I was feeling crazed about the upsurge of crime, shootings in particular, in close proximity to my home. And, to add to this aggravation, I can find NO information about the latest incident which occured early in the morning on Sunday, April 27th.
The information I can gather is that 3 men left a local bar and in the process of walking home were held-up. Two of the men were shot with one of them critically injured. The incident occured about two blocks from my house. I am going to e-mail a staffer in the public relations department for further details, but I am amazed that I can not find ANY information from a single news outlet.
I will try to update this post when I find out the story.
Showing posts with label shooting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shooting. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Constant crime
I'm not sure if I've just become aware of the glut of shootings/murders in this city I hold so dear, but within the last 2 weeks, four people have been shot within about ten minutes of my apartment. Three of the shootings were fatal. I feel overwhelmed and unsure of how to relate these events. I'm including links articles regarding each incident.
Monday, April 14 Man charged with shooting mail carrier in St. Louis
Monday, April 21 2 men shot to death near StL nightclub
Tuesday, April 22 Boy, 14, playing with gun kills teen
Disclaimer: I am not endorsing stltoday.com as a news source. I'm referencing their articles because they reported on each incident and seem to have the most current information.
Monday, April 14 Man charged with shooting mail carrier in St. Louis
Monday, April 21 2 men shot to death near StL nightclub
Tuesday, April 22 Boy, 14, playing with gun kills teen
Disclaimer: I am not endorsing stltoday.com as a news source. I'm referencing their articles because they reported on each incident and seem to have the most current information.
My own bias towards law enforcement and media
I am gaining more perspective on the events of Monday, April 21 as mentioned in my post on Tuesday, April 22. I have had time to discuss the shooting that appears to have made a stronger impression on the community than I realized.
First, let me confess my own innate ability to utterly ignore or be ignorant of the feelings, opinions, beliefs, and/or misconceptions of the people around me. I tend toward righteous (I hope) indignation as my first response. After speaking with several people about the thoroughness of the investigation and the comprehensiveness of the media coverage, I think I have a greater appreciation for how the situation is being handled.
I never had any thought about avoiding the area where the shooting took place. I'm not sure how it didn't occur to me that some people would be a little more trepidatious to venture out for a good time so near the scene of an, as yet, unexplained attack. I never imagined that the discretion with which the other local business in the area were being treated, was actually in place to avoid labelling this up-and-coming neighborhood as a primarily gay area. And that avoidance is not completely unreasonable in light of the fact that there are some who might turn such a place into a barrel of fish and open fire. I'm still jusifying this behavior with my vision of in your face identity. I think back to stories I've hear of groups of gay men engaging in brutal fights with those who would dare to reproach them. A friend explained that he felt we've come a long distance in being able to be comfortable in public: hopefully far enough that we can avoid constant physical confrontations.
I'm also questioning my own tendancy to subscribe to some idea of the inherent incompetance of law enforcement organizations. I'm not sure if I'm just willing to leap to conclusions since this incident hit so close to home, or if my mistrust of governmental organizations is completely rampant after 7+ years of being lied to and manipulated. Ditto, my feelings on the media. Am I too quick to feel that there is inadequate coverage of a story I hold so dear, when there are constantly issues both under and misreported throughout America.
Finally, how do we treat these victims with the respect owed to fellow humans? I so easily jumped into the political implications behind this shooting. I did not take one moment to pray for their families and friends to be graced with God's peace and understanding. Where is the line between fighting against ideas and fighting for people?
First, let me confess my own innate ability to utterly ignore or be ignorant of the feelings, opinions, beliefs, and/or misconceptions of the people around me. I tend toward righteous (I hope) indignation as my first response. After speaking with several people about the thoroughness of the investigation and the comprehensiveness of the media coverage, I think I have a greater appreciation for how the situation is being handled.
I never had any thought about avoiding the area where the shooting took place. I'm not sure how it didn't occur to me that some people would be a little more trepidatious to venture out for a good time so near the scene of an, as yet, unexplained attack. I never imagined that the discretion with which the other local business in the area were being treated, was actually in place to avoid labelling this up-and-coming neighborhood as a primarily gay area. And that avoidance is not completely unreasonable in light of the fact that there are some who might turn such a place into a barrel of fish and open fire. I'm still jusifying this behavior with my vision of in your face identity. I think back to stories I've hear of groups of gay men engaging in brutal fights with those who would dare to reproach them. A friend explained that he felt we've come a long distance in being able to be comfortable in public: hopefully far enough that we can avoid constant physical confrontations.
