY part of the ghettohood aka the SE side)
(( Published: November 11, 2010 3:00 a.m. Club victim held in recent Spatz drive-by - Holly Abrams The Journal Gazette
A man wounded in a weekend shooting that left two others dead is accused of firing a dozen shots at a southeast-side home last week.
Demetrius Masterson, 26, was wounded Sunday in a shooting at Rick O’Shay’s Irish Pub, 4610 Parnell Ave.
Two other men were also shot in that case, which police say is gang-related. Those men – Jeffery James Moore, 23, and Jaquan Dartavis Gentry, 22, both of Fort Wayne – died. No arrests have been made in the slayings.
Masterson, who suffered minor injuries when he was shot, was treated and released from a hospital, police said.
He is being held in the Allen County Lockup on a preliminary charge of criminal recklessness. He is being held without bail on a separate home detention violation.
According to Allen Superior Court records filed Monday, Masterson fired at least a dozen shots into a southeast-side home on Nov. 3 while a woman was inside.
Officers received a report of shots fired just after 5 p.m. that day. The victim told police she was outside her home at 4325 Spatz Ave. when three vehicles drove by – one of which had Masterson in the passenger side.
Masterson then pulled a gun, yelled a profanity at the woman and opened fire. The woman dropped to the ground and played dead, court records said.
Police later found 15 shell casings outside the home and 12 bullet holes in the home, court records said.
In 2005, Masterson was critically hurt in a shooting on Creighton Avenue that left a city woman dead.
Masterson spent time in prison for dealing cocaine and criminal recklessness. He was arrested in 2006 after detectives bought crack cocaine from him three times. ))
*ahem*
Seems Demetrius has a storied history with local law-enforcement, doesn't it?
A rap sheet as long as your arm is NO testament to one's life (or eventual death at a young age), is it?
And why does that NOT surprise any of us one damn bit?
Why is such vermin allowed to remain on our streets, wreaking havoc whenever the feeling strikes?
Oh, I'm sure to someone, he's "...Just a good boy...loves to laugh, a good 'father' (to his illegitimate offspring), and always smiles"...
Yeah, right.
Helluva fairy tale you people got going on there.
How's about we try THIS one:
Once upon a time, there was a young, punk-ass thug with a head full of bad wiring that pressed his luck one too many times and got what he deserved...
THE END.
Yeah, now THAT one works for me.
But again, this is the result of entitlements, and no one is going to change my mind in that regard.
When you see this sort of thing "up close and personal" (like on your damn street), you figure it all out soon enough.
This is the product of what happens when you GIVE a certain group of people something...anything, WITHOUT the expectation that they will perform ANY service or work to truly DESERVE what they're getting for free (at the taxpayers' expense).
We can have cell phone plans that allow a person to"pay as you go", but we can't seem to figure out HOW to have these good-for-nothings EARN whatever entitlement they are receiving.
For God's sake, don't even THINK of putting them to WORK (like picking up all the damn trash in our neighborhoods that most of them PLACED there to begin with), or rake up LEAVES, or even stand downtown with a sandwich board that says: "I'm a criminal as a result of your tax money that gave me free stuff".
People such as Demetrius are what we call SOCIOPATHS.
And many times, the criminal justice system fails to realize this, and turns them back onto our streets, without treating the PROBLEM. The judicial system merely (and barely) treats the "symptoms", while the disease continues to spread like wildfire.
What do you think is behind all that "white flight" we see across the nation?
Let me give you an example of HOW a neighborhood "takeover" is perpetrated...
You have this nice MALL in the area, and so many people enjoy shopping there.
But, as some determined elements of criminality move into the area, their first order of business is DOMINATION of the entire area.
And the best way to make that happen is to target NOT the other (predominantly white) people, but the VEHICLES in the parking lots of that mall.
When people begin to feel that their VEHICLE is no longer safe, they WILL stop coming to that mall, shopping elsewhere.
As a result, fewer patrons frequent that mall, and business revenue suffers markedly.
Now, whatever people still DID go to the mall see fewer cars in the lot, even during "peak" times, so they begin to shy away.
The criminal element that USED to target the parking lot moves INSIDE the mall, bothering whatever clientele and businesses remain.
Restrooms are trashed, food courts become areas of rivalry, complete with brawling, and so on.
