Providence & Saint Paul’s Crime Problem

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My wife and I often state that there are no coincidences, only “Godincidences” in our lives. Monday was a prime example of that theory in action. I had plans on where to be at 1830, God had other plans.

Saint Paul, the city of my birth and residence, has a growing problem with violent, mentally ill, and intoxicated homeless people taking over the streets. I think I can get away with that statement given that I’ve spent more than a tad bit of time in ministry to the homeless over the last dozen years. Saint Paul, like a lot of liberal democrat cities has taken the approach that if we focus on the big crimes like overtime parking in business districts, bulbs in liquor store signs being 100 Watt versus 80, making sure that protesters get a fluffy pillow every night, and protecting those that block freeways we will have a place where every illegal immigrant that seeks sanctuary will feel comfortable.

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The second paragraph isn’t much of an exaggeration. Most of the downtown area, particularly the part closest to the main homeless shelter, has been thrown open with no enforcement (that I can see) of the laws regarding pooping on the sidewalk, and harassing people for money. The homeless have always been among us, but a new contingent have cropped up in the last year (predating Donald Trump, so don’t bother blaming him) and they are far more aggressive and violent than I’ve ever seen. Some of the “old-timers” are afraid as a result. They are preyed upon by the younger ones, and violence is very common.

Monday I was moving as fast as I could to get home and run an errand for my wife. When I got to the intersection where my bus arrives I saw a guy I have known for years get slung to the ground by a younger man. I moved as fast as I could to get there, having lost sight of them when they went behind a wall.

Rounding the corner, there it was: the younger man straddling the old guy, wailing on him with his fists. I don’t know about you, but that won’t stand in my universe. (Thank you, Mom, for the kind part of my heart. Thank you, Dad, for the instruction on dishing it out.) I used my very best command voice and ordered him off. He didn’t get off, but he did slow down on the punches. I reached down and pushed him off his victim. Now I’m the focus of this dude.

He’s high. No doubt about it. The glazed eyes, clenched fists and jaw, the aggressive body posture. I got in between him and his target and told him to move back. He’s not getting the cues until I explain, in my very best sailor talk, that he’s going to have bigger problems if he doesn’t stop right now. The standoff is in progress at this point.

Two things to point out here: not one person on the plaza came to my aid to put this jerk down. One guy moved behind the bad guy, but I wasn’t sure if he’d be any help. Furthermore, nobody called the cops. Not a cell phone in sight. No indications of help on the way. So I called 911 while backing this idiot off.

The second thing was Erin came to shield Robbie (the victim) from his attacker. This business woman got off a bus that had pulled up when she saw what was happening, ran over, and shielded Robbie with her own body, ordering the attacker to back away. This woman had more guts than anyone else on the plaza. (Later I found out that the bus driver did call for the police. But that doesn’t excuse the dozen or so people who didn’t help me (and Erin) from their behavior.)

Eventually the attacker left. I was on the horn with 911, and provided a description and direction of travel. He had told me that I was next. Sure enough, before the squads got there he had gone around the block and came back into view. Seeing me, he skirted the area, but didn’t leave. That led to his arrest a few minutes later when the police got there.

After a check by the ambulance, Robbie and Erin were taken to identify the suspect (but this isn’t “COPS” and I’m telling you the jerk is guilty without a trial). Once done with that, the story had a happy ending: Erin walked with Robbie to a nearby diner and bought him dinner. It was kind of sweet.

So, Saint Paul City Leaders, when are you going to address the issue with the dozens of aggressive pan-handling, violent, intoxicated, mentally ill people roaming the public spaces in this city? You need cops downtown all the time. You need foot patrols and motor units in the core of downtown. I bear no ill toward the officers that responded, but that it took that long for a responding unit is unacceptable. More cops, more patrols, more arrests.

Let’s get real, Saint Paul: your pie-in-the-sky development plans are all for naught if people are afraid to be downtown after five in the afternoon. We’re at that point.

Thanks, Erin. You were the bomb. Next time you see me down at the bus stop, say hi. Send me a message in the comments, I’d love to have a cup of coffee with you.

The rest of you? Get involved. Call the police when that stuff kicks off, and step in to defend the helpless. If you cower, and just get on your bus, you have failed the rest of humanity. “But I wasn’t involved.” True. Neither was I. And the next time I might not be there to help when it is you. Wouldn’t you want others to come to your aid?

If you want to see time stretch to infinity, find yourself on the ground with some maniac beating your head against the cobblestones. Robbie can attest to what that was like on Monday. I stopped it. Erin stopped it. If not me, who? If not now, when?

My point is that things are out of control in Saint Paul, and if we don’t defend ourselves and each other terrible things will continue to happen. Remember the old saying, “When you need a cop right now, there’s one just minutes away.” As a former cop I can vouch for that. They react. But increasing their presence downtown will help more than a little.

Saint Paul, I love you. But you’re going to hell at this point. Turn it around.

