Radio ad asks Houstonians to arm themselves against evacuees
HOUSTON - A radio commercial for a local gun shop advises Houstonians to arm themselves against “Katricians,” adding to the growing tension between Houstonians and the Katrina evacuees who have been blamed for a rising crime rate. Gun shop owner and radio talk-show host Jim Pruett said Thursday he started running the ad a few weeks ago after hearing a local television interview with a Katrina evacuee living in Houston who implied he would have to turn to crime if his government assistance ran out.
Yep, there’s nothing quite like overreacting to a ridiculous degree to a perceived problem to get yourself tons of free publicity. Jim Pruett couldn’t have purchased all the press he’s been getting simply by being his normal bigoted, overreactive self. No doubt he’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.
I understand the Second Amendment, and I’m not about to advocating taking about Jim Pruett’s guns. No, his guns are an important part of what makes Pruett such a convincing DUMB@$$. Well, that, and his demonization of Houston’s Katrina diaspora. Because of a relatively small portion of the total number of refugees, Pruett is willing to brand almost the entire community as thugs and criminals. This being Texas, it’s the perfect excuse for arming yourself to the teeth and turning your home into an armed camp.
Overreaction and demonization sure is a whole helluva lot easier- and WAY more fun- than taking constructive action, eh?
“There are many evacuees here who are working,” said Pruett, who has owned Jim Pruett’s Guns & Ammo in northwest Houston for five years. “They have become Houstonians now. That is fantastic. That is what you are supposed to do. You are not supposed to threaten the place you are working in.”
And most of the refugees don’t. Many of these folks lost everything- homes, cars, livelihoods, lifestyles- and they’re here in Houston trying to put their lives back together. We should all be on bended knee in prayerful thanks that we aren’t in their shoes. None of us who were fortunate enough not to call New Orleans home on 8.29.05 can possibly know the Hell these people have been through. The vast majority of the Katrina diaspora are good, decent, and honest people who simply want a second chance and a place to put their lives back together. They don’t deserve to lumped together with those who refuse to live by the rules.
Katrina refugees deserve and need a hand up. What they DON’T need are knuckle-dragging Neanderthals who are more interested in demonizing than reconciliation.
Katrina evacuees are suspects or victims in 59 of Houston’s 262 homicides between Jan. 1 and Aug. 26. Residents in upper middle-class west Houston have blamed evacuees for violent crime rates that have increased almost 14 percent in one district and homicides that have nearly doubled in another.
Earlier this month, the FBI reported that violent crime in Houston jumped 2.4 percent last year, slightly above the national figure of 2.3 percent.
This is a case of lies, damn lies, and statistics, and the statistics can speak whatever language suits your particular purpose. The anecdotal evidence certainly seems to indicate that crime has increased since the Katrina refugees hit town, but if Katrina had never happened, does that mean that 59 of Houston’s 262 homicides never would have taken place? Is it possible and conceivable that Houston’s crime rate may have been on the increase regardless?
I’m not saying that I have the answers, but troglodytes like Pruett certainly aren’t going to make things any easier. Introducing yet more firepower into the equation only ratchets up the potential for more bloodshed and more suffering.
Pruett’s radio ad says, “When the ‘Katricians’ themselves are quoted as saying the crime rate is gonna go up if they don’t get more free rent, then it’s time to get your concealed-handgun license.”
Pruett is talking about about quotes from a very small segment of the entire Katrina diaspora. Yes, the attitude showcased is despicable, but equally despicable is Pruett’s reaction, which does nothing to address, much less solve, the problem. Peace through superior firepower is nothing if not a recipe for misunderstanding and then needless death and suffering.
Department of Public Safety statistics show that from January to Sept. 1, the number of concealed-carry permits issued for handguns have risen almost 25 percent in Harris County, which includes Houston. Texas has no other gun registration laws.
‘Cuz if there’s one thing we love here in Texas, it’s our guns…especially when we get to use them against people we preceive as athreat to us.
Yes, it would seem that crime has increased, which certainly coincides with the arrival of something like 150,000 Katrina refugees. Does this make for a direct, demonstrable correlation? Who cares? When you’re a DUMB@$$ like Jim Pruett, and you can manipulate already highly-charged emotions to drive a few more customers to your gun shop, it’s all good.
