Are you watching out for your neighbors? Do you know your neighbors - and do they know you?
Are you contacting the police if you see suspicious activity, witness a crime, or know someone who has committed a crime? Do you keep your gun (if you have one) in a safe, secure location - and is it legit (registered, your CCW up to date, etc.)? Are you willing to work with your local community activist groups, block clubs, and/or organizations like Detroit 300? If you have kids, are you teaching them how to avoid conflicts, steer clear of friends who will get them into trouble, and keeping them involved in constructive activities that will reduce the lure of criminal behavior? Are you steering clear of friends who can get you into trouble and keeping yourself busy with activities that will reduce the lure of criminal behavior? Are you keeping your home, your car, your valuables secure? Do you have an alarm system in your home - and is your contact info up to date with your alarm service provider so they can quickly verify an alarm situation with DPD? Do you watch your surroundings and observe basic steps to keep yourself safe while you're out? We can't arrest our way out of the increase in violent crime in Detroit, but we can do everything in our power to help keep ourselves and those around us safe. Think about it....
I got the following reply from one of my friends:
I like this BUT...I make a life experience assumption that there are more people will refuse to get involved, refuse to read this post, refuse to educate themselves via books, newspaper or internet than there are people who (like us) want to see an end to the violence & thug mentality. I know many of my neighbors (first name, last name, children, phone numbers & e-mail addresses) so when something doesn't look/sound or smell right not only can I call the police but I can call those around me - neighbors.
It's a sentiment I totally understand. The problem of crime and guns in Detroit - and across the country - can feel insurmountable. Like all one can do is throw up his or her hands and turn one's home into an inpenetrable bunker. But if that happens, where does that leave us? It may be easy to give up, but it's not necessarily right. Nor does doing the right thing mean that we have to try and solve the entire problem on our own. Big problems require small, coordinated, well thought out solutions.
Here's my reply:
I know what you mean. Still, all we can do is try. Try to reach out to those around is via Facebook posts, one on one conversations, peeking out a window and calling 911 or a neighbor when something looks funny, or just saying hi to Pookie and Ray Ray on the street. From what I've seen, crime sometimes happens because a person just doesn't feel like he or she is being seen, or heard, or even acknowledged. If one person calls, speaks to, smiles at, or looks out for another, then maybe that person will do the same. And that person will inspire another, and another, and another. It may feel like clearing a beach of all the sand one teaspoon at a time, but if all you have is that teaspoon to do the task, all you can do is start scooping right? We can't change others, only our response to others.
More later, after I try to scoop up some more sand and put out teaspoons in case anyone else wants to help.
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