In commemoration of MLK Day and the man, Dr. King himself, a radio station, (FM 98 WJLB which is 97.9 FM, a Detroit-based station) had an "event". On MLK Day they announced on the radio that they wanted to clean up the streets. No, they didn't mean that they were going to get together with brooms and dustpans. The station wanted everyone to come to a location and bring all their guns. Your thinking this is crazy, aren't you. "Cleaning up" the streets meant trying to lower the crime rate. Of course, no one is going to give up their gun on MLK Day for nothing. The station however offered a $50 gift certificate (I can't recall to where) to each person for how many guns they brought in. I have some points I would like to share regarding this "event".
First off, I think that this was a dumb idea. Just think about it. People in Detroit don't own guns because they are going out hunting. These guys use them to kill people! Maybe they call it self defense, but honestly, these guns are for ending arguments or fights. They think it's a legit way, and it's practically normal for all of them. So instead of letting the spread of killings, why don't we bring all the bad guys with guns to one small location and have them turn them in, for some cash! Great idea!
My second thought of this and why this is a bad idea is because of the money. Most handguns (I think) can be bought for less than $50. Meaning, some guy could go out, buy a cheap gun for $30, turn it in, and then take the money he made and buy an even better gun. Or someone could take the money by giving up a gun, and assuming he has more than one, go out and buy drugs. Of course the argument is that it doesn't matter what he does with the money, all that does matter is one less gun is off the streets.
My third and final thought on why this was a bad idea is because now that these guys with guns see that their buddies are turning in theirs, they now know who to target, or who is being a "good guy". Part of being cool in the hood is having money, a nice ride, and maybe a gun. When you see your "brother" giving up his gun, you know that he is "out". Also, if someone sees a guy giving up a gun, you become more suspicious of him and might want to watch him more closely, or, like they say in the mafia, "take care of him".
All in all, this "event" was definitely in good intention of "cleaning up" the streets of Detroit, so I'm hoping that none of those guys who turned in their guns thought of all this before hand.
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5 comments:
Hi Eitan!
I cannot believe they did that!
I agree with you that it was not such a good idea. In theory it may have sounded good, but after thinking about it, I agree that there are many bad things that come along with it.
Thats pretty interesting eitan! which radio station is that? I agree with most of your points but I disagree with your standpoint. I think it sounds like a good idea that they are encouraging people to hand in their guns.
Hi Eitan. I enjoyed your blog post. I agree that this idea on MLK day was a stupid Idea. I agree with what you said in that people own guns for different reasons and giving up their gun and making it public could make them a target.
A little bizarre but great topic and execution Eitan! So obviously I agree with the idea that "cleaning up the streets" is great. However, this so called event sounds pretty sketchy. Not to mention the fact that it was held on MLK day and his main ideology was to bring people together not hold a gathering for armed thus potential dangerous people to play show and tell.
hey eitan!
i liked your blog.
i do think that the intentions were in the right place, but i agree that this probably would not be too effective. if they were really trying to get people to hand in their guns, i think a much higher price reward would be needed.
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