MAN GETS GRAZED BY BULLET BOARDING BUS

This just in from Channel 4: http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Police-Man-grazed-by-bullet-while-boarding-St-Louis-Metro-bus-255211851.html

What do people in that neighborhood call it?  "DUB-ville"? ("Dead Upon Birth")

All of the powerful, brilliant men that run this city seem unable to comprehend why North St. Louis is so violent.

It couldn't possibly be the $8,000 average yearly income, or lack of jobs in the community, or the deplorable state of the neighborhoods, or the schools that keep closing, or the lack of decent public transportation.

No.  It must be all those crazy people.  You know, the descendents of slaves that had to fight to get equal rights.  That are still living in poverty despite the wealth their ancestors created for this country.

There are two cities in St. Louis.  Not north and south, but black and white.

If you keep ignoring the poverty and hopelessness, surely it will just go away, right?

Of course, urban African-Americans have always had to deal with a high level of violence and crime in their neighborhoods.  The violence in the "hood" follows the same patterns as the Irish in New York in the 1800's or the Sicilian Mafia in the latter half of the 20th Century.

Crime and violence in poor neighborhoods and among poor people follows certain patterns.

But now the whole society has gotten more violent.  Especially at schools.

It's the Adam Lanza's and the James Holmes' and the Boston Marathon bombers that no one can predict.

There isn't much we can do about the suicidal random shooter.

But there is a lot we could do to make our poor communities less violent, and more prosperous.

But that would mean actually doing something that benefits ALL the people, and not just the greedy few.

The answer is not more police and more guns, the answer is community development and improvement.  The solution is understanding that we all live in this city together, and the better it gets for those on the bottom, the better it will be for all of us.

Wake up St. Louis!  Occupy!