Real Hartford

“Uncle Eddie Wants You Home by Nine” “But Mom, You Said…”

commentary

There’s been a lot to digest lately. My emotions about the violence in Hartford are similar to those I felt following 9/11. The violence saddens me. I don’t feel a lot of surprise or anger about the actual acts of violence. I reserve my anger for how people respond to the violence.

When the terrorist attacks of 9/11 occurred (and if your theory is that the government had something to do with it, I think the word “terrorist” still applies), I tried to comprehend what the deaths and injuries of hundreds of people meant. I had to figure out if I even knew the same number of people as were killed. With the local violence, the victimization is more sporadic, easier to understand in terms of its possibility. I worry when I read the headlines that one of my students from Capital Community College, many of whom live in Hartford, will be among those either killed or doing the killing.

As with the terrorist attacks, I feel a range of disappointment-to-anger regarding how we are responding to the violence in Hartford. My political perspective is such that I must question whenever a new law or ordinance of some kind is introduced. Before asking if it’s a good or effective law, I have to think about whether it’s necessary to even have a law. Of course, this gets complicated because we live in a culture which, on the surface, pretends to be one of laws. Continue reading “Uncle Eddie Wants You Home by Nine” “But Mom, You Said…”…

“There’s too many cracks in the structure”

A follow-up piece on Nick Carbone, the man who was mugged on his way to breakfast a few weeks ago, is the headline story of the Courant today. The most interesting parts, of course, got buried toward the end of the story, so I’m going to highlight them here:

On the morning of his attack, Carbone said, he was thinking through how state lawmakers could assist people losing their homes because of predatory lending practices and subprime lending. The subject was one of the many issues Carbone has taken on in recent years. He has also been a significant player in the federal court dispute between city officials and citizens who have complained about police brutality.

His attack has not left him bemoaning his fate, but instead thinking about the root causes [bold in quoted material is mine, for emphasis] of urban pathology.

For about two hours Monday, Carbone focused his conversation with a reporter on factors that he thinks have fueled urban violence: predatory lenders; teenage pregnancy; incarceration; the release of inmates into the city by the state Department of Correction; failing schools and judicial systems.

Continue reading “There’s too many cracks in the structure”…