Jim Mork is indeed amazing. I say look in the April, May, & June Archives and he reports he cannot find Southside postings on crime in July and August. I wonder if Jim considers the possibility that after a couple of months the amount of drug trade was so common people just slowed down writing about it. Also, Jim parked at Mindekirkin once and no one touched his car, so there can't be crime in that area. I invite Jim Mork to go to the Safety Center on Franklin and ask if there has been any drug crime in the area. Maybe talk to Lt. Chris Arntson or Inspector Sharon Lubinski and ask if there is ever any drug crime in the area. These two wonderful ladies have fought a valiant fight all summer to stem the flood of drug dealing and gangs, despite lacking the needed resources. They have stood shoulder to shoulder with the residents, with a finger in the dike trying to stem the torrent that threatens to engulf the neighborhood and Minneapolis.
Someone travels down Franklin regularly and never is offered drugs or sees a drug dealer? I have one question, what color is the sky in that person's world? I can and will believe that one time Jim Mork might have traveled that route and had not seen a drug dealer. After all, there is the chance of a monkey writing a novel while playing on the computer. To believe Mr. Mork could travel that way regularly and not see a drug dealer is to tell me that the monkey can write an encyclopedia. The drug dealers' maybe have a prearranged signal that is given. " Scandinavian coming, hide your drugs and look inconspicuous". Next Jim will tell us he once fell in to the outhouse and came out smelling like roses. I guess it is that Scandinavian blood; just Teflon coats him. No, that can't be true because I regularly have to protect Mindekirkin folks from those phantoms some do not see. My wife is Norwegian, and she fights a running battle with drug dealers and prostitutes doing business on the corner and in the doorway of Mindekirkin. No Mr. Mork, that old dog may howl at the moon but it just won't hunt in these woods. If Mr. Mork, or anyone else, can't find a drug dealer, I just may be able to help. Come on down and we will sit in the corner store, have some tea, and watch the wildlife. Be sure to bring your camera. This is like a "Photo Safari", you can look at the wild life, and take pictures, but you aren't allowed to shoot it. You won't be able to get too close or the guide will not be responsible for your safety. Heck, if you really talk nice we might even introduce you to a drug dealer, just so you know what to look for in the future. For those not so adventurous go to the Phillips Safety Center on 12th and Franklin and ask to look at mug shots of known convicted street dealers from the area. That way you will know what to look for without the personal danger. It will make it more fun when we are "Dealer Watching" to see if you can spot those in the pictures. I almost forgot, also bring your cell phone, binoculars and a score page so you can keep track of how many and what type you are able to identify. You get extra points if you later are a credible witness in a trial. While this has been fun, the sad fact is that people have to live with this blight on a day-to-day basis. Children get sex education from watching prostitutes in the alleys of their homes. Children personally know the names of drug dealers and can point them out from having watched them sell drugs next to the school grounds. Children are killed, sometimes innocently, and sometimes because they are caught up in gang activities and drug selling. They are still children, and precious to someone. They all have mothers, and sisters and brothers, to whom they were just as precious as our children are to us. The little kid, who was executed by a rival drug gang on 25th and Bloomington this summer, had been a wonderful respectful child only a couple of years ago. I knew him personally, and though he had been lured into drug crime, his life was also precious. Some people are able to go through life without seeing the tragedy and sad lives around them. To some politicians this tragedy is all part of some esoteric social theory. But to us, who live here, it's everyday life and sometimes the death for our children. If only they and you could do more than only look - if you could only SEE? Jim Graham, Ventura Village _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
