Memorial Day Excitement at the Drug Wars
I was supposed to spend a, hopefully, memorable Memorial Day this year. My son and I were to take a road trip by delivering Ray Peterson to Houston, (he was picking up a car bought on the net), and then drive to my sister's house and spend a couple of days. Not very exciting, but supposed to be a bonding trip. The two of us driving for many hours alone with each other, without distraction, renewing the connection that has marked our lives together. The kind of thing every father should do when a son has just reached adulthood so that bonds can transition from father and child to father and adult. Instead I was asked by my wife to please stay home, the neighbors had been threatened with death by a drug gang who mistook them for another Native family who had previously engaged in a week long series of shootings with the gang. These innocent persons were warned that if they took this to us, their neighbors, they and we would be killed. So instead of a memorable trip I spent the weekend helping to guard a family in the community. Sitting up to 5:30 in the morning waiting for the shooting to start rather than catching up on the five years that have suddenly disappeared since last I saw my sister. No, this isn't Palestine, Afghanistan or even Viet Nam in those terrible sixties. This is the Phillips Community of Minneapolis in the year 2002. Not wanting to waste the weekend I tried to complete a fence building project that hopefully will keep the ever present drug dealing from the back of the houses at 21st and 10th Avenue. It was an exciting time, but the excitement was so great it seriously impeded fence building. The stream of drug dealing would have been distracting enough, but calling 911 elicited death threats from some drug dealers, and hilarious laughter from others. The average person would have found death threats and standing shotgun guard through two long nights quite stimulating, but over the three days I also got to watch two people beaten and have their heads stomped on by other drug dealers; two openly pistol threatened drug dealers; one ice pick threatened person; a fight between a Somali kid throwing rocks and running, and a drug dealer threatening with a knife, (the kid seemed to be winning so I did not intervene); seven or eight physically threatened people without weapons; and roughly fifty or sixty drug deals. This all took place on the backside of one block bordering Franklin and 10th Avenue. A block with many young children outside to witness, share in the excitement, and have stories about when they get back to school. Since it took so long for police calls to be answered I can only assume there was even more action and excitement in other parts of the neighborhood. This excitement made me wonder about what dull weekends our Mayor RT, and the City Council must have experienced. Enjoying family barbeques with their children and families and only worrying about too much sun, (and how fattening the ribs and burgers are going to be). I wonder what these people would be doing today if they had such an exciting weekend as we had? Would they be screaming at the police, the judges, or calling the moving van today if they and their children had enjoyed such an exciting weekend? So, RT and council members who read the "Issues", how many more days, months, and years will my family need to enjoy such a privilege? How long before the needed resources are allocated to address this problem? If Kenwood or Linden Hills had even 10% of this excitement would you have any action taking place today? Would addressing the issue have a higher priority? Would you be insisting that whatever resources were needed be allocated if your children and families experienced even one such weekend? Hopefully, each of you would correctly answer that the Phillips families are just as precious as your own. We will only be able to tell by your future actions. The contributors to the "List" have made you aware of the problem. Now we will all watch how you address it. Getting too old for all this excitement, Jim Graham Ventura Village Neighborhood and Phillips Community _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
