There’s been a lot of talk recently about crime in Baltimore. People are upset. Politicians are attending community meetings. There is hand wringing.
But I haven’t seen a real solution.
There are two:
First, end the war on drugs. The majority of violent crime in Baltimore, and certainly the majority of murders, are related to the war on drugs.
Second, and more (if you can believe it) complicated, the citizens need to take back the streets. Criminals need to be afraid. They need to be unsure if someone is going to fight back, or hurt them, or call the cops, or testify. The single most important thing the people can do: carry a firearm. Quit waiting for the courts to fix the issues in the state legislature, quit being afraid of what the police might do. How much chance is there, really, that a Baltimore city police officer will engage you, a law-abiding citizen of Canton, search you, and find your concealed handgun? No one will know until you have to use it. I think it’s worth the risk.
If you don’t, carry mace, or pepper spray, or a cattle prod; it doesn’t matter to me. Engage the criminals, and win the fight. Send them home limping, hurt, scarred, and they will think twice next time. Yes, there’s risk; at some point you need to assume that risk, or let them win.
Up until a few years ago, you never even saw a police car in Little Italy. No crime. Why? Because if you broke into a car there and got caught they didn’t call the police. Because people were watching, and more importantly, people were ready to take action.
These are your streets. Act like it.
Windy Recycling Day 