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Al Bellenchia's avatar

As a resident of NYC for 25 years, and during the height of the crack and crime epidemic, I can confirm that the anxiety of being alone on the street never leaves. I was “only” mugged once and burglarized once, and never harmed, but the experience sticks. The fight against crime is indeed a political one. The law-and-order/gun advocacy folks decry “rights” but only as it pertains to theirs. Just like the Confederacy did when justifying its secession.

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Audrey Wood's avatar

Steven, you have encapsulated the depth of violence in America, admirably. It permeates every level of society, with some disproportionately affected, but with everyone potentially at risk. I reflect often on how it reached this point, and my conclusion is acceptance. While heredity and environment influence behaviour, the toxicity of opposing political camps plays out before our eyes, every day. We remember how well TFG Trump capitalised with his fear-mongering platform of 'them against us'. He used threat stimulus such as caravans of invading immigrants as bait, in order to trigger fear. Violence opposes reason.. The underlying common denominator is access to weapons. This quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. resonates with me: 'Violence is never the answer, until it's the only answer.' That is where we seem to be today, on the precipice of self-destruction.

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