I am tired of hearing and the perpetrators "rights", or the fact that the individual can't be stopped and questioned because of the concern for "profiling". I see absolutely nothing wrong with a squad stopping and asking a group of young males standing on the street corner what they're up to, and that it's time to move along. Geez, I live in a neighborhood where the majority of the residents ARE African American. I can also say that I know my African American neighbors well enough to say that they don't like living this way either. Maybe it's time we started worrying a little bit more about the rights of the majority of the people that live in these neighborhoods and feel like they're in prison?
My wife and I went down and stood on the corners of 26th & Knox, James, Irving, and Humboldt last evening for roughly 15 minutes each. Other than the odd looks we received from passersby (not expecting to see a middle-aged caucasian male dealing drugs), we reported the fact that three young dealers (we watched the transaction) were currently sitting on the steps of a rental property (and the fact that they didn't live there) at the corner of Humboldt & 26th to a passing squad. The immediate response was that they were concerned about "profiling" and that we probably shouldn't be standing there as it wasn't safe for us to do so. Think about it for a second. My wife and I can't stand on a street corner in our own neighborhood because it's not safe? Doesn't anyone see a problem with this?
Dennis Plante Jordan
From: Barbara Lickness <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Mpls] Spring has sprung and so have the thugs - UPDATE Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 06:32:44 -0700 (PDT)
Since Friday I found out that we were not the only people victimized by the thugs. Someone on 29th and Pleasant was hit and also two people on 27th and Nicollet. There are probably more.
>From what information I have gathered it was two males riding around in an older model car like a Caprice doing "jump outs". They cinch their hooded sweatshirts around their faces tightly so you can't identify them.
My neighbor got his wallet back from a nice guy who found it on Nicollet and Franklin. Everything was in tact except for a bit of cash and his Social Security card. So, now he is dealing with notifying the 3 main credit agencies that his SS card was stolen to prevent potential identity theft.
I got several e-mails off list from people. Thanks a lot for your support. I also got some suggesting we get a gun.
My husband and I dissected the incident to see if having a gun would have changed the scenario. If my husband owned a gun (I am glad he doesn't especially when I whip out that "honey do" list) in all likelihood he wouldn't have been packin' the piece while sitting on the back steps having a brew. If he had a gun on him that night would he have taken it out? The guy was already standing there with his gun cocked, aimed and ready to fire. Would it make sense for my husband to brandish his gun in response? I don't think so. In all likelihood he would have been shot if he had. My hunch is that if my husband had a gun on him that night it would have been stolen and there would be one more illegal stolen weapon out there.
At any rate, we are way more aware now. My husband and neighbor still use the back stoop. My neighbor just faces the street now so he can see who is coming. My "honey do" list got a little bigger and I have planned the long overdue block club meeting. Yippee Ki Yi Yo.
Barb Lickness Whittier
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