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Assault on Saint Agnes is available here. Just click this link!

When you finish reading any book (especially mine) please review it at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and www.goodreads.com. Your review increases the chances of someone looking for a new book greatly. Authors appreciate your review, even if it is just “I thought this was a good read and will give it to my dog to chew. I especially liked the ending, because it made me feel better when he killed all of the main characters. (no spoilers, please)” Those few words (more than 20, fewer than 1,000 is ideal), and a 1-5 rating, make or break how the search engines find us. Thanks in advance.

This Ain’t Much Of A Blog Today

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Just wanted to say a word or two so you didn’t think I was dead.

I have three (3) really good blogs coming up, but reality stepped in and stopped me up short.

So hang in there a day, or two, and I’ll be back on Wednesday or Thursday.

In the meantime, Erin, you are one brave and gutsy woman. More in the brass balls department than about 20 men in the same neighborhood. I hope we meet again soon – your story is the first one to be told this week.

That ought to intrigue some of you.

That’s A Mighty Fine Brain You’re Hiding There.

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Today’s blog will be relatively short. It’s not so much a missive, as a challenge for all of my readers.

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This past Saturday I taught a 5 hour seminar for young people – fourth grade through college – on creative writing. It was a labor of love, mainly because I’ve been sitting in other people’s classes for the last decade (roughly) and may have picked up a few things along the way. It seemed to me that I should return that favor, and help some new writers get their start.

For five hours I talked, listened, coached, ate burgers, and shared a brand-new room in my church with some of the most amazing writers I’ve ever met. I was the one who learned the most on Saturday.

I’ve worked a lot with children over the last two decades as Santa. But it is humbling to spend time intellectually with my betters, especially when I’m two feet taller, and forty years older, than most of them.

Each child had a gift. I asked for them to write a story at one point, gave them the topic and 20 minutes. They each developed a unique approach to the topic, hammered me with writing that was beautiful and elegant, and wowed me with the level of insight into the topic.

I’m thinking really hard about doing these workshops professionally for other civic groups. As in charging a fee. But I’ll need to up my game quite a bit to do so without guilt.

God blessed me with some skills. I returned a little bit to the community Saturday. And I found that we don’t have to worry about the next generation as much as we need to help them.

That’s my challenge to all of you: Take that special skill that God gave you, and teach it to someone else. Work with your church to teach writing. Or carpentry. Perhaps your amazing skills as a pastry chef. Or just give a class on basic auto mechanics to a bunch of youngsters getting their licenses. Save them from the blown engine, the flat tire, and the rip-off artist garage.

Do it for the right reasons. Volunteer now and again. Charge if there’s a market – but make sure that you do it with God’s work in mind. Give back before you close your fist over that pile of cash.

Next week I’m teaching the adults. I am giddy with anticipation to unlock the creative people who have been going to work as security officers, nurses, real estate agents, and attorneys. I know God’s going to bless me with another great group.

Take that as your challenge: get out and share your God-given gifts with another this week.

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Assault on Saint Agnes is available here. Just click this link!

When you finish reading any book (especially mine) please review it at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and www.goodreads.com. Your review increases the chances of someone looking for a new book greatly. Authors appreciate your review, even if it is just “I thought this was a good read and will give it to my dog to chew. I especially liked the ending, because it made me feel better when he killed all of the main characters. (no spoilers, please)” Those few words (more than 20, fewer than 1,000 is ideal), and a 1-5 rating, make or break how the search engines find us. Thanks in advance.

Mighty Quiet In Those Streets Today.

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I live in Minnesota. The Twin Cities. Over the weekend, a black cop shot a white woman. Both of them born outside the United States. If we really were the racist, horrible society that some have accused us of being, a lot of things should be happening right now that aren’t. But as of 11:24 this morning there have been no freeways blocked, no march on the Governor’s mansion, no press conferences by aggrieved white power groups, no calls for disbanding the police force, nor any retaliation against black people in general.

Mind you, this hasn’t stopped the lunatic left from trying to whip up a frenzy about the brutal police murder of a beautiful yoga instructor who rescued butterflies in her spare time. Nor has it stopped the racist morons from doing the whole “black man shoots blonde white woman” thing – equally despicable in my opinion.

Why, you might ask, is the general public responding with peace and quiet? There are a lot of reasons, some of which I’ll touch on, some of which I’ll ignore – that’s the joy of owning this site: it’s my call.

1. Most people are willing to wait a while to see what actually happened. In the aftermath of a shooting incident, it takes a few days to go over the forensic evidence, gather witness statements, put together a complete timeline, search for video recordings, and generally sort out what led to the loss of a human life.

2. People don’t hate the cops, in general. Most citizens realize that the most police are there to protect them. So going nuts over every incident is not a productive activity. See number 1.