I'm also questioning my own tendancy to subscribe to some idea of the inherent incompetance of law enforcement organizations. I'm not sure if I'm just willing to leap to conclusions since this incident hit so close to home, or if my mistrust of governmental organizations is completely rampant after 7+ years of being lied to and manipulated. Ditto, my feelings on the media. Am I too quick to feel that there is inadequate coverage of a story I hold so dear, when there are constantly issues both under and misreported throughout America.
Finally, how do we treat these victims with the respect owed to fellow humans? I so easily jumped into the political implications behind this shooting. I did not take one moment to pray for their families and friends to be graced with God's peace and understanding. Where is the line between fighting against ideas and fighting for people?
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Should the media report on possible gay connection in shooting?
There was a shooting early in the morning on Monday, April 21 in St. Louis, MO.
Here's the link to the most up-dated story I could find about the shooting.
Here's the problem with the coverage of the story. The two victims were male. They were found shot behind a primarily straight bar. But, the bar is closed on Sunday. The bars that were open on the block nearest the victims are primarily gay bars.
One of the first questions I asked a friend who works at a nearby bar was whether he thought it was a hate crime. On Monday, I had that same discussion with many other friends. I'm torn about the seeming lack of exploration of the possibility of hate as a motivation for the crime. Part of me feels like that should be on the forefront of the investigation, but part of me is thrilled that the story is not being sensationalized and turned into a sordid drama because the victims may or may not be gay.
Rumors will always spread in the wake of a major tragedy like this. Of course, rumors spread even more rapidly within a small, somewhat insular, community. I think that the rumors are the reason I would like more transparent coverage of the story. Some in the community have already decided that there must be some connection between the men being gay, and their being murdered.
Here are a few of the hearsay comments circulating in the city regarding this crime:
-The gentlemen could have met someone on the internet and decided to meet in person.
-The gentlemen may have been in town on business.
-Police don't think money was missing from the victims.
-Maybe they knew the shooter, since he/she would have to have been in such close proximity to have killed them.
These are all ideas that could lead to assumptions regarding the motive for the shooting which could cause any number of negative conclusions about both the crime and the scope of the investigation. I want a comprehensive analysis of the crime. I want that to be reported in the media clearly and without bias. So far when I have googled "gay shooting St. Louis", there was no reference to this incident. I'm surprised no one has blogged about the incident. I can only hope that there is an open honest discussion of what has happened and how it will be followed up by law enforcement. The best outcome from a horrible situation is that we are all forced to think and perhaps create our own opinions that can be educated and dynamic.
Here's the link to the most up-dated story I could find about the shooting.
Here's the problem with the coverage of the story. The two victims were male. They were found shot behind a primarily straight bar. But, the bar is closed on Sunday. The bars that were open on the block nearest the victims are primarily gay bars.
One of the first questions I asked a friend who works at a nearby bar was whether he thought it was a hate crime. On Monday, I had that same discussion with many other friends. I'm torn about the seeming lack of exploration of the possibility of hate as a motivation for the crime. Part of me feels like that should be on the forefront of the investigation, but part of me is thrilled that the story is not being sensationalized and turned into a sordid drama because the victims may or may not be gay.
Rumors will always spread in the wake of a major tragedy like this. Of course, rumors spread even more rapidly within a small, somewhat insular, community. I think that the rumors are the reason I would like more transparent coverage of the story. Some in the community have already decided that there must be some connection between the men being gay, and their being murdered.
Here are a few of the hearsay comments circulating in the city regarding this crime:
-The gentlemen could have met someone on the internet and decided to meet in person.
-The gentlemen may have been in town on business.
-Police don't think money was missing from the victims.
-Maybe they knew the shooter, since he/she would have to have been in such close proximity to have killed them.
These are all ideas that could lead to assumptions regarding the motive for the shooting which could cause any number of negative conclusions about both the crime and the scope of the investigation. I want a comprehensive analysis of the crime. I want that to be reported in the media clearly and without bias. So far when I have googled "gay shooting St. Louis", there was no reference to this incident. I'm surprised no one has blogged about the incident. I can only hope that there is an open honest discussion of what has happened and how it will be followed up by law enforcement. The best outcome from a horrible situation is that we are all forced to think and perhaps create our own opinions that can be educated and dynamic.
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