Our country has degenerated from “IF I ever get affected by crime” to “When I get affected by crime, the question is how violent will it be”
A while ago I stared into the barrel of a gun for the second time in my life, and could see the intent of the guy holding it….”fight me and I pull the trigger”
So I decided that he can take what he wants, and whatever is not insured I will have to replace out of my own pocket. I originally insured my bicycle in case I crash in a race, my thoughts never covered the possibility that someone would want it enough to take it from me at the business end of a gun. But luckily it was insured, and I was able to replace at least some of what was taken from me.
The sad thing is, I know that the people who took my stuff have no idea of its value, and will probably sell it to cover their next splurge at the liquor store, where they could be buying a small car.
The previous time this happened, I was lucky, I only lost a cheap cellphone and some cash, they probably knew that an expensive bike would look totally out of place where they lived and would be caught in a flash. Now, the criminals just don’t care anymore, they know that our police force is so swamped with work, that they’ll probably never get caught, and if they do get caught, they’re probably be able to bribe their way out of, so who cares.
Our government has let this happen, they’ve let corruption and cronyism fly at the highest levels to the detriment of everyone that actually contributes to the coffers that they are raiding.
I’m under no impression that the same corruption and cronyism is not prevalent in most, if not all, first world countries, but there they at least have the decency to get the basics right before scooping the cream off the top. Here the whole milk bucket is plundered, including the cream.
Will this improve? IMHO, I don’t see that happening soon. There’s a lot of talk, a little action, but mostly apathy from the government side as well.
What am I going to do about it? First of all, I’m not going to change my life because of this incident, I will continue cycling, I will continue doing it when and where I want to do it. But I’m not that worried about me, I’m worried about my children, things have degenerated, and will probably continue sliding downwards, where does this leave them when they grow up?
Maybe I should then seriously start thinking about moving them to a place where there is at least a possibility of a better, safer life for them…Yes, this will affect their relationship with their extended family, but what should I do?