“Hell is empty and all the devils are here” ~ William Shakespeare (“The Tempest: Act 1, Scene 2.)
EDIT: I started this specific post the day after the shooting but between work, school, and ongoing updates at the time regarding this specific event, I put it down for a while.
If anyone didn’t know better, they’d think that quote was about Memphis, Tennessee. Within the last week alone, a kidnapping/murder brought our city to a standstill and into the national headlines (again) and just as the dust was beginning to clear a bit, a mobile shooter held our city hostage as he went on a mass shooting spree from one end of the city to the other, carjacking vehicles and killing people in cold blood as he tore through the city to keep one step ahead of law enforcement as they were trying to identify and stop him.
This person even went live on social media as he walked into a local auto parts store and shot a man before turning and running out. I saw the video before it was taken down. Cold-blooded doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Throw in the fact that $800,000 worth of Nike shoes and clothing stolen this past week as well, not to mention all the other shootings, murders and various crimes in the 901 this past week, and well, yeah, I’d say the demons have indeed taken over.
My feelings are all over the place in regards to the shooting, the kidnapping/murder, and the overall uptick in crime lately. At first I took all this as a sign up pack it up and head out. Then I was like, “No! I’m not gonna allow the few bad apples in this city to dictate my life. I love Memphis. I love the person it has molded me into. Memphis and I have been connected and intertwined my entire life and that’s way too many years invested to just up and abandon it now.
So, how do we bring change to our city and help put an end to these atrocities happening here? I don’t know. If it were an easy fix, I’d think it would already have been done. I do think our elected officials need to be vetted better before they are voted into office. I think the police force needs an overhaul and a lil loosening of the reigns when it comes to being able to do something instead of having their hands tied so tightly all they can do is sit and watch crap happening.
I also think, as citizens, we need to come together more, get to know our neighbors better and watch out for our neighborhoods and each other. We’ve become too distant and isolated and it’s time for that to change.
So, yeah. Hell has been running amuck in Memphis far too long and it’s time for all the devils and demons to go back to where they come from.
Walking In Memphis With Kimber 