That causes the businesses to start to leave, because you can't make money with NO patrons AND rising crime, can you?
And, as is always the case, the mall WILL close up, leaving a vast hole in the retail market for that part of town (and a real loss of taxes for the city).
With no shopping, people simply MOVE out of the area, and that opens the door for HUD to come on in, bringing all the human refuse it can handle, turning the surrounding neighborhoods of that mall into war zones.
Sound familiar?
It does to me.
I've witnessed it...kept a mental (and physical) journal of it, and even chronicled it via newspaper clippings and such.
THIS is exactly the kind of venue that thugs like Demetrius THRIVE within.
And as long as the community responsible for these thugs does nothing, THAT is exactly what will get done.
I'll be the first one to tell you that I feel like the SE quadrant of the FWPD gets damn close to being overwhelmed with the amount of crime that takes place.
And yet we hear that crime is going DOWN...
Really?
REALLY?
And which "crimes" are these that we have LESS of?
Check fraud? Jaywalking? Cranial-Rectal Inversion?
(well, that LAST one SHOULD be a crime)
Back on Wednesday (late afternoon) I noticed FIVE FWPD cruisers roll up to one of my "favorite" houses on our street (yeah, that's sarcasm, folks)!
Two were unmarked (I call these black cruisers the "Batmobiles"), and Three marked cars. I saw one black male sitting on the curb, but did NOT see one person cuffed & stuffed after 15 minutes.The police remained largely OUTSIDE the residence, and it looked like a partial "perimeter" was in place, but again...nothing seemed to come of it (damn).
The FWPD left, and the call was posted as a signal *48* (suspicious person). Sorry, but that whole HOUSE is loaded with suspicious people, and loudasses...and litterbugs, and dumbasses, and drug users. Code Enforcement could run a BOOK of citations on that place...if they had a mind to.
Yesterday evening, around 2145 hours, we AGAIN heard the sound of multiple gunshots in the area (loud enough to startle my cats), but the ONLY call into dispatch I heard was more than several blocks AWAY (that was some loud-ass weapon, them...maybe another SKS?).
This kind of behavior on the part of the poor, oppressed, and certainly misunderstood blacks in my ghettohood is purely the result of being "entitled" and not of being called to accountability for all the freebies they've been getting for decades.
We (as a society) can go ahead and all but GIVE away all these (once nice) houses to the undeserving in the SE side...BUT we can only provide ONE HOUSE for homeless vets in a given area, (and there is already a waiting list for the new one that opened the other day).
Seems to be a real disconnect here.
I'd much rather have a slew of vets in the area than the current crop of indigent and lazy flotsam.
A real community...ANY community is based on people who can WORK TOGETHER...not just LIVE together...or HANG together (like it is down here).
So, if you don't HAVE a community, then what have you got?
Well, perhaps a quasi-tribal conglomeration of people clawing and biting at ONE ANOTHER seeking to all become king (or queen) of the hill.
You have about as close a thing to anarchy within a neighborhood as you're going to find.
Such people are not even true to themselves, let alone anyone else.
Sadly, we've had generations of this societal "inbreeding" that has to be overcome.
Not gonna happen in a year, or two, or even ten.
But it SHOULD happen, for the sake of those involved, and for their future (which right now kinda sucks for them).
Then perhaps people like "Demetrius" won't:
a) Have such a dumbass name attached to them.
b) Become a lot more USEFUL members of society.
c) Become a role model for HIS people.
If anything else comes to light regarding these shootings, or the people involved, rest assured I will be forthcoming with any and all information...because you NEED to know the FACTS, and the TRUTH as to why this occurs.
Hopefully, such things are NOT occurring in YOUR neighborhood.
But they are happening in MANY others.
That's the problem.
And WE...every one of us, have the answer, if we listen to ourselves, educate ourselves, and remain vigilant of our surroundings.

WE are the solution.
WE are the ones affected and WE are the ones that can effect the needed change...by example.
Then perhaps we can concentrate on more important things in our lives...like our destination in this life, and what future we will bestow to our children...and their children. We can but hope, and then make it happen.
Have yourselves a fantastic weekend.
be well, make a difference to someone, and as always...
Stay safe out there, America.

**And remember - 43 shopping days until Christmas!