According to the Supreme Court, the police don’t have a legal obligation to protect you. So when it get rights down to it, you’re on your own. True story. The number of times the police arrive at a violent crime as it’s happening are far outweighed by the number of times they’re called to a clean-up on aisle three.
Now I’m not saying armed self-defense is the be-all end-all of crime prevention or intervention. As the two interviewees above let slip, the ballistically besieged Little Rock community is facing some serious cultural issues.
For one thing, there’s not enough love. (Is there ever?) For another, there’s a “no snitching” ethos afoot. While it’s not mentioned here, I don’t think it’s too big a stretch to imagine that Little Rock’s D-rated public education system (Arkansas rates 41st in the nation) leads to a lack of gainful employment, which increases the number of people who turn to drugs and crime.
Speaking of snitches and such, gangs. If the city’s law-abiding residents want their police force to reduce crime, they should demand that the po-po take on Little Rock’s gangs.
As the infamous-at-the-time 1994 HBO documentary Gang War: Bangin’ in Little Rock revealed, the city’s position at the intersection of two major interstates (from Los Angeles and New York) make it a nexus for drug trafficking. Enter the Bloods and Crips. Still.
The bottom line: the police are not the answer to violent crime. Neither are armed Americans. But until and unless the root causes of violence are addressed, each individual is well-advised to protect themselves by the most efficient means possible: by force of arms.