On the fence

I already had crime, drug-dealing and murder on the mind after going to sleep fresh off the end of City Of God, an incredibly violent movie that was also, unfortunately, fantastic (I hate that so many great movies are so violent, adding to the lists of the movie geek boys who can't call something 'one of the best ever' unless it involves at least 200 gunshot wounds). And I went to bed wondering what daily life is often like in parts of DC? Is it that bad? Was it that bad? Hey, maybe even the actual City of God in the 80's wasn't that bad, but we all know that there's places where people grow up and live their daily lives in war zones.

I woke up this morning (painfully early, thankyouverymuch failing body) to find this story in the Post:

Criminals to Face New Hurdle On D.C.-Prince George's Line

With the images from City of God in my head, here's a scene close to home of drug dealers controlling neighborhoods and easily evading cops. I hope that the fence brings that neighborhood some peace, but it's hard not to see a short time between the finish of the fence and the day when someone takes some wire cutters to it.

What I find almost as upsetting as hearing about the good people of these neighborhoods terrorized by crime is that this underscores the problem of DC. Having the political boundries that the cops can't cross is just one more example of how DC is so often paralyzed by its small size and close borders, and how it will continue to have such problems until the size of the city is expanded, something that will never happen.