3. There’s always another side to the story. If you honestly look back on incidents like this over the last 10 years, you’ll find most are very different from what appeared in the first 100 hours in the media. The media wants to sell advertising. Truth is often secondary. So, “If it bleeds, it leads” is the rule. Truth be damned. People are tiring of the bait-and-switch, and waiting longer to form their opinions.

4. The left is so conflicted by this story that their heads are about to explode. When you base your program on identity politics, it’s mighty hard to pick the bad guy when both of the actors are protected classes. White, pretty female yoga instructor versus brave immigrant black male. Whoo, doggies! Don’t worry, they’ll sort it out. Someone will be the bad actor here. But for the moment, they just can’t decide. It’s rather delicious to me.

5. Terrible things happen sometimes. This might be one of them. Christians are often willing to give a break until it’s all known. This just might be an awful event that was a product of timing, bad lighting, and fear. I hope not – but when it does roll that way, and it often does, what can we do? Should people go to prison for everything that happens? Or should there be an element of intent. I’m in favor of the latter. Let’s wait and see what happens when the investigation is over.

6. The media machine isn’t spending a lot of time interviewing white-power types in this case, putting them on radio and television to gain a complete frenzy. Why? Well, Nazi types are pretty vile, and it doesn’t help the media with their agenda. So you won’t see much of that happening. Sadly, racists from the minority communities are often featured speakers in these cases, and selective editing gets rid of the offensive parts before it airs.

“Oh, Joe, you’re making that up.”

Nah. The raw video of many of these press conferences is out there if you look. In one recent case, the relative of a person shot by a police officer was shown on television saying, essentially “Don’t bring the violence here, and the ignorance here.” People applauded that sentiment. What didn’t make the air was the rest of the clip, where she told the crowd to go to the suburbs and rampage there instead. Now, that would have balanced out the clip, eh?

My point? If you want to hold an opinion, and never let the facts intrude, you’re the problem. Either way. Bad cops who act with malice should go to prison. Any person who commits a crime with malice should go to prison. But innocents who act in self-defense should not. Sometimes that means that a cop gets shot by a homeowner during the raid on a wrong address. Sometimes a cop shoots someone that isn’t actually a threat to them. But in the instant of the crime, which is all that matters, there was no criminal intent. Needless to say, if you’re a felon, a drug dealer with a weapon, a burglar, etc., you’ve forfeited your right to shoot anyone in self-defense as you’re engaged in criminal activity.

Open minds, not freeway blocking, and a pursuit of the truth are the best courses.

I hope, and pray, that the truth comes out in this case. That’s all I ask: the truth comes out.

In the meantime, be safe out there people in blue. And citizens, when you interact with the blue, be safe as well. Let’s all go home to our own beds tonight.

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Assault on Saint Agnes is available here. Just click this link!

When you finish reading any book (especially mine) please review it at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and www.goodreads.com. Your review increases the chances of someone looking for a new book greatly. Authors appreciate your review, even if it is just “I thought this was a good read and will give it to my dog to chew. I especially liked the ending, because it made me feel better when he killed all of the main characters. (no spoilers, please)” Those few words (more than 20, fewer than 1,000 is ideal), and a 1-5 rating, make or break how the search engines find us. Thanks in advance.

Not A Political Rant

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I had a lovely rant about fake news to share with you. Then I realized that the hyper-partisan individuals for whom I had written the blog over the past few days wouldn’t care what I said.

Consequently, a movie review – kind of….

Pride of the Marines is an absolutely wonderful story of love, dedication, bravery, sacrifice, and American values. Sound too much like nonsense? Well, take a bit of time to watch it and then get back to me.

I like war movies. Cut my teeth on the things. This is one of the very best. Not much combat in the movie, lots of human interest. As a writer, I can only marvel at the dialogue. Spectacular stuff. Speeches that leave you with tears running down your face. Beautiful women, beautiful souls, and a slice of America that my generation probably never understood.

The trials of wounded Marines speak not just to their generation, but in this movie reflect the angst that came from the vets of the first world war having been treated so poorly. Just like our own Vietnam vets. Today’s returning service members have it better, but it’s still a rough road for those with disabling injuries.

Here’s the theatrical trailer:

Now, go and watch the whole thing – it’s well worth it.

Please follow me on Twitter, and “Like” the Facebook author page. Don’t forget to subscribe (the box is on the right side of the page) to be eligible for free e-books and other benefits! Oh yeah – grab a copy of Assault on Saint Agnes if you’re of a mind.

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Assault on Saint Agnes is available here. Just click this link!

When you finish reading any book (especially mine) please review it at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and www.goodreads.com. Your review increases the chances of someone looking for a new book greatly. Authors appreciate your review, even if it is just “I thought this was a good read and will give it to my dog to chew. I especially liked the ending, because it made me feel better when he killed all of the main characters. (no spoilers, please)” Those few words (more than 20, fewer than 1,000 is ideal), and a 1-5 rating, make or break how the search engines find us. Thanks in advance.