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36 shootings, 9 homicides. A weekend in Chicago
I first saw this story in the International Herald Tribune. It made the list of Top 10 Most Popular stories. Europeans--myself included--have a morbid fascination with America's gun culture.
I clicked on the article and read: "An outburst of gunfire rattled Chicago during the weekend, with at least nine people killed in 36 separate acts of violence...They included gang shootings, drive-by attacks, and even one case in which someone used an AK-47 to shoot up a plumbing supply store". Wow. It reads like fiction.
During the same weekend last year, there were "only" 19 shootings, including four homicides, and 21 shootings were reported during the same weekend in 2006. Overall though, we are told we are much safer than we were a 100 years ago. Good to know.
Why the fascination with guns? Lately, I have had a few European friends request I take them on a tour of the "bad neighborhoods" of US cities. They have already seen the safe neighborhoods and felt like they were missing a piece of Americana. They wanted to see the movie-romanticized gun culture first hand.
I wonder if I should get my "urban ghettour" trademarked.
Filed under: North America, United States
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John Apr 22nd 2008 8:06PM
Well, by all means.
You can also have them take tours of Deepest Appalachia to look for Hillbillies (Scott-Irish, all of them, BTW ). Tours of the Louisiana Bayou to stare
at Cajuns and of the Mississippi Delta to look at Poor Blacks may also be successful.
In turn Americans should tour the "Asian" hamlets of England were no Whites are allowed as well as those French neighborhoods were "African youths" torch hundreds of cars on a predictable seasonal basis.
iva.skoch Apr 22nd 2008 8:10PM
I think those tours already exist. Lonely Planet calls them "off the beaten path."
Nick Hawkins Apr 22nd 2008 8:39PM
I will lead a Gadling field trip of Chicago if you want.
paul Apr 22nd 2008 8:42PM
Tell them that the scariest part about bad neighborhoods is they often don't seem bad until the shooting starts.
Ange Apr 22nd 2008 9:26PM
It's so true! We also have a fascination with ghosts, spirits, and anything that's not always in front of our faces. Crazy Americans.
mike Apr 22nd 2008 9:52PM
ill go on that tour ime always strapped
junyo Apr 22nd 2008 10:21PM
Hold on, wait a second. There is obviously no gun crime or gun culture in Chicago. Chicago has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. Coincidentally, so do such fun destinations as Camden, Newark (well anywhere in Jersey), NYC, and Washington DC.
They want to see American gun culture take them to Vermont, which has some of the most lax gun laws in the county. Of course it would be boring because a) it's Vermont, and b) there's very little crime there.
Mal Apr 22nd 2008 11:26PM
Wow, I didn't know America had a gun culture, and I live in America. I thought there were just gangs running around shooting at each other. Is that a gun culture?
Mal Apr 22nd 2008 11:29PM
America legalized abortion. Does America have an abortion culture?
Matt Apr 23rd 2008 4:59PM
Why yes, it does. What an astute observation.
Mal Apr 23rd 2008 10:50AM
Wikipedia says that the Czech Republic is "famous for its love of puppetry and marionettes." Does that mean that the Czech's have a puppetry and marionette culture?
iva.skoch Apr 23rd 2008 10:53AM
Sadly enough, it does have a puppet culture.
Thanh T. Apr 23rd 2008 7:11AM
"36 shootings, 9 homicides. A weekend in Chicago..."
Shootings and Homicides cases are always difficult in any city (day or night)…My condolences to the family members, relatives and friends of the shooting victims.
My family and I have been through it ourselves. On May 17, 2007 one of my cousins was followed from a gas station, gunned down-murdered…Texas.
My relatives and I recently visited his gravesite.
One of my first summer jobs was working at a Police Station when I was in High School. I knew most of the Detectives. I know how hard they all work to solve cases.
I would agree, I think most of us who do travel for work or leisure do have some safety concerns.
Please Be Safe and Take Care.
Nick Hawkins Apr 23rd 2008 10:38AM
I'm waiting for one of the Gadling contributors to chime in and say it's the Bush administration's fault.
Mal Apr 23rd 2008 8:38PM
Matt,
Yes, and thanks to legalizing drugs, Canada has a child prostitution culture.
FamilyTravelGirl Apr 24th 2008 10:48PM
Your friends have been watching too many movies -- you know the ones . . . where the famous action stars are shot at, stabbed, thrown out of a car, and live to show up in the next scene. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen in real life. Keep your friends safe and ditch the "urban ghettour" idea. -- Your Chicagoland FamilylTravelGirl
http://www.familytravelgirl.com