Posted on 06/22/2013 4:44:45 PM PDT by BBell
Before John Richie directed "Shell Shocked," a film focused on young New Orleanians' depressing adaptation to gun violence, he assumed that just about everybody falling dead was a casualty in a fight over drugs and turf. Many are. However, after interviewing young people who've seen loved ones killed, Richie came to see that drugs aren't always a factor.
Young men and boys in New Orleans, he discovered, fight over the same things that provoke fights everywhere - girls, perceived disrespect, petty rivalries. But whereas people the world over might settle scores with their fists or less lethal weapons, young New Orleanians pull out high-powered guns.
Those young people have a question for people outside their neighborhoods who might shake their heads and sit in judgment: What are they to do? If everybody else has a weapon and they don't, how's that going to work out for them? If everybody else is armed and they're not, what distinguishes them from a sitting duck?
If that sounds like an argument the NRA's Wayne LaPierre might make, it's because it is the argument LaPierre makes. NRA activists often cite concerns for their personal safety as a reason to stay armed, and they imagine all sorts of scenarios that might require their use of a weapon. The difference between most of those advocates and the kids in "Shell Shocked" is that the kids don't have to imagine anything. They've seen death first hand, most of them multiple times.
If the answer to gun violence were more guns, New Orleans would have its problem solved. But we remain our country's murder capital. The idea that gunmen would naturally steer clear of those places where they suspect others might be armed is daily proved to be false. The neighborhoods getting shot up are the neighborhoods with the most
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Also, most murders in New Orleans are a result of drugs and turf wars in spite of what John Richie says.
The problem in NOLA is not too many guns.
It is too little civilization.
Lots of people on my street have guns, including several police officers and a deputy sheriff. Nobody’s been shot in the neighborhood, none of the extremely numerous children is traumatized ...
When certain people get to killing themselves, it’s best for other people to get out of the way, and let it happen, maybe give them more guns to speed up the process. Things will work out.
I lived in New Orleans for many years. There is only one group of people who kill over being “disrespected.” Funny how that response to something that is not uncommon is pretty much confined to one particular demographic.
...after interviewing young people who've seen loved ones killed, Richie came to see that drugs aren't always a factor.Nope, it's because Bush's Katrina hurricane! /s
It is too little civilization."
Exactly. I got into it with a Chicagoan a few months back who blamed the "gun culture" for the city's high murder rate. I asked why is it, then, that cities like Boise (my hometown), which have a very strong gun culture, can have such a shockingly low murder rate? The answer...it's not the "gun culture", it's the crime culture.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Hmm wonder what is a factor? Is there anything common among these 'Young men and boys' in New Orleans that the author fails to acknowledge?
Louisiana has a very strong gun culture yet most of Louisiana is relatively peaceful. Just a few hot spots give the whole state a bad rap. And these hot spots have a lot in common. From where I sit I can be in the French Quarter in 35 to 45 minutes, depending on traffic. But New Orleans might as well be 100 miles away as the crime culture is so different.
The answer...it's not the "gun culture", it's the crime culture.
Well said, wku man!
The root cause of crime is criminals.
The problem in NOLA is not too many guns.
It is too little civilization.
Ya mean it’s a cultural thing.....too much ripple not enough dads at home....that kind of thing? First time i ever heard anything like that...bwahahahah
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