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Taking the law in our own hands?
23
January
1/23/2009:
A concerned Hoboken resident recently sent a letter to the editor of the local paper about the anti-crime meeting that took place last week. Are the local news outlets politically influenced?
Dissed and dismissed
“I sent the following letter to the editor of the local paper; I asked that it remain anonymous. But I just got a call from the editor saying that they won’t publish my letter unless I agree to have my name (and possibly address) credited for the comments – despite dozens of other anonymous letters published. I obviously fear retaliation and was silenced by this sudden reversal of policy. It’s as if the paper is silencing any dissent against Dawn Zimmer; it just doesn’t seem right that they do that.”
Here’s the letter that got rejected:
Charles Bronson doesn’t live in Hoboken
“It’s always a concern when violent crime invades a community. It is especially concerning when our government leaders seem desperate and suggest the public form vigilante groups to police the streets. But that is exactly what Dawn Zimmer recommended – along with creating a community garden – when she attended Wednesday’s Crime Prevention Meeting.
A City Council person suggesting that citizens take the law into their own hands smacks of ignorance of the situation and disregard for public order and people’s safety. Does she really think community garden farmers will take to the streets – pitchforks and hoes in hand – and keep watchful eye on the 2nd Street Light Rail Station? And what about well armed thugs and murderers? Does she believe these thieves will think twice about hunting innocent commuters because Hoboken’s own Batman patrols the streets?
I would hope that Dawn Zimmer could suggest better solutions that not only deter crime but assist in solving those that do occur. Increased foot patrols by armed & uniformed police officers, street lighting, and additional day/night cameras are just a few possible action items one can take to ensure the public’s safety.
Now if our 4th Ward Council Member truly believes a vigilante watch group will solve the latest quality of life issue to plague this town, I ask that she take matters into her own hands, grab her garden tools, and walk the streets – hand in hand with her fellow citizens – and protect us from the scourge that threatens our valuables, our safety, and our lives. Forgive me, then, if I remain skeptical that her latest poorly thought out sound bite will reduce or deter the violent crime that increasingly threatens our town.
Signed,
Concerned 4th Ward Citizen”
January 23rd 2009 - 16:28:47 |
It’s strange that post tax increases, towns in NJ actually see an increase in crime and subsequent and significant reduction in home market values as well as horrible performance in public schools – yet government salaries increase tremendously, including the schools’.
See Maplewood, NJ for a perfect and recent example of this.
Why does this happen like clockwork in NJ?
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January 23rd 2009 - 16:34:50 |
Broken,
I agree with you. But the ones who are going to be asked to serve in the crime watch service will be the residents who reside in the area by the Light Rail, The Neapolitan, the Sky Club, and Harrison Court. They are yuppies who work long hours and are already being raped in property taxes. They have jobs with long hours, or they are searching for work, and they have families to care for, they don’t have any more time in their day to commit to patrolling the streets late at night.
Personally, I want an armed trained officer patrolling my streets, my tired overworked neighbor.
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January 23rd 2009 - 16:35:02 |
MidnightRacer,
Because government is the cause of the problem, not the solution to it. It astounds me that people can live in NJ with it’s high taxes and terrible problems, and not understand this instinctively.
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January 23rd 2009 - 16:38:24 |
Correction: NOT my tired overworked neighbor. Although he’s a good guy, after a 10-12 hour work day, he’d be nothing more than a Zombie on patrol.
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January 23rd 2009 - 16:39:37 |
JollyRoger,
Well, fine then, but don’t make it seem like the yuppies are the problem for not wanting to pretend to be cops in their free time that they don’t have. Not for nuthin, but I’d feel a lot safer if this fine state allowed me to exercise my constitutional right to carry a weapon as well. Yeah, I went there.
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January 23rd 2009 - 16:53:45 |
homeworld wrote:
Homeworld, there are tons of copies available on the sidewalks of Bloomfield and Garden streets all the time. Bank of America offers stacks upon stacks of the Hoboken Reporter as well.
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January 23rd 2009 - 17:37:33 |
One 411 reader IM’d me and said:
“a neighborhood/community watch type thing is not vigilante justice. that’s a severe twisting of words, and if it’s intentional, it’s quite dishonest. there are thousands of those types of groups around the country. “in use by over 13,000 police and sheriff agencies, housing authorities, emergency management agenceies, as well as concerned citizens http://www.nnwi.org/ “
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January 23rd 2009 - 18:33:31 |
You and me both, broken
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January 23rd 2009 - 23:33:14 |
dont-cha-know wrote:
emarche wrote:
My bad about the anonymous letter statement in the first place… But was the Reporter wrong? Does the letter pass the “smell test”?
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