Paul Weir writes, "> On this rainy Sunday morning, I had the edifying experience of > witnessing something straight out of Al Capone's Chicago."
Brother Paul's experience this weekend with the "rolling thunder" through his neighborhood reminds me again of the attitudes many have about some of our City's crime problems. Many, unlike Paul, just can not imagine the reality of such a situation, but imagine if you will such an incident happening down France Avenue, or around Lake of the Isles. NO, most CANNOT imagine that happening. But, if it did you would have some serious political fallout and some major media coverage for about a week. I am sure the 'Minneapolis Issues Forum', through Paul, is the only place it was published. Many will write and claim that statistics prove that the City of Minneapolis does not have a crime problem. I wonder what their attitude would be if they had "rolling thunder" come by their house a couple of times, or even once for that matter? A real problem with "Reality" exists because those not living in the middle of the war zone of an impacted neighborhood can not believe it is anything more than a problem to be accounted for by statistics. To them the anomaly of shoot outs or open drug dealing on 26th over North, or Bloomington and 27th, or Park and Franklin, is something to be looked at as only statistical in nature. The young man shot this weekend and who died in 'Bobby & Steve's' is another example of someone who was just another statistic. I must, with shame, admit that the same was true to some degree for me until tonight. I didn't remember the name or face of the young man on television news. Tonight Robert Cook put that face and name into perspective when he explained that another one of our kids had been killed. He then explained who the person was. And more importantly who the person was when he wore a child's face as a kid I had met and knew. Then it was no longer a statistic. It is funny how much more outrage one can have over a "Person" being killed than a statistic. Most people from the "better" neighborhoods are never able to put that face with the statistic when their neighborhoods and children are safe from such violence. They just do not realize that such incidents that they chose to ignore has an impact on all of us, and the quality of life for our entire City. Remember, that what ever happens to the least of our people, happens to "US"! I mentioned this to someone tonight in a phone call, and that person from a "better neighborhood" said, "Well he was probably involved in something". Why would that be true? And even if true, isn't a mother and father, a brother or sister grieving tonight. It reminds me of the story of the rat in the farmyard: "...A rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a rattrap. Retreating to the farmyard the rat proclaimed the warning; "There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!" The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Rat, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." The rat turned to the pig and told him, "There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!" "I am so very sorry Mr. Rat," sympathized the pig, "but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers." The rat turned to the cow. She said, "Like wow, Mr. Rat. A rattrap. I am in grave danger. Duh?" So the rat returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's rattrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a rattrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. His wife's sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well. She died, and so many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat...." Some of the "rats" from "Impacted Neighborhoods" have been asking for help and being ignored because the "Chickens" from better neighborhoods say, "but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, (it is just a statistic) remember that when there is a rattrap in the house, the whole farmyard is at risk. When we have thugs in cars driving through Minneapolis having shootouts like Al Capone and Denny O'Bannion our whole City is at risk. When we allow open drug dealing on street corners in several impacted neighborhoods in our City, and at the same time even consider cutting the number of police officers, then we have lost that "Quality" that we wish for the life in our City. We can have a quality place to live in our City even with crime, as long as we care and are attempting to address it. But when we care so little for the lives of our less fortunate and make them just statistics, then we have lost the claim of Minneapolis being a "Quality" place to live! Let's start putting a face on those who die, no matter who they are. Just as Council Member Samuels has attempted to do! Let's begin thinking not with pride that statistics say only 30 or 40 are being killed, and the crime is contained in only a few of "those" neighborhoods, but thinking with true shame that we allow such things to happen anywhere in this City. Minneapolis is a City that we should be proud of, but not if we reduce the plight of some of "OUR" people to nothing more than statistics. Jim Graham, Ventura Village, Phillips Community Planning District, Third Precinct, 6th Ward of a City that should value people more than just statistics. REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 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