Don't get me wrong. I love Philly. I love the people, the food, and the hussle and bussle of city life. And I'm well aware of the dangers that lie within. But in all the time I've spent traveling to and living in the City of Brotherly Love, I've never felt uncomfortable to walk the streets alone (day or night). So naturally it bothers me that I'm leary of taking night classes this term because of the new favorite hobby of the population. It seems like the cool thing to do this year is kill each other.
As of last week there had been 78 homicides since the start of 2006. Since then there's been a few more shootings and even a surge of five shootings yesterday. That puts us at a little over one homicide per day since the new year started. We won't even go into the number of non-fatality shootings and assaults.
The thing is, no one has an answer. The police have been clueless since day one. Parents still have no control over their kids. At this moment Philadelphia is like an every man for himself, no hold barred, hardcore, table and ladder match. Anything goes.
So yeah, I called the thugs and criminals that go around killing people cowards. It's not like it's an original thought. The only real reason someone resorts to crime is because they're too lazy and scared to go out and do things the right way. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has the ability to choose the right path and the wrong path. If you choose to go down the wrong path you're just afraid to go down the right path.
Parents you're not off the hook yet. If your kid doesn't know that hurting/killing someone is bad by the time they're in kindergarten, then you as a parent have not done your job. To be blunt, you have failed as a parent. Seriously, kids pushing people in front of buses, fights breaking out in schools, juveniles attacking adults... that's unbelievable. They try to show the world they have no fear. And it's true, they have no fear of any consequences what so ever. Why? It's not tv. Television isn't responsible for telling them to brush their teeth. It's not the school systems. They're not the ones that are supposed to make sure they change their underwear everyday. The only ones that have such a direct impact to their child's growth are the parents.
But then again, maybe it's just me. Maybe I don't know how the world operates. Maybe there's supposed to be death, destruction and chaos. Maybe it's true, that you have not fully lived until you have experienced love, poverty, and war. But I've always been told that personal integrity is more important than money, power or fame. In Atlas Shrugged, the character John Galt says, "I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine." People should live their own lives and not rob others of theirs.
NOTE: Sorry that this is so poorly written. One, it's just pure rambling. And two, I have a pounding migraine.
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