A few days ago, I made my first venture deep into Chicago, traveling down Grand Avenue in the general area of the original Walmart that opened in 2006 that set off the Chicago war against Walmart.
Driving in the daylight and not cruising for drugs, I felt no threat to my safety or wallet, other than the red light cameras. The worst neighborhood in Chicago (other than maybe Stony Island) appears safer than the best neighborhood in Detroit.
So I’m comfortable enough that I’m driving with my window down. Waiting at a stop light, I hear a very loud conversation coming from a truck / SUV next to me – possibly the passenger talking into a cell phone . I hear something close to “so can we get Glocks? Do they carry semi-automatics?”
So I’m pondering this… Are they undercover police trolling for gun nuts? Someone just trying to elicit a reaction? Or a real conversation?The voice didn’t sound all that ominous even with the context – I didn’t look at them to see what they looked like.
The Supreme Court has thrown out Chicago’s gun control law, and the City replaced the law with one that practically still makes it impossible. You can have one gun in your home in a ready to use condition (no trigger lock). You may not carry the gun outside. You must register the gun including the serial number and where you bought the gun. You must pay around $100 a year for the license.
Please stay safe!
The voices sounded like suburban white guys. I drive a 12 year old car and show no signs of having anything worth stealing. I stay alert to people and cars around me.
Why Detroit is dangerous was block after block of vacant storefronts. One of only a handful of times I’ve felt concerned enough to turn around was one weekday in downtown Detroit. There were parking spaces (this was maybe 2 blooks from city hall). There was *nobody* in sight on the streets in any direction and no traffic. My instincts said “danger” and I’ve learned not to ignore my instincts.
20 years ago, I did drive around South Chicago. Back then it was a tough neighborhood but as long as you weren’t looking for trouble or showing signs of wealth, people were not likely to mess with you. So few white people visit the South Side that the presumption is you must be an undercover police man.
It’s the job of the media to scare you into believing the world is a dangerous place and convince you to just stay inside and watch TV 18 hours a day.
The majority of people I’ve encountered speak English but speak other languages as their primary tongue – a lot of Polish and other folks from Eastern Europe. I got my hair cut in the place here in the building a few days ago. It took me a little bit to realize that the older woman sitting in the place in Muslim attire was the mother of the hair stylist, keeping an eye on her daughter to prevent her from being chamed by my personality.
” keeping an eye on her daughter to prevent her from being charmed by my personality.”
Art <—-Smooth Operator : )
Have a good one !
Parrott
I hear women from Lebanon can’t resist a guy who knows all the FCC application type codes.
And women from Lebanon Indiana can’t resist a guy with a CB.