Apparently this really happened to City Council candidate Muir Boda, who I’m sure would have preferred to make news another way:
At 1:36 am I woke up to what I thought was someone knocking on my front door. As I lay in my bed thinking that it was a little too loud to be a knock on my front door, two more loud bangs rang through my neighborhood and I knew it was gun shots. It sounded like it was in my front yard.
Immediately I made my wife get on the floor while struggling to find my phone, I then realized it was in another room. We remained on the floor for another twenty minutes between our bed and an interior wall away from windows.
I then got up and peaked (sic) out my bedroom window and could tell that lights were flashing. I then moved out into the living room, checked our alarm and then went back to our bedroom. I spent the rest of night listening to what seemed like every rain drop landing on our roof. Like everyone in our neighborhood, we tried to go back to sleep.
The psychological affects of crime on a neighborhood, regardless of crime statistics, never go away because people never forget. They never forget that one street over a resident in my neighborhood was grazed by (a) bullet that went flying through her house. They never forget that a girl is killed because a gang thought she was getting out of someone else’s car. They never forget that a food delivery person is robbed at gunpoint across from the Doverdale Playground in broad daylight.
Crime is here, crime is real and we need to address it with real solutions, now. Until we realize that we are losing a war, long term, because we fail to address the root causes of crime. It is more than just a city issue because criminals know no boundaries. Everyone must be on board from every level of government regardless of political party, we need to work together and develop solutions now.
Obviously we’re not going to get rid of crime right away, regardless of who’s elected. But, just like the old saw that a liberal who gets mugged becomes a conservative, a victim of crime is that much more likely to be sensitive to the issue.
It’s not about just having more police, stricter judges, or even longer jail terms, though. In fact, there are some aspects of crime which government has little to do with but which can affect change – step one would be getting rid of the thug glamourization mentality permeating our culture. We think it’s cool to be the criminal, never mind that there’s a pretty good chance one’s life is cut short by plying the criminal trade.
Fortunately, our latest exhibit of thug culture didn’t result in anyone being seriously hurt. But that lucky streak can run out at any time.
In other Council news, I was pleased to get this introduction from the newest candidate in the race, Bruce Ford.
I am running for Salisbury City Council because Salisbury is in a crisis and I feel very strongly that Salisbury’s crime, blight and economic concerns are solvable with focused effort and strong leadership.
Other communities in our region have faced similar if not worse situations and overcome them using collaborative approaches, drawing on the wisdom of all of the community’s major stakeholders.
I was born in Salisbury, raised in Fairmount, and have lived in Salisbury for 13 years. I have been a career paramedic/firefighter with the Berlin Fire Company for 23 years and a physician’s assistant for 7 years. I have been married for 13 years. My four daughters have never known another home than Salisbury. I work hard to support my family and want to know that they are safe and free to flourish as they grow.
My priorities for the city are to:
· reduce crime, slum and blight
· identify a true community vision
· position Salisbury as a regional economic hub, providing stable, well-paying jobs for city residents.
Please visit www.onesalisbury.org for more detailed information about my vision for the future of Salisbury.I am Bruce Ford. Together we can build a city.
Looks like we now have half the candidates with websites. I’m not sure I buy the concept of “One Salisbury” anymore than I do “One Maryland” but it’s worth seeing what Bruce is about.
So far my poll has interesting (but not completely unexpected) results. Check it out on the sidebar!
If you want to cripple any business, what do you do?
Go for its revenue, of course, in whatever way you can.
Right now drugs are the bread and butter of criminals. If someone is involved in organized crime they are using drug money to some degree. Likewise, if someone is a criminal it is likely that some of their ill-gotten income is going towards drugs.
Why are drugs so expensive? Not because they are scarce — everyone knows that. Because they are illegal.
If we want to get serious about fighting crime we need to stop making it so damn profitable. This means legalizing and regulating drug use. It’s time to admit that we have lost the war on drugs.