Monday's Musings...

This is certainly a fine start to the week...if you like school delays and closings, crappy-ass weather and less-than-nominal driving conditions.
Thing is, all this will be mostly GONE before lunchtime, as temps will rise above freezing into the low 40s, and whatever has coated the roadways will disperse.
The rest of the day will be somewhat calmer, with no precip to speak off.
Still, we press on with another week filled with all pungent social commentary you've come to expect from yours truly.
And do I have plenty today...
But we'll start on a calmer note...and THEN build up steam, fair enough?
*** Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, and I'm about as far from Irish as you could get with light skin and round eyes.

Being of English-Scottish and Pennsylvanian Dutch decent does have it's letdowns.
Nevertheless, I made some corned beef and cabbage and listened to Irish music on those cable channels that play nothing BUT music (way up in the 1800s on the cable box). And I made up some "Irish Potatoes", a candy confection from my Philly days that's comprised of cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, flaked coconut and rolled in cinnamon.
And YES, they ARE rich and tasty!
You ain't eatin' many o' these at one sitting!
Otherwise, it was a rather quiet day in the ghettohood...no shootings to speak of (even thugs take days off doing nothing but causing mayhem).

Wifey and I spent most of Saturday installing shelf racks in the basement (to get stuff off the floor) and reboxing all the dishware we have, after drying those out and wiping them down.

And I built a skid for other items under the stairs.
We also stored items in tubs.
(at least THEY will FLOAT, and let's hope it never gets THAT bad...lol)
A busy mind (and body) can never become the devil's playground...hey, maybe all the assholes in our part of town could LEARN something THERE, hmm?
And now..."the rest of the story"...
*** Wifey and I have lived here since 1998, having moved from Willow Creek (read Crack) Crossing Apts after we were broken into and had items stolen while we were both at work.

And this house is something that I feel we've managed to make into more of a HOME.
Since that time, we have watched as the neighborhood DEVOLVED into the societal quagmire we have today.
All but one neighbor (the next street over) have either moved or passed away, leaving empty houses in their wake; houses which the rental kings and queens of ghetto living have snatched up with such abandon, and then placing totally UNDESERVING human refuse into them, just so they could grab that government-funded check every month (thanks, Section 8).

What happens is that whatever quality-of-life you USED to enjoy, goes away, as these creature bring all their drama with them into YOUR once-nice neighborhood.

You have more cars playing loud music to all hours, more gunfire, more drunkenness walking the streets (and driving around), more litter, more domestics, more break-ins, and a sense that what was once YOURS (as a homeowner) suddenly now seems to "belong" to those that moved in, because they live by the creed:

"What's yours is MINE, and what's MINE is MY OWN".
Well, when you don't try to EARN anything in life, whatever I have certainly will NEVER become "yours".

Very few (if any) hold REAL jobs, and if they do, it becomes obvious that it's not enough to hold down a household.
(without other working taxpayers funding it)
They have kids like it was going out of style, have everyone ELSE pay for them, and bring them up with the SAME skewed mindset when it comes to being "entitled".
The rules they have ARE as simple as they are.
1) Get what you can from anyone.
2) Do as little as possible to get it.
3) Disrespect those that don't think as you do.
4) Distrust and despise anyone in authority (like the police).
5) If it feels good...do it...a LOT.
There are a few more, but THESE FIVE are the basic tenets of the local aborigines.

So, you can plainly see that I have so few things in common with such vermin...we all crap, piss and bleed the same colors...and that's IT.

Otherwise, we're as different as day is from night (to which I prefer to keep it that way).

Does that make Wifey and I better people?
Damn STRAIGHT it does...if for no other reason than the fact that WE know how to act HUMAN and are caring people, while they...are not.
We will not be saddled with false guilt along the way, either.
 We didn't bring this neighborhood down into a ghettohhood...
THEY DID.
*** Now, in lieu of that explanation of the current situation down here, it's little surprise we have the crime that we do...and you readers already know that, so I won't belabor that.

What I will speak to is an article that is "in response" to the most recent spate of homicides (and shootings) on the SOUTHEAST SIDE of this city.
Now, you know I've said that SOMETHING needs to be down to reverse the trends down here, but what community "leaders" are proposing is...well, you can decide for yourselves.
Here's the story link from WANE:
(try not to laugh yourself into a stupor)
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/three-shootings-over-three-days
The gist of the story centers on a GUN AMNESTY DAY (to be held on 20 April)...
((...rolls eyes...))

