http://www.wthr.com/story/14924988/person-shot-near-monon-trail-at-86th-street
I started biking to work this week (I did not ride today) and this story has me thinking. The fastest and easiest way for me to get to work is along the Monon, and for the record I do plan on continuing this (though I guess I now have to worry about more than being run over by impatient Carmel drivers). I see this as an isolated incident, which in a city of this size you will have from time to time, and I still see the Monon as a fairly safe route (certainly safer than the East side of Indianapolis). Also, in the event I am robbed at gunpoint*, I will gladly give up what I have on me – it’s really not worth getting shot over.
But here are some questions I have:
1) How does a city address a 16-year-old a) getting a gun b) robbing and shooting a 58-year-old man? There is a definite societal breakdown that leads to this – and yet our legislators seem to care more about denying healthcare to poor women and banning gay marriage. How does this fit into the gun control debate?
2) How does a city ensure that people are safe on what is technically a public park – in broad daylight? How do you police a 16 mile x 8ft stretch of land? Last year when a man was robbed a half mile south of my apartment (at 2pm on a Sunday), they had a cop car stationed on the trail for a few days, as though the robbers would try again. After that, I have seen no significant improvements to security on the trail.
3) Will the Black community of Indianapolis take responsibility for this? Should they? Is this an Indianapolis problem or a Black problem? Why does the WTHR story (linked) give the races of the victim/suspects but the IndyStar.com article not?
4) I criticize the Fox Business story for using terms like ‘hood’ and ‘hizzouse’ to refer to Obama’s guests, as they are clearly racial terms to paint a derogatory picture of the President as a black stereotype. But if I’m out riding on the trail and see several black men / youth together, I will speed up – just as I (and I’m guessing I’m not the only one) will go into ‘high alert mode’ if I’m walking alone at night and see a black man. Am I a hypocrite for criticizing public racism while harboring inner racial prejudices?
5) Where the hell was everyone? That stretch of the Monon is wide open, fully visible from 86th/91st street, and next to a huge apartment complex.
food for thought.
*again
