Gang Issue Calls For Respect, Discretion

A few years ago, there was a gang-related shooting in the parking lot where I went to the dentist as a child. A few months ago, there were three execution-style shootings on 13th street and I experienced a Capote-esque fascination with the story. Shortly thereafter, my aunt discovered graffiti on her apartment building, just outside of her window. One can only assume that a gang member climbed her fire escape and marked her building. It was soon confirmed to be a statement boasting the murder. The owner of the building, a lady who speaks warbled English, said that it would wash off in the rain.


I am not making this up.


It seems to me that just enough landlords and residents in this city do not grasp the urgency with which we must meet our landscape.


In this vein, a co-worker and I attended the community anti-gang forum at Easton Middle School last evening. We live and work downtown - and she and her sister invested in a business. Everyone from the mayor, the Easton Assassin himself, business owners, parents and bloggers were in attendance. The step team gave an energizing performance and then Larry Holmes took the floor and delivered a very impacting speech. To paraphrase, he said that if he, as a dropout, could get rich and retain the world heavyweight title for 7 1/2 years, imagine what their kids could do with an education.


Then a representative from the district attorney's office gave a presentation, supported by a slideshow. He showed a picture of two boys in the backseat of a car, the one on the left was a star football player at Easton. The one on the right recruited him into a gang. The one on the right was shot to death, and the one on the left is currently serving 41 years for three armed robberies. He cited the influx of gang activity after I-78 access to urban areas. He explained the economy of drugs and the retail price of crack cocaine. He mentioned the violent torture and death of a young girl after she lost $2000 in drug money. Nothing could have prepared me for what came next.


The image of her tortured body.


I had just watched a father wipe a boy’s nose.  To my left, a baby suckled bottle, and two toddlers sat two rows up.  Can these things not be planned better?  Everyone in attendance was concerned about drug and gang activity. The crime scene photo was gratuitous.


Judging from the community members I recognized in the auditorium, these are all of the people who are regulars at also the College Hill business association and city council meetings, and various downtown events.


I didn’t see people like my aunt’s landlord at the forum last night.


I appreciate the involvement and the turnout of this event, but the oversight was offensive.  An issue as serious as this should be met with discretion and respect. For the rest of the night, my thoughts shifted between the nature of the presentation and the fact that parents had brought their little children.  Could parents have known how graphic the information would be?  Possibly.


Could the planning committee have known that families would be in attendance?  Absolutely.


[The edited version of this essay was published in the Opinion section of The Morning Call in February 2008.]

There Will Be Oscars

I had been stalking the pages of Fandango and the marquees of local theaters for weeks, and finally Blood is on the radar.


Loosely based on Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel, Oil!, Paul Thomas Anderson's film follows main character Daniel Plainview in the early 20th century California gold rush.  Plainview, portrayed onscreen by Daniel Day Lewis, is a silver trader-turned oil man who quickly sees the earning potential of the commodity and will let no one stand in his way - especially Christian revivalist preacher Paul Sunday (an excellent Paul Dano.)


The film is minimalistic, with a score so sparse that its acting performances and cinematography actually work harder to capture our attention.


Anderson's visual metaphors are stimulating.  To Daniel, the burning oil derrick represents production and potential, while to Eli, it is Biblical destruction.  Eli ushers out the evil spirit during a church service; with a looming Plainview just inside the doorway.


I thought I was watching closely - as evidenced by my jittery nerves every time Daniel whipped out dynamite - but some of the crucial detail was a bit lost.  There are some elements of the story that one might not fully comprehend at first viewing - our diet of popular films has perhaps spoiled us as audience members.   Watch closely.


Previous to watching the film, I'd read that the story does not end neatly and that patrons had better not expect to be uplifted. This is true of the film.  It is incredibly violent, but necessary.  It is historical and human.  Plainview's character - so buoyed by his own will and no higher will - would live with no boundaries and excessive wealth. 


And when the final credits begin to scroll, our jaws are on the floor.

(Image courtesy of Klubbkoll.se.)