So Close--And Yet So Far

Many years ago, a supervisor at a previous job remarked that the bridge that I traveled to go from my work in Harrisburg, PA to my home in the suburbs was the "longest bridge".  

I can see why.  I can actually ride my bicycle and go from an almost lilly-white suburb to a place that is very much like where I grew up.  What's more curious is that if I head three miles in another direction I am in an area that can only be called "Pennsyltucky" or "Pennsylbama". 

The Urban Frontier 

Now one aspect of living so close to an urban area that I see and hear about every day is gun violence.  I have gone to vigils for victims of shootings, and while I can understand the need to mourn.  There is also a need to organize.  Work needs to be done to change the laws that allow guns to reach the streets.  

This blog is to be an effort to chronicle the toll that guns take on one city.  It's a tactic that groups advocating for what has been described as "GunSense" have overlooked.  They seem to go from one mass shooting to the other and stay silent in the meantime.  Groups like the National Rifle Association, though it is little more than a lobby for the manufacturers and perhaps the political arm for America's insurgents, have mastered the art of keeping constant pressure on their members and on Congress.  

Beyond Guns 

Guns are, to me, part of a larger issue.  America seems to be a culture of violence.  Games like Grand Theft Auto allow players to live the life of a thug vicariously, movies and TV shows make violence seem necessary and even cool.  I'll be taking a look at this as well. 

I also will engage in "meme-busting" where I see the chance.  Working with what the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence would call insurrectionists, gives me opportunities to see what passes for logic on their side. 

Who Am I? 

Who, is but a question following what. . .
V for Vendetta

 What I am can change at a moments notice.  I am basically a computer geek with a progressive and artistic streak.  Those two skills mean expect this blog to be highly dynamic, I hope to add a twitter feed and perhaps mechanisms to send e-mails.  

I hope you like what you see, and if you don't, then my messages may have hit the mark.