Some say the Zimmerman trial will lead to more Americans minding their own business...
And in many cases that would be a good thing.
But sadly not always.
Think about it.
And in many cases that would be a good thing.
But sadly not always.
Think about it.
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ReplyDeleteThe first author, Matt K. Lewis, knows little of the case and less of the evidence presented at the trial. He fails to draw a rational suppositions as a result and proposes minding one's own business is a good thing for a community, never thinking about why our communities today can barely be called that. We hear some complaint that we don't know ourselves anymore...well ole Matt is one of the reasons.
ReplyDeleteMatt's the guy who'd notice the ethnicity or race of a new family moving in, but not get involved in saying howdy or any other welcoming act. Of course he'd not know if they're lonely immigrants or drug dealers...he's going to mind his own business. If the new comers are lonely immigrants or, pshaw, the first black Americans on the block, stay out of it...why make them feel at ease, or welcome, let them think you don't like them.
I was in college when the Kitty Genovese murder occurred. As a group our crowd of working students, of various hues, were outraged, we couldn't understand how her neighbors could be so callous and uninvolved. We were not that way. I recall our discussions of how this "feature" of one large busy city could turn out to be a serious bug for more cities, like ours, Detroit,....if more and more people just didn't care and minded only their own business.
Regrettably, we were right. The freedom of the young minds of those days discovered unintended consequences for the "liberty" they demanded...and loss of community cohesion was one of them. Lack of money from involved and participating citizen taxpayers is another....why, hi there Detroit!
Hello Lord of the Flies.
PS: My daughter has moved to a pricey core city loft, in a old building renovated and modernized. Everyone in her building is 30 +/- and they all know each other, not from prior days, but from being neighbors, and they pay attention. There is hope.
Actually, I think it will drive home the importance of CCW.
ReplyDeleteThis plus the fact that hoodie wearers will now think twice before thinking to say, "Yo homie, wus yo problem?" and take a first crack against someone that will make them think twice because he might be CCW'ed. Unless of course it's in a gun free zone where thugs are free to reign.
DeleteI would encourage you to read Influence, since its explanation of what happened with Kitty Genovese is unique and also makes sense to explain what happened.
ReplyDeleteBut Z wasn't just strolling along, he was part of a neighborhood watch (I don't know if those started after the Genovese case (I remember it well), but the violent crime of the 70s popularized them).
DeleteIt was his business not to mind his own business, he was minding the neighborhood's business. Ironically, the Big Sis Doctrine, "If you see something, say something", feeds into that idea.
Okay, I will do that...just ordered it from your convenient link. I cannot imagine how anything will explain and make sense of what happened to Kitty Genovese to me. But I will give it a try, who knows, I might learn something again...it keeps happening hard as I try to be obstinate. Dang.
DeleteWhere I live most of us look out for each other, and those of us who aren't cowards make an effort to get to know new folks who move in, more to welcome them than anything else. We extend help to each other, no strings attached, at times, materially and spiritually...even though we're of vastly different faiths. Yes, I do feel I am personally responsible for the children around me here (a lot) if I am with them or within eyesight or earshot of them. You either protect your community, make them your own, make them feel comfortable around you, or you will be alone when you need it least.
I think you will like the book (I did). The book focus on psychological triggers.
DeleteI was a kid when the Kitty Genovese murder happened. Odd that the racial aspects were never brought up in the media. I only discovered a few years ago that her murderer was black. I only found out this year that Kitty was a lesbian.
ReplyDeleteI did not know Kitty was a lesbian. I also did not know her killer was black.
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