Scared, worried about crime
The killings last week of the Johns Hopkins researcher, Stephen Pitcairn, and the church worker, Milton Hill, has generated lots of comments. Some noted another killing in Station North, of Emmauuel Thomas, who police said was a witness in another nearby killiing.
These two e-mails stood out.
From Emily Chalmers:
I too was saddened by the death of Emmanuel Thomas, as I was grieved by the deaths of Stephen Pitcairn, Milton Hill, the security guard shot at the Greenmount takeout, the Comcast installer shot in his van, Zach Sowers, the two gay women shot in their home in NE Baltimore, the young man shot in Bolton Hill while walking his dog, the woman shot on her way home from work in NE Baltimore, and all the others who have died. I try to remember them all, though most of them died without the kind of coverage the most recent murder has received.
I think the difference with Stephen Pitcairn, as with Zach Sowers, was that these young men had loving families, professional networks, and wide circles of friends. They also died in communities where people will speak up and express outrage. Many people who are murdered don’t die under these circumstances, and their deaths do not result in the kind of outrage and tributes we are seeing now.
For more of her letter:
But I want to ask you what would be a fitting tribute for any who have fallen in this merciless march of death in Baltimore. What are we, who live with the fallout of these deaths, supposed to do to honor them in their senseless deaths?
When I bought a row house on Guilford Avenue in Charles Village for $75,000 in 1998, I was excited to be a Baltimore “urban pioneer.” I thought that by working to improve my neighborhood, I could make a difference. I volunteered for the Benefits District, was a block captain, walked with the neighborhood walkers, rescued abandoned animals, and helped in the community gardens. I rehabbed my house and planted beautiful gardens.
During those years, my car was stolen twice, I was mugged, and my new car was vandalized by the drug dealers next door. There were frequent murders not blocks from my home. Then came the firebombing of Edna McAbier’s home. Edna was my neighbor and the head of the Harwood community group to which I belonged. I think when she had to leave the neighborhood something started to shut down in me. I remember crying as I moved my cats’ tree out of the big front window to a wall where they could not be hurt by anything flung at my home. I watched in horror as my good friend down the street installed a video camera (behind his steel fence and steel door) after his car was keyed with filthy words. And then I moved.
In my new neighborhood, things are a little better. There are no murders, and my closest neighbors are a musician and a doctor, but my house has been vandalized and burglarized, and I now have thousands of dollars worth of security equipment around it. This winter someone threw a starved and tortured cat into a neighboring yard. I will never forget its piteous screams. And every day I still read the papers, follow the litany of murders, grieve for the dead, and just lately, find myself afraid. All the time.
To me, living in Baltimore has become like living in a war zone, with all the trauma that entails. There’s nowhere one is safe—not Canton, or Charles Village, or Station North, or even the Towson Mall (the murder of a teacher) or Roland Park (the rape of a grandmother). And it isn’t just me. My friend in Charles Village calls me late at night, needing to talk. I see the stunned expression on the faces of my former neighbors. I read about the brave man who tried to help Stephen Pitcairn and wonder how he will live with this memory. I once had a military student who had PTSD, and his memories from Vietnam were as sharp after 20 years as they must have been after 20 minutes. Will that happen to him?
I ask you how people who can find no relief from the ongoing mayhem in this city can find the strength to pay tribute to their dead, and so many dead, because I don’t know. I don’t believe that I can do anything to stop the drug-fueled ignorance and hatred that makes this city murder central. And I want to believe that there is more to life, that there is something I can do to help fix things.
And so, as soon as I can manage it, I will leave Baltimore, taking with me my middle-class salary and all that goes with it. Maybe from a distance, I can find some perspective, understand the problem better. I hope so. But I won’t come back, even if I do.
From E. Christian Mattson
I read your column with interest, and you did not actually say it, but you think the outrage over a white being killed and a black man being killed was treated differently. I doubt if the police handled it any differently, but the reaction from the neighborhood is quite different. Perhaps the people who knew the man in the lawn chair have simply become immune to people getting killed where they live. Or else it is something entirely different---APATHY.
I sort of know something about this, since I am a retired BPD Sgt. and remember quite well how people re-acted in different neighborhoods. All the vigils, and all the complaints by the people in the inner city are not going to stop one killing, and if you put a Police Officer on every corner, every day that will help nothing. There is something else going on , and has been going on for a long time. We just have to figure it out, but good luck with that.
And a reminder about a vigil later this eveing for Hill:
MEDIA ADVISORY
Frustrated residents from across Baltimore to converge on site where 70-year-old church volunteer was murdered!
Councilman Carl Stokes calls City of Baltimore to show solidarity in wake of ongoing murder and violence
WHO: Baltimore City Councilman Carl Stokes, 12th District
Baltimore City Council President Bernard “Jack” Young
Baltimore City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, 14th District
Dr. J. L. Carter and First Lady Cora Carter, Ark Church
Ark Church members
Neighborhood and Community Association leaders from across Baltimore
City Residents
WHAT: Councilman Carl Stokes will be joined by the Pastor and First Lady of the Ark Church in East Baltimore, several of his colleagues in government and community residents and church members TONIGHT to remember and celebrate the life of Milton Hill, a 70-year-old church caretaker who was murdered Friday (July 30) morning.
Councilman Stokes will be joined by faith leaders and residents from across Baltimore at the East Baltimore site of Hill’s murder to show solidarity and to call the entire city to action against violence. Residents from Charles Village, West Baltimore and South East Baltimore have confirmed their intentions to be part of this vigil – murder and violence is touching almost every neighborhood in our city and there must be the collective action of government, police and citizens to begin to heal Baltimore.
WHERE: The Ark Church
1263 East North Avenue
WHEN: TONIGHT, August 2, 2010
6:00 PM
Categories: Confronting crime, Neighborhoods
Comments
Mr. Hermann,
Thanks for sharing the two letters.
@Emily - I feel your pain and frustration. I'd look deeper too though how many community orgs and groups don't always have the best interests of the larger city at heart (CVBBD, GHCC and JHU for example who routinely ignore what their actions or lack of actions do to communities east of them.
@Christon - Wow, you don't see how the two events were treated differently huh? Pitcairn's race wasn't released for almost 2 days after the murder. Its "non mention" confirmed his whiteness - people who are murdered in Baltimore are routinely (as you point out is too often happening) described as "victim was a young adult African American". Think about it - did the police say "Pitcairn was a young white adult male". Just today Donnie Moses (BPD) describes Milton Hill's murder as "just another senseless death". Pitcairn on the other hand was described as "promising student", "son calling his mother" etc. They ARE treated differently.
Oh, and to Bealefeld - we could call about that green scooter that was stolen from Milton Hill -but would you come? Remember... Donnie Moses just said in a news interview on Channel 25 "(chasing bikes) is not a priority" - and let me tell me we've called for 2 years to get one on our block (given names, owners, address etc.) and you don't come. Why would someone bother to call about Milton Hill's bike - and THAT's where things start to break down....
Posted by: baltobikeboi | August 2, 2010 2:13 PM
Mr. Mattson writes: "There is something else going on , and has been going on for a long time. We just have to figure it out, but good luck with that."
The "something else" is patently obvious, but nobody wants to mention it: Baltimore is a victim-rich environment because of city and state laws that almost guarantee the average victim will be unarmed. As a retired law enforcement officer, Mr. Mattson has the ability to obtain a concealed carry permit. The majority of us are not so fortunate.
Posted by: Stan M | August 2, 2010 3:20 PM