Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Sometimes the zombies are real.

Two women holding two babies are gunned down in a house in Indianapolis. Two men are seen fleeing the dwelling. The sheriff vows to "track [them] down like dogs". Pleas are made for information in the case. Neighbors gather round. Buried in the story is some further information, however: Police had been called to the residence three times in the past year. One of the victims had been arrested for passing bad paper back in '02. And the most incriminating bit:
A set of scales, several weapons, a safe and one pound of a what is believed to be marijuana were found in the house, Talley-Sanders said.
Well.

The tragic victims here would be the two innocent babies, whose mothers apparently felt that an environment of petty crime and thuggish men was a swell place to bring up children. Would it be hopelessly cynical of me to suggest that a child brought up in that environment would have the odds stacked against their being the high school valedictorian and eventual pillar of the community?

I say we blame the guns. Or maybe poverty. Not the state that pays people to live in a human zoo and rewards apathy and hopelessness with monthly checks in the mailbox.

No, lets be blunt here: If you advocate the perpetual welfare state and its accompanying perpetual war on some drugs, and vote for candidates who support them, then you might want to use cold water when washing your hands this morning. It gets the stains out better.

12 comments:

Kevin said...

Can I get an "AMEN!"?

Anonymous said...

You pretty much said exactly what I was going to say, and these murders happened in my town.

staghounds said...

As my old grandfather said when the new deal came in, "You get what you pay for."

Gerald Seymour said the best comment about the housing projects aka crime farms, and the way we refuse to see them-

"This is where the real war is, a war worth fighting. I've never been to Afghanistan and I'm not going to Iraq. But they don't seem to be places that matter, not to me. Maybe, just possibly, we can win a war in Iraq, but sure as hell we're losing the war at our doorstep. You go up to the top of the block and look around. From that roof, you can see power and Parliament, you'll see where all the big people make their money... But if you look down by your feet, you'll see where the war is."

Carteach said...

Yup, you get an AMEN from me....

breda said...

Eh, "hopelessly cynical" usually equals "refreshingly honest and unfailingly realistic" by my reckoning.

Hill Country Blogger said...

ammonia...actually. Water just gets the excess red blood cells of your hands. Ammonia or another solvent can break down the remaining trace amounts.

Don't ask me why this matters. Oh! and "AMEN"

Anonymous said...

Right on!!

Anonymous said...

One of the young women's boyfriend/babydaddy was reached for comment where he was serving time for drug related crimes. Because of the evidence- ie drugs, paraphenalia, weapons, etc. - the police will look at all possible motives. I shake my head and roll my eyes.

You know, I get more and more cynical as the years go by. Yesterday at the shop, we had a young couple come in handgun shopping. Both were very clever in trying to conceal gang tats on their necks, meaning not succeeding very well at all. She wasn't particualrly bright and he seemed borderline retarded. (I remembered them from a few weeks ago when I wouldn't let them shoot on our range because of completely unacceptable handling of an unloaded weapon in the showroom when I asked about their shooting experience and asked for a demonstration of their safe handling procedures. Always fun when an idiot presses the "safety" on a Glock, the weapon he claims to know inside and out, and the magazine for some reason ejects. Not to mention passing the muzzle over folks in the showroom.) Anyway, they left empty handed. I was completely cordial and gave them appropriate customer service, but they left empty handed. 'Nuff said. Last night they probably shopped on a corner on North Tryon Street or elsewhere in East Charlotte or Grier Heights.

I know the two instances are not exactly the same thing, but they do seem linked in a way to me right now. Where in hell is some real Homeland Security I ask.

Anonymous said...

On a wider scale, it might also help to stop with the unlimited second chances and realize that an insincere "I'm sorry" doesn't make everything copacetic. If people aren't expected to behave like responsible adults, they damn near never do.

Anonymous said...

It's sad but it's true, Adults are in most cases just bigger children, the only thing that will change someone is for them to fall down and bump thier ass hard. And not get picked back up.

Roberta X said...

You know, I can't say anything nice, so I'll try to say nothing at all.

...Except, perhaps, "Those who live by the sword, die by the sword and drag their dependant progeny down with them." And the worst thing about this? It's not one less household of dope retailers (which wouldn't exist if the stuff were avialable at the neighborhood store), it's a job opening.

Right in my home town, too. Makes us about average.

Anonymous said...

...Not the state that pays people to live in a human zoo and rewards apathy and hopelessness with monthly checks in the mailbox...

I feel the same way.