You have GOT to be f$cking kidding me, right?
THAT is the BEST (and apparently ONLY) idea you morons can come UP with?

These NEVER work, and only take junk firearms off the streets...as in NON-functioning. Some folks even have handed in toy guns (for monetary compensation) in other cities.
Anyone that hands over a gun of VALUE w/o blinking an eye has access to even MORE guns...that's a fact.
And let's say, for the sake of argument, that some working guns ARE taken off the street...the thugs will ONLY STEAL MORE, and most likely from the LAW-ABIDING among us, if not from a gun store outright, like what went down in New Haven a while back.
Criminals will NEVER just hand over their guns...are you leaders on crack or something?
And besides, aren't we barking up the WRONG TREE hear anyway?

Isn't it NOT about the GUNS, but rather about the PEOPLE wielding them?
(like I ALWAYS say)
Isn't it MORE correct to say we really DON'T have a GUN problem on the SE side of Fort Wayne, but rather a PEOPLE PROBLEM, as in those  CRIMINALLY-INTENT people? Shouldn't that be the REAL focus of ANY reactive stance?
Let's face it, I've also stated the FWPD needs to be MORE PROACTIVE in crime prevention, and apparently, the "chief" thinks he's doing everything right...WRONG.

The police already face issues where the ghetto populace doesn't trust them and in fact detests them (until some drama queen NEEDS them).

So much for getting the respect that officers should have.

That alone affects the ability to properly prevent crime and police an assigned area.

You can't have officers LIVING in the areas they patrol...like they USED to do, because it's NOT SAFE.

Well, if it's NOT safe for officers to live there, then what makes it ANY safer for anyone ELSE to do likewise?

Short answer - nothing makes it safer.

And that should be sending up a bevy of RED FLAGS all over the place.
What comes of such things is that sub-culture mentality I speak about - people handling their problems their "own" way, with their OWN set of rules.
So much for following the city laws and ordinances then, right?

Welcome to OUR local world around us, folks.

Pass that BLUNT, dawg!

That's what I see and hear EVERY...SINGLE...DAY down here.

Nothing gets done, nothing changes for the better, and the continuance of sub-human behavior is perpetuated.
An amnesty program will NOT deter criminals, and might even empower them, especially against those that DO provide information to police (the grapevine grows ever longer in the ghettohood).

But this is what you get whenever you have IGNORED all the small things over time...they EVOLVE into larger things like HOMICIDE.

People are nervous, upset, and distraught...helluva way to LIVE, isn't it?

No, but it IS a damn decent way to SURVIVE.
And that's what most folks do down here...they SURVIVE.
Living has become a lost art to them (and in some respect, to me).
I know the score down here, and this game is highly rigged AGAINST the law-abiding, when it comes to criminal incursion.

The police (as chief York said) can prevent crime, or investigate it.
(hmm...why not do BOTH???)
Well, Rus...the prevention aspect sucks,and it helps little to show up AFTER the crimes are committed (except to investigate), so you're averaging 50%...not a passing grade in ANY school.
*** Lastly today, if I hear some politician say that "quality-of-life" thing ONE more time when referring to some idyllic repose in the city, I WILL go ballistic!
We haven't had ANY of that for a DECADE...and yet we're supposed to believe we DO?

I'm sorry, but I don't buy BRIDGES...sight unseen, and never in NYC.

What I DO, is attempt to keep the civility and morality I was brought up with...inside me, lest I succumb to the lifestyles of those around us.

And, if there's one thing I've learned, it's easier for a civilized person to act the animal, than for a wild person to act in a civil manner.

I know, for I see animals all around us daily...almost as good as the zoo, but not as much "variety" (I like lemurs and otters).
These creatures down here ARE predictable, and can be dealt with, IF hard choices are to be made to change the state of this area.
I can be done...it HAS to be done, before it spreads further (as it has begun in other parts of town).
Take away the (bad) PEOPLE...not the guns.
If no criminal is around to pull a trigger, THAT will be a solution we can ALL live with.

Have yourselves a good week.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...

Stay SAFE out there, America.