To Protect and Serve? Part 2.

A couple of years ago I wrote a post about certain people in our neighborhood that make it a very icky place to live at times. If you want to refresh your memory, you can read it HERE. Anyhow, most of the people in my previous blog have moved on and don't live here anymore, new people have moved in who aren't terrors and things were heading on the right track. Unfortunately, Example #2 "Mr Thug Wannabe and Woman Beater" is still going strong and causing a real problem for the entire neighborhood.

You may recall that I posted a few months ago witnessing someone being beaten outside and the police doing nothing. Well, surprise, surprise that was Mr. TWWB. For those of you who follow me on Twitter and Facebook, you'll remember that Mr. TWWB a few weeks ago was beating his dumb girlfriend on the front yard and when I tried to help, he turned his attention on me and started threatening my safety and that of my son's. Well, last night, Mr. TWWB and his mother, Example #1 from the previous blog Drunkie McDrunkness, began to have a verbal fight on the front lawn, at about 7pm at night, in front of the whole neighborhood......and my very impressionable, curious, inquisitive, and intelligent 3 year old who, despite my closing the blinds, telling him to stay away from the window, and trying to distract him with chocolate and race cars, NEEDED to know what was going on outside with "all the yelling and screaming with the bad man mommy".

And then the unthinkable and horrible happened.....even more so than TWWB beating up his stupid girlfriend, or fighting with his drunk mother, or rollin' up with his 20 inch rims at 2 am blasting some sort of mysogynist crap out of his window, no much worse. As he and his mother were fighting, he grabbed her puppy. He grabbed her tiny miniature toy terrier who probably weighs 5 pounds soaking wet, choked it, shook it violently, and threw it to the ground.

The sounds of the dog were agonizing. And my son heard them. And so did the whole neighborhood apparently because people came out of their homes to see what was going on. One brave (and not all there, but sweet) woman walked right up to him and got in his face and screamed at him about abusing the animal. And TWWB, screamed back, threatening to punch her, saying he didn't hurt the dog, and then calling everyone every name in the book. And my son saw and heard this. And he had questions. Questions that are very difficult to answer.

"Mommy why did the man hurt the dog?"
"He didn't mean to honey, it was an accident"
"No, mommy, he did it on purpose"
"No honey, now let's finish Jeopardy and forget about that"
"Mommy is the dog dead?"
"No honey the doggie is fine (total lie, as I am not sure about the condition of the dog)"
"Mommy why is that man so bad all the time?"

And so on and so forth.

I called the police. Told them what was going on and based on our experiences with TWWB, they have a file a mile long on this kid. The police came. Stayed approximately 30 SECONDS and left. This is exactly the same thing that happened when we called them after he beat up his girlfriend on the front yard and then came after me. Police came, "talked" to him, told him that if he and his gf wanted to fight that they should do it inside, and told me basically to mind my own business because that's the "type of relationship they have". Same thing happened when TWWB beat up the boy in the street. Lots of "talking" but the police, again, did nothing.

What is it going to take to have a safe neighborhood? Will it take TWWB killing his girfriend? His mother? His dog? Me? My son? What exactly is the role of the police in our society if not "To Protect and Serve"? This person is a menace. Who stares people down and mutters threats when I am putting my son in the car. Who, every night, sits on his front yard and dares anyone to step outside and enjoy their neighborhood. Frankly, if he is outside, I stay inside. I am afraid of him. I am afraid of what he can do and what sort of horrible images he has implanted in my son's mind.

We shouldn't have to live in fear. We shouldn't have to live with our blinds closed for fear of our son seeing violence and cruelty. We shouldn't have to compromise OUR quality of life because nothing is being done about this person. It begs the question, what exactly is the role of the police in our society? At least in our neighborhood?

Think of the Children!!!

An idiot wrote this in today's paper:

What is museum exhibit teaching?
June 7, 2008

Why is the Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale dissecting frogs?

The museum is touting "Frogs: A Chorus of Colors" as a special exhibit. It would seem that they believe that the correct way to celebrate frogs is by dissecting them.

I spoke to a museum representative. Her response was "dissecting frogs is science." I told her that I didn't believe dissecting frogs in front of children the smartest thing the museum could do. She told me to look at "Bodies": It's drawing huge crowds. One assumes that means that drawing crowds is what the museum is after, not science.

Many high schools and colleges use computer programs like "Virtual Frog Dissection." But I guess that wouldn't turn any of those impressionable children into budding scientists.

I wonder how many kids will leave the museum and then decide it's OK to start taking small creatures apart?

Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx




This is my letter to the editor response:

Regarding the June 7th letter by Xxxxx Xxxxxx,stating that the scientific dissection of frogs would thus cause children to go out and start cutting up small animals:


Quite the leap from "budding scientist" to "crazed animal mutilator" solely because the museum included frog dissection in its exhibit, wouldn't one agree? Ms.Xxxxxx should keep in mind that scientists and innovators like Richard Lower, who discovered the methods of modern blood transfusion in the mid 17th century or Leonardo DaVinci, whose anatomical sketches revolutionized the 15th century's medical world, both used human and animal dissection to reach their incredible conclusions. The Museum of Discovery and Science, by including frog dissection as part of its exhibit, is simply living up to its name and reputation of bringing "discovery" and "science" to all: children and adults alike. Following Ms. Xxxxxx's "logic", would she assume that a trip to the meat counter at the grocery store would compel a child to butcher and filet animals as well?

It's such a shame to see that even positive and incredibly interesting aspects of our childrens' education are going to be scrutinized, criticized, and in some cases, attempted to be stopped by closedminded and extremely fatalistic individuals. Instead of concerning ourselves with our children learning about science and the inner workings of such fascinating creatures, why not focus our energies on safeguarding and supporting these museums and their programs in order to ensure that the children who inherit this earth are the innovators and scientists of the future.