One of the people in my church community was shot Friday night. He’s in SF General with wounds to his neck and shoulder. He and the others injured “appeared to be innocent bystanders caught up in a gang retaliation shooting,” according to SF Gate‘s interview with a police officer.
I am not friends with the victim — in fact, I don’t think we’ve met. But, I received early email notification of the shooting because I send out the church’s electronic newsletter and he is one of us. Then I received a phone call telling me not to email out anything because the police aren’t sure who did what and don’t want the victims’ identities publicized.
So, you’re shot randomly and suddenly in danger.
And, who knew that a tragedy involving real people who are part of my extended circle was really just an event on which to tie our smug self-righteousness?
A sample of the horrific witty and snarky comments at SF Gate:
scottangell
2/14/2009 6:16:07 PMThink of how much money will be spent on this. SF General, ambulance, police investigation, criminal proceedings, prison. And for what? So that a bunch of untermensch can wander about thinking they are actually ‘living’.
koebin
2/14/2009 6:11:56 PMThe Mission is a trendy ghetto complete with hipsters, wanna be hipsters, druggies, illegals, gangs and guns….
manoflogos
2/14/2009 5:31:05 PMThe solution is simple. Kamala Harris will allow American Apparel to open, but with a catch. Every Friday and Saturday night, there will be a “clothes for guns” exchange. All the violent criminals with calcified brains and the empathy of Mengele will line up politely and hand in their guns and get really, really cool American Apparel gear. We know this will happen because Kamala will promise it. Then they will put knives in their pockets and go out and wreak mayhem. But the innocent will have died from stab wounds, not from guns, and their nice new clothes will facilitate blood spatter analysis. Gun violence will decline, because the innocent people who will have been stabbed to death couldn’t fight back and the police will find it easier to arrest the criminals. Kamala will then move to the next stage of “Knife Control.” It will be difficult to eat steaks and red meat, and all the vegans will applaud. Kumbaya!
richmondkid
2/14/2009 5:11:08 PMWe’ll show those guy in Oakland we can shoot too.
The comments on SFGate cause me, and others, to despair.
What I can’t quite get my head around is whether it’s just a platform for impotent cranks, or if America’s most liberal city has this seething underworld of reactionaries — if we could get rid of them maybe that would solve the homeless problem.
The whole American Apparel controversy makes me want to bang my head against the wall.
I hope these people are O.K.
Thanks. For what I’ve heard the injuries to the person from my church was serious but not life threatening.
The vast majority of the victims of these gang-related shootings are poor people in bad neighborhoods. You can expect that since these victims are better-connected, they’ve received more publicity and will have more resources used to find the perps.
We already know how to mostly eliminate the organized crime problem — as we defunded the gangsters of the 20s by ending Prohibition, end the statutes against victimless transactions in drugs, sex, gambling, etc., that feed the outlaw economy. Turf wars over illegal trades account for most of the violence and a huge chunk of the prison population. We all pay heavily to support an infrastructure of cops, criminals, guards, lawyers, and medical personnel to treat all the wounds.
I’m in violent agreement with all of your points.