Tuesday, May 28, 2024

No way to treat a special weekend





"We always have to remember one thing. Some of the people killed by gunfire are innocent. They just happened to live in this shooting gallery called Chicago. We need compassion for these people."



Wow! What a weekend. First off, if you live in Minnesota, having a washout on at least one of the days in a Memorial Day weekend is common. Our real wet day was Monday. But that is not what I am addressing this weekend. This weekend, when we honor our fallen, the ones who paved the road for the life we now have, was not respected by many. How so? 

Many people in Chicago have a proclivity to shoot each other. Especially on weekends. Historically, on Memorial Day weekend. This weekend, the new "space cadet" who now is the Mayor of Chicago, decided to send a message. Not as much policing as last year. You know, pour more resources in youth programs instead. The result? Forty-one shot, nine fatally. How high is that? If we were involved in a war zone, that would be high. But this is a town where people live, in the middle of our country. 

St. Paul was not as bad. That being said, six people were shot. On Memorial Day. Our day of remembrance. It gives us pause to think - can't we all on this one day, think of peace? If someone offends you, can't we let it pass? Why is it when you are "dissed", the current remedy is to shoot someone. This is beyond sick.

Not to change topics, but back to the weather for a minute. Like, what is up with the weather in the Midwest? This has been a horrible year for storms. According to NOAA, almost 500 people in the United States have died so far this year from storms. This past weekend, a weekend to celebrate and remember, Mother Nature gave no pause. At least 21 people on Memorial Day weekend lost their lives in storms. Many strong tornados, straight line winds, inches of rain, power outages - everything but the kitchen sink.

Back to the violence. We can't do much about the weather (regardless of the fact that Biden always claims climate change is our fault), but we can do something about the violence in our big blue cities. More cops. "Broken window" policing. Stop and frisk. Tougher laws for crimes committed with a gun (like - no parole). 

We always have to remember one thing. Some of the people killed by gunfire are innocent. They just happened to live in this shooting gallery called Chicago. We need compassion for these people. But the ones, the gang members, who are doing the shooting? No quarter for them. Catch them, try them, and lock them up for good. Until we start taking crime more seriously, we will continue to make a mockery out of special weekends like Memorial Day.   



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