Roy Exum
Despite the fact that the number of shootings in Chicago this year now total 1,840 after this weekend, the nation’s criminologists still say Detroit is the most dangerous city in America. The Motor City has a violent crime rate of 2,072 per 100,000 citizens, but Police Chief James Craig claims every major crime category is experiencing marked decreases.
Why? Police Chief Craig has urged the city’s residents to carry guns. So far this year over 500 concealed carry permits have been issued and over 5,000 guns have been registered with the police department.
In 2014 there were 1,169 permits issued and 8,102 guns were registered. “When you look at the city of Detroit, we’re kind of leading the way in terms of urban areas with law-abiding citizens carrying guns,” said the chief.
Rick Ector, a firearms instructor, told a Fox News reporter that “There has definitely been a ‘Chief Craig effect’ on crime and that his support and endorsement has really been helpful.”
“Home invasions have gone down. A huge reason was there is a huge spate of homeowners using their guns against intruders. Most people now have guns and it is making burglars cautious.”
Ector also told Fox News that women are applying for gun permits in droves. “We used to see two or three women in a class but this past May I had a class that was made up of 300 women.
And here’s a figure: Detroit is 83 percent African American. A recent Pew Center poll of African-Americans found 54 percent who believe gun ownership is more likely to protect people than put their safety at risk. That’s up 29 percent from two years ago.
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While Detroit is tops among the nation’s 10 most dangerous cities, Oakland, Calif., is second and, whether you want to believe it or not, Memphis just took over St. Louis for third place with 224 murders, 437 rapes, 3,133 robberies and 7,200 aggravated assaults last year.
St. Louis and Cleveland, Ohio, round out the first five, followed – in order – by Baltimore, Milwaukee, Birmingham, Newark and Kansas City, which knocked Atlanta off the list.
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Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke minced no words when he told Shannon Bream on Fox TV last week, “Young black men are going to have to realize that authority figures have to be respected. You cannot point a gun at a police officer and expect nothing to happen,” he promised. “You cannot, you will not, and you shall not point a gun at a police officer.”
Clarke also said blacks cannot play the role of victims. “No longer can blacks as a whole claim victim status … except for one situation. They are victims to the Democrat Party in the United States of America.”
The Milwaukee sheriff claimed “Black Lives Matter” has been “turned into a political construct … this is nothing more than an attempt to energize and mobilize the black vote through the 2016 election. And there is no better way for them to inflame it than to bring race and police together in the same narrative because it is an explosive issue.”
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There is a black woman named Peggy Hubbard in Illinois who has a posted a 6-minute video on her Facebook page entitled, “From The Heart.” It contains horrible language – which shows Peggy’s anger as well as compassion – but thus far over 7.2 million people have ignored the frequent profanity to receive her heroic opinion and her keen insight into our shooting epidemic. Again, viewer discretion is strongly advised but it is a message all of America should hear.
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Katie Fehlinger, a female meteorologist in Philadelphia, is expecting twin girls in several weeks but when she got several rude and tasteless comments about appearing on TV with her naturally bulging tummy, she had enough. One comment said she looked like “sausage in casing” while another informed her “that sticking your pregnant abdomen out like that is disgusting.
Here’s her classic reply on her Facebook page:
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A message for the haters...
Hey guys! Once more, I have to get something off my chest. So, the nature of my job makes me an easy target for criticism. I will always understand that, and I will most typically just ignore it. However, after someone blatantly called me a "sausage in casing" and another declared that "sticking your pregnant abdomen out like that is disgusting", I felt a need to draw a line and speak up.
Everyone's right to their opinion is important, but so are manners. And while rude comments like these will never make me feel the need to change anything about myself, I find a bigger underlying issue here. These particular nasty-grams were directed at a pregnant woman.
So this little manifesto of sorts is dedicated to every mother out there - other pregnant moms-to-be, moms reading this while their toddlers play on the swing set, moms whose kids have long since gone off to college...
You are beautiful.
Even during the most uncomfortable - and let's face it, less than glamorous - symptoms of pregnancy, what women go through to bring their precious children into the world is, simply put, AMAZING and you should be lauded.
Frankly, I don't care how "terrible" or "inappropriate" anyone thinks I look. I will gladly gain 50 pounds & suffer sleepless, uncomfortable nights if it means upping my chances to deliver 2 healthy baby girls. Now it's about more than aesthetics. I want these babies to have the best start possible. And that hopefully means my belly that "looks like it's about to explode!" will continue to grow the next few weeks.
I say let's raise a Shirley Temple to swollen feet, stretch marks, nausea, all the extra pounds and the dark circles! They're badges of motherhood. And for those of you who think that's "disgusting", remember a woman went through the very same thing to bring YOU into the world.
In the meantime, let's all remember the lesson Mom taught us - if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.
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Bravo for you Katie and congratulations!
royexum@aol.com