Truemors
Opinion
Barry Artiste. Now Public Contributor
The “Summer of the Gun” in Toronto certainly contradicts Michael Moore’s assessment about Gun Control, when 144 shootings so far in 6 months of this year, making Toronto look like Detroit on a good day. Perhaps death by gunfire is down, thanks to medical advances in life saving techniques which a decade ago would have a different statistic.
Jamaican gangs shooting and killing each other have police for the most past handcuffed as it seems not Politically Correct (PC) to Racial Profile any one group.
But is it means saving a life or two of a Jamaican Canadian man, woman and child, as stats show it is more likely an innocent child playing in the streets which seem to be the usual fatality. Perhaps the Politically Correctness should be put aside and police instincts should be allowed to do it’s job.
The Politically Correct Crowd, especially Politicians and the Media seem to have their head in the sand, only removing it when a crime is committed by others when it seems every news paragraph will have emblazoned upon it any Anglo Saxon gang such as White Supremacist, Eastern European, Hells Angels and other Gangs commit crimes. Though the media seem to have no problem when mentioning Persian or Middle eastern crime Gangs, especially if drugs, murder or desecration of gravestones occur.
Yet when it comes to gangs where a non white culture or ethnic tag should be mentioned, the media are moot for the most part, leaving many to wonder what the media mean when they state only the term 'Gang Hit" in the city! Is this a subliminal clue that when no mention of the gang colours or cultural or ethnic origin is mentioned that the citizenry are to safely assume that perhaps this is non Anglo Saxon gang? H-m-m-m sure smacks of reverse discrimination to me.
Certainly a story which hits a cultural if not politically correct nerve in the press yesterday on immigration in regards to cultural gangs who upon arrival in North America seem to take up their criminal bent where they left off in their country of origin and bring to North America. Judging by the comments yesterday (1), it seems too touchy for readers to comments or discuss. Though it is news, and Canadians like it or not polled in this media story seemed to have an opinion on it.
This is the story below which it seems is being avoided like the plague. Some it seems only like to read Fluff stories I guess? Reporting is supposed to be just that, reporting, not pick and choose journalism.
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/time-immigration-time-out
To be fair Media normally mention areas where crimes occur, if not the cultural or ethnicity of the gangs where where the hit or crime went down, that is a clue to citizens of that city of which area the gang frequents. But you know it is a clueless news report for everyone else who live clear across the country or nearby city, especially for those tourists in the city who could use that information when on sightseeing tours, oblivious to the fact that perhaps they would be wise to steer clear from these areas, certainly have the right to fair warning, regardless how much the Mayor and politicians like to sugar coat their city as crime free.
Imagine if you will, tourists on a walking tour, at 7pm walking in our Vancouver's Gastown or China town and taking in the sights, arm in arm they stroll all agog and bedazzled with our city's beauty and mountains. When all of a sudden the tourists accidentally take a wrong turn a find themselves smack in the middle of East Hastings Needle Park, which is another world entirely, and at night, it looks like the "4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse" hit town. You know, perhaps that would be good info for Tourists to know beforehand if Media and the City Fathers had the Testicular Fortitude to forewarn the tourists, but never do.
Certainly when the media are relied upon to report a story in its entirety, one wonders if Journalistic integrity has now been "Muzzled" by Politics and Political Correctness. Communist Countries and Dictatorships muzzle the press, one would think that would not happen here.
So the question remains, has Journalistic integrity and Politics bowed down to Political Correctness? In my Opinion, it always has.
In ending, if a crime occurs, it should be reported in it's entirety, including photos and background regardless of the gangs involved. That is News!
http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Worthington_Peter/2008/07/30/6304876-sun.php
Prosecute the shooters, not the guns
By PETER WORTHINGTON
Ironically, Toronto is in the midst of another "Summer of the Gun" -- at a time when Statistics Canada tells us (reassures us?) that it is the safest city in Canada.
Tell that to the 144 people who've been shot this year -- up 22% over shootings this time last year.
And there's five months to go.
So what if murders are down from last year? Small solace, when one considers that every person wounded by gunfire this year is alive only because the shooter missed a vital organ.
Crime statistics can be misleading. Also, the apparent drop in crime statistics may indicate people just don't bother reporting certain crimes, knowing that if caught, the perpetrators will plea bargain their way to ludicrously light sentences, and soon be back on the street.
To victims of crime, our justice system often does not seem very "just."
IT'S NOT THE WEATHER
I'd argue it's guns more than weather that are at fault. Or, to put it more succinctly, people who increasingly carry guns as a matter of cultural preference.
Police are handcuffed in efforts to make Toronto a safer city.
Surely we, as a society, should be examining who is doing most of the shooting. But police aren't allowed to do that, on grounds that it is racial profiling.
Yet every visible minority group knows the majority of shooters and their victims tend to be of Jamaican origin.
This is not to diss Jamaican Canadians. They are also disproportionately the victims of shootings and deserve the protection of the police.
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