Reactionary

Philadelphia Magazine put a handgun on its cover. People are shooting each other all over the city. We’re on pace to outdo last year’s homicide rate… and now they’re shooting at people I know.

I got the story today. Last Monday, when driving home from work, one of the anesthesia people got shot at in West Philly. It was 1830ish so he was trying to avoid the congested entrance to the highway by cutting through West Philly. He was just passing a traffic light like he has hundreds of times before when shots rang out, four of them, at him. And the one reason they didn’t hit him in the head was because his hands-free set wasn’t working so he was reaching down for his cellphone. His wife was just a few cars back. He called the police and pulled over as soon as he was out of the neighborhood and there were four bullet holes inside of the car. This is a popular, well-liked guy who has no connections with any dangerous segments of society. He was this close to getting shot in the head just feet away from his wife. This close.

They take two cars to work (thanks to never knowing when you’ll have to stay extra). While normally I’d think that was a waste, it saved someone’s life. Whoever would have been in the passenger seat would have been shot. Everyone was open-mouthed today to hear her tell it.

And this isn’t the only story. Earlier that week, another one of the anesthesia people was driving down the same street when he heard shots and saw them hit the van next to him. What the hell?! This is stupid. Who are these people? Why are they doing this?

The sky-rocketing violence only serves to do two things 1) kill people, even ones who have nothing to do with anything and 2) destroy the city. Philadelphia’s been fighting a long road back from the brink. Once an important city that went to seed, it’s coming back. People are moving in, shops are opening up. If the shooting continues, though, people will move out. The wealthy, well-educated class that crowds the stores and keeps money rolling through the retail scene, whose high taxes fund public programs, whose entertainment budget draws high-ticket shows and events which bring more visitors who come and spend more money. This is a good thing.

So, don’t shoot anyone tonight. Don’t buy a gun. Don’t steal one. Don’t shoot a guy for his shoes or his iPod or because you don’t like him or because his car looks like someone elses. I don’t know what your argument is with the world, what you feel you deserve that you’re not getting. I don’t care what “respect” you think you need to get. Respect yourself a little and don’t choke the life out of the city you live in because of some wayward vendetta you have against your own Life. Admit it or not, the truth remains the same. The city needs well-paid, high-taxed workers and they’re the first to go if gunfire keeps peppering the asphalt with the police powerless to stop it. In the case of these anesthesia people, you’ll need them if you get your miserable self shot by another twat with a gun. I guess this is an example of biting the hand that feeds you.

If you live in the Delaware Valley, try and check out the Stolen Dreams photo essay at Studio Nine by Jonathan Rubin.

November 20th, 2006 | Category: Life, News |  Print |  Send it | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL