Monday Musings...
Weather-wise, you could not ask for a better start to our week here in the Heartland.
Temps are starting out in the lower 50s, with an expected high today in the mid-70s.
Feels more like early AUTUMN than Summer, doesn't it?
But don't get TOO comfortable, for we've some things happening over the weekend that proves that Fort Wayne might not be AS safe as many people would have you believe.
So strap yourselves in tight, it's not going to be the smoothest of rides today, but I promise we'll make it through okay.
*** First up, a shooting that left one woman in serious condition.
This happened around 0300 hrs Sunday morning in the parking lot of the Belvedere Lounge, located at 6179 W. Jefferson Blvd.

People were leaving the bar after it closed and an off-duty police officer working at the bar heard gunshots in the parking lot.
And that's about ALL anyone seems to know at this point.
Here's the story link with pretty much the same information:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/police-respond-to-shooting-on-w-jefferson-blvd
It would appear that no one has been arrested, no suspects to question, obviously a lack of witnesses who saw anything, and no apparent motive.
But, I'm sure the police will want OUR help.
Perhaps the BEST help would be to CLOSE these places a bit sooner,. or maybe not have them open into SUNDAY at all?
God, I miss those wonderful BLUE LAWS...!
Moving on...
*** Of course we couldn't have one shooting without ANOTHER, hmm?
It just wouldn't be Detro...I mean Chica...I mean FORT WAYNE, right?
The...(...altogether, gang...)...SOUTHEAST side is not to be outdone here, because OUR morons are the best in town.
I know, because I see and hear them every...single...day.

A man was shot at Lafayette St. near McKinnie around 0015 hrs this morning.
Didn't Eric Clapton once sing "After Midnight, they're gonna let it all hang out"?
Sure seems that way.
Here's the story link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/man-in-critical-condition-after-shooting
Fortunately, am FWPD cruiser was nearby when the shooting occurred and immediately responded.
(that never stops these thugs from offing people, though - no respect for authority)
The intersection is the site of a gas station that was built there only a few years ago (that we didn't need).
The officer didn't say HOW many shots he heard.
The vic was taken to hospital in serious, but later downgraded to critical condition.
People in the area of the shooting directed police eastbound of the crime scene in search of possible suspects.
The officer found no one connected with the shooting, but a responding K-9 unit located a gun and hat along McKinnie Ave.
Police are not saying if that gun or hat is connected with this shooting.
Investigators have not released the victim's name and are trying to determine the line-of-travel of the victim, who was found about 50 yards from a nearby bar (which is directly across from the gas station on the NE corner of McKinnie).
((Editor's Update - 1130 hrs. - WOWO reports that the male victim has been ID'ed as 50 yr. old Micheal Beasley.))
No suspects, no arrests, no motives, no hits, runs or errors on this one so far.
And of course, police would like OUR help.
*** Next up...let's talk for a minute as to WHY things like this happen, and with such apparent frequency.

There are SO many people out there who readily point to POVERTY as the driving issue, as if being POOR makes people want to go out and shoot other people. First of all, if you're THAT "poor", you sure as hall can't afford to get a gun, let alone the ammo to feed it, and whenever I go into a gun store, I'm just not seeing scores of poor folk lining up to purchase firearms and such.
There are too many programs a person can avail themselves of to keep from becoming THAT poor, so the gun issue under THESE conditions is totally non sequitor. It makes as much sense as screen doors on a submarine, so the poverty issue is DOA.
Next, if it's NOT a poverty issue, could it be a CULTURAL issue?
Yes, I do believe it IS...and HAS been for far too long.
And it's spreading from the black community into the Hispanic community and now the white community.
How else can you account for the gross imbalance of black crime against other races?
Granted the largest number of crime is black-on-black, but the fact that as a white person, you run a 45% chance of being the victim of a BLACK person, as opposed to only a 3% chance of being a black victim of white crime.
Here's a link to some stats (and these are from 2005 - it's increased since then):
http://www.colorofcrime.com/colorofcrime2005.html
Even though blacks comprise about 30% of the population in America, a portion of them commit 85% of the crime, based on per capita (100,000) statistics.
Naturally, this makes it damn difficult for DECENT black folks to avoid this crime, as THEY are targeted slightly less than whites (43% of victims of black crime are black).
Is there some genetic aspect that causes such crime rates?
I would tend to say no, otherwise ALL blacks would be violent criminals, and we KNOW that is NOT the case...not when it's 25% of the black population causing 85% of the crimes.
So, it HAS to be a CULTURAL "thang"...no other explanation.
We can also rule out the lack of job opportunities...many of these minorities simply DO NOT WANT TO WORK...at a real job, that is.
And we all know that you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink, right?
When you don't want to work, AND you still want all the "nice stuff" that life can provide WHEN you work, the only alternative to make that happen...is...(you guessed it)...CRIME.
Take the nice stuff from OTHER PEOPLE, and if they don't GIVE it to you...take their LIFE.
So, it's little wonder that we see incarceration rates at near SEVEN TIMES HIGHER for blacks than whites. Hispanics are only THREE times higher, but they have the most members of GANGS in America (19 times more likely than whites, while blacks are only 15 times more likely with Asians 9 times more likely).
The GANG mentality - the new "culture" of family in America is definitely part of the problem.
Gangs offer that sense of belonging...until the chips are down, then these punks find out how "tight" the family really is (when they leave someone to bleed out on some filthy street after a brawl)
America used to be more deeply rooted in FAMILY...that was a greatest part of our "culture", and sadly, it's not the prominent aspect to our lives as it once was.
Black families that are more traditional in nature do NOT have the same rates of crime, incarceration, illegitimacy, and poverty that the lower end of the societal ladder seem to follow.

With the disintegration of a 2-parent structure, the challenges for child-rearing become that much more difficult, yet that's not to say that every single parent household will produce the next group of thugs or criminals. It just means that circumstances are more favorable to have that happen, thanks to cultural changes in this country from music to video games, to the lure of "quick money" from dubious sources.
Government control of our lives is NOT the answer, although the premise looks enticing on the surface.
The government is not (nor should ever be) in the business of running ANYONE'S life. It SHOULD be busy running the COUNTRY, protecting it's PEOPLE from foreign OR domestic tyranny and injustice.
Restoring the value system that makes regular folks better HAS to be the way to go.
Learning, or rather RElearning the basics like morality, civility...instilling a sense of ETHICS and integrity to everyone results in MUCH better outcomes for all individuals. We should never have to settle for anything less in ourselves or others.
People have to stop embracing the type of culture that has been so damn destructive to themselves and to everyone else, and learn what it means to be an American once again, and it doesn't mean being a common street thug, or a nuisance to society in general.
It means wanting to learn...to achieve...to become better so that such things can be passed along to others.
It's being a good example, and that, even if you do screw up (as we all will do from time to time), you come away from that a more learned person, wanting to do better in the future, rather than wallowing in self-pity or resulting to crime to make yourself "a bigger person".
People are measured by what they DO in life...good or bad.
People are also measured by what they DO NOT DO in life.
Better to attempt something, than do nothing and/or just give up and take whatever "easy" way out you can find.
Change the CULTURE, and you change the people...it's that simple.
And the way you change it is one person...at a time.
Have yourselves a good week.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.