 | Mike Redding
The Carolina Traveler |
This journal is going to be short and not at all sweet. If you’re happy, don’t read this. Enjoy your day.
If you’re sad, don’t read this. Have some ice cream instead. I’m only writing it because I feel obligated to fill this spot today. I flaked last week because I was out of town and had zero Internet connection.
And this week I can’t fake my way through a “happy” journal because I’m not happy right now.
I was gone all last week on Carolina Traveler shoots.
When I got back I saw blue ribbons everywhere. Two cops killed. Shot over what? Anger? Hate?
My wife told me all about the funerals and the long, emotional processions through town. It’s says a lot about people… they way we choose to mourn.
At some point down the road, the sadness and mourning, the paying respect are not enough. We have a problem in Charlotte. Our sweet little neighborly town is looking a lot like the next Atlanta. We are sprinting down the path to becoming a tragically violent place.
Maybe we’re already there.
Not long ago in the sleepy suburb Fort Mill, a man was gunned down for a few dollars in a cash register. An honest, decent family man running a gas station until total selfishness walks in with a gun. And don’t kid yourselves. That’s exactly what it is. Call it chemical addiction. Call it hate, revenge, whatever. It’s another word for ME ME ME! I only care about what I want and could care less about you. So bang you’re dead. I want what I want.
It’s depressing to realize where you live is not safe.
You can’t rationalize your way out of that fact. It’s dangerous if you do. It may not be safe here but it’s even less safe in “Denialand.”
I wonder if there is hope for Charlotte. Has a big city ever solved the “violence” problem? Is it just a trade-off of growth? The bigger the city the more wierdos it attracts? The bigger the city the more disenfranchised lunatics you have? Is it just numbers? More people, more people with problems.
I remember when I moved from Los Angeles to Athens, Ohio, in 1994 to finish college. A giant weight floated up off my shoulders. I no longer had to use the ATM in only broad daylight on a busy street with a retreat plan mapped out in my head. I could walk alone at night. I could sit on my porch at any hour and feel safe.
Where can I move to feel that again?
What a sad time this is. Widows broken. Fatherless kids. Lord bless them somehow, some way. I suppose we could all use a little comfort right now.
We’ve got a mess on our hands.
These are not the best of times in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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Mike Redding |
Mike,
God Bless you for saying a lot of things other people are afraid to. I think it is time we all stand together and fix the system. When a city councilwoman worries about how the system failed the person who shot two defenders of this community in cold blood it is time to make some changes. I hope this event will serve some good and be a wake up call to the citizens of Charlotte. It is time to vote out the people who support a system that let's criminals get away with anything they want. A slap on the wrist for killing someone while intoxicated, probation for robbing a store at gunpoint. It is time for the madness to end. Remember those two fallen heroes when you go to the polls in November and make sure you know where the candidates stand.
I totally agree with you about where we are headed. I was born and grew up in Accident, Md which had 270 people. We never locked doors, etc. That town today has about 350 people and while they don't have murders, there is a lot of crime, drugs and domestic violence. It's where we are headed as a nation. It's ME, ME, ME, and I believe it starts with no discipline in the home.
I now live in Davidson but still worry about our security.
I enjoy your show. WCS
Hi Mike,
I agree with your statement but I want to share the beauty of our little 'hometown' as well. After the incident my husband came home with a blue ribbon on his shirt and I was compelled to wear one as well and bring it to work to offer ribbons in exchange for donations. I was expecting a buck or two...long story short we have raised over $2600 so far and have committed to attending the Ballantyne Village 'mix at six' every Wednesday until the end of May with hopes of raising more awareness and especially money for our heros. This past Wednesday was my first 'mix at six' and the weather was terrible and the attendance was even worse. I stood outside with the cold rain and was flanked by two our our bravest for the 3 hour duration. I can't tell you how proud I was to deliver
$514 the next day to the bank accounts for the widows (this with hardly no folks showing up for the band). I know we are seeing the worst of our city now but I am also seeing the very best. I urge you to come out to a 'mix at six' at the Ballantyne Village one Wednesday and see the love our community has for our fallen heros.
Sincerely,
Amanda Schuss
It is very distressing to face the fact that there are heartless, cruel people among us who have no regard for human life. Even here in Statesville, where I have lived all 45 years of my life, I have found that there are gangs here as well. It terrifies me. I fear for my son who will be entering middle school this next school year. I try not to dwell on it though. It only gets me in a deep "funk". I try to focus instead on what is still good, and decent in this world.
That is why I enjoy the Carolina Traveler Show. It shows that there are still good people out there. It takes my mind off all that is wrong in the world and proves that all is not lost.
So you keep going out there and find those quirky Carolinians and bring them to us each Saturday night.
Keep smiling and laughing (at yourself as well as others)
You're right, Mike. And that's a major reason why I'm leaving. The sad part is that what we have entrusted to be "government" nowadays only knows how to create more and more wheel-spinning beaurocracies that never solve such problems...at least in most places.
If you can get a special assignment to travel 500 miles or so, you can find one place that "gets it." The town of Sebastian, Florida actually REDUCED its tax rates, because they found out that growth actually produced enough revenue to cover its own expenses. What does Sebastian, Florida know that most governments don't seem to know?
Mike
Don't be totally turned off. I retired from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department 4 years ago, and was proud of the two officers who made the ultimate sacrifice. I am also proud of the citizens of this community, The way they have turned out in an outpouring of support and love and grief, for the two slain brothers in blue and their families
If we don't learn and move forward for a better community and communication within our community then we dishonor their sacrifice and their families sacrifice.
I have seen and been to everyone of our brave officers funerals for the last thirty years. It never gets easier and We can never make sense of not one of their deaths.
In the Month of May we celebrate National Police Week. This is a time we reflect on the sacrifices made by Brothers and Sisters in Blue from all over the US. Please remember all of their sacrifices during this time.
The next time we as citizens see a crime, lets honor the memory of all our fallen heros and get involved, call, name, names. Help our officers protect and serve, It is a calling not just a job.
Remeber this May, Say Thanks and a prayer
Thank You
Don Rock
Mike,
Your thoughts mirror mine on this subject. I've also spent the last couple of weeks wondering where is it safe?? Do I move and leave the city I've come to love? Do I stick it out and hope for a brighter, safer future?
None of it makes much sense. I grew up in this town back in the 70's. I survived school integration, gas lines, etc. We thought those times were tough.
We had no earthly idea what was in store for Charlotte, NC in the twenty first century.