Is seven a wave? Red Hook is all atwitter. It's impossible to walk down the street without having a conversation about the rash of gun crime that has made the neighborhood itchy in recent weeks. Seven incidents of on-the-street stickup is without a doubt statistically significant number. No shots have been fired, but having looked down the barrel of a gun a few years ago (in another country) I would certainly prefer to be mugged with a knife. Keep your eyes open, friends and neighbors.
So far, the worst thing about this pattern of anti-social behavior for me personally is how it showcases my inclination to profile. When you hear that a sixteen-year-old black young man pulled out a gun at noon-thirty on a sunny day, it makes it really difficult not to look askance at each-and-every sixteenish-looking young black male when you pass him in the street. This is how the police do their loathsome stop-and-frisk business all day long, and I can't bear them for it, and now I see a reflection of myself in their mirrored sunglasses. I don't like any of it one bit.
Photo: Stolen from facebook (no gun used), taken, I think, by Karin Weiner
