There was a fatal shooting earlier today at the Coney Island in Lincoln Park, where former roommate Mike and his mother often dined. The head cook, as well as the owner, may have been the unfortunate victims.
I found out some of the details from one of my fares today. Apparently, a man dressed in a trenchcoat pulled out an AK-47 and shot the people for no reason... also injuring a waitress during the skirmish. One of the customers caught in between the crossfire actually made his way out of there and went down the street to another restaurant. Out of breath, he tried to tell people there had been a shooting at the Coney Island.
He wasn't believed. And as a result, help did not arrive at the Coney sooner than it ended up being.
Are people desensitized by these events due to the environment around them? Or have people become a society of liars, to where the punchline to the "boy who cried wolf" story is retold? The trust is evidentally gone in society. Trust in safety is totally gone, as patrons around that area now can't feel comfortable patronzing the Coney, or any other restaurant in that area. Supposedly, the crackpot is still on the loose.
But what if these two lives could have been saved, if someone in the other restaurant had sent for help upon hearing the news? They wouldn't be persecuted if it was a false alarm. False alarms happen constantly. But could they have saved lives with quick thinking?
It's possible. It's not definite, because the incident is still under investigation. But you always have to wonder about the possibilities of any situation.
Years ago, this would probably have illicited more response. Just as car alarms would have done when they first came out. Now you hear the alarms everywhere, and do you see people running for them to try to catch any potential vandal or burglar? Not a chance. Even I just shrug the alarms off as an everyday sound effect, ranking up there with the birds.
Perhaps it's just another sign of the times, times which seem to be growing more violent and spreading from the city core. But it just doesn't seem right to me to have people's lives fall under such a general term as "sign of the times".
I thought each individual was worth more than that.
