Sunday, May 1, 2016

Wild, Wild West Allis

My wife and I moved at the end of last year and moved back to the same neighborhood that I grew up in as a kid.

Back then, West Allis used to be a moderately liberal, working class, blue collar type of city.  Block parties were not unusual. When one of the neighborhood kids had a birthday, all the neighbors came over to have some cake and enjoy socializing with each other.

Oh sure, there were problems, like kids fighting, some drug use and Hwy 100 was clogged every night with cruisers.  But overall, it wasn't a bad place to live, work and raise a family.

But that's all changed.  It's become notably much more conservative.  Instead of a liberal mayor, we have a corporate Democrat.  Instead of family supporting jobs, we have check cashing places and fast food joints, including - oh, joy! - a Chick Fil A soon coming to the area.  We also have the damage done by the conservatives, like Scott Walker and Chris Abele, such as their reckless gutting of any gun laws and dismantling mental health services.

In the four short months that we have lived here, there have been three shootings within a three block line, with two of them less than a block away from each other.

At the beginning of the year, there was a shooting at Heartbreakers, a strip joint on 95th St and National Ave.

At the beginning of April, there was a shooting at a gas station just a block away.

Now, early this morning, there was another shooting just three blocks from the first ones.  Sadly, this one involves a fatality:
One person is reported to have been killed in a shooting that has sparked a manhunt Sunday in West Allis.

Police responded just before 7 a.m. to reports of a burglary and shots fired at an apartment building in the 2300 block of S. 92nd St., according to police news releases.

Officers found an injured man in the building and moved him to safety, but he died from his injuries — presumably from the gunshots, though the most recent news release didn't specify.
At the time of this writing, the shooter is still on the loose.

Remember when the gun nuts said that more guns would make us all safer?

Instead of West Allis, it's become the Wild, Wild West Allis.

Yet, despite all of this, I still feel no need to start carrying a gun, a switchblade or any other weapon.  Maybe I'll invest in some Kevlar to protect myself from these gun-loving idiots, but that's about it.

8 comments:

  1. you need to invest in moving out ole friend.

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    1. Bullshit.

      Stallis is a wonderful city to live in.

      Bad shit happens everywhere.

      I've lived here with my family for 16 years and I am not afraid to walk the streets at night.

      I came from Mayville, who now has a Heroine problem. There was a prom shoot-up in Antigo. There have been several shootings very near to my workplace on the North side.

      This is not about place or area. It's about desperate people carrying out desperate acts.

      Delete
  2. That's my old 'hood. The loss of solid, family-supporting jobs has really cut the legs out from under that city.

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  3. WE shouldn't have to move. THEY should have to move. You are making the neighborhood better. Call the police every time you hear a shooting, or every time you hear of a shooting. They'll tire of hearing from you.

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  4. I don't know dude. I see you pointing out the negative occurrences of recent times as compared to what you grew up with.

    But you've been back here for a four short months and I perceive you bashing a wonderful community and a Mayor and city council that is working very hard to preserve community here.

    My family has been living here for 16 years. I really love Stallis. My neighbors are all working-class and keeping on as always. We go about our lives and sit on the porch sharing beers on the weekends and talk about the crazy shit that went down around us.

    Wild, wild West Allis? I don't think so.

    Most of the stuff that has occurred within the West Allis city limits has either been personal business or shit that has spilled in from outside.

    Stick around friend. Check out the Farmer's Market. Check out West Allis A la Carte: http://westallisdowntown.com/events/a-la-carte/

    Check out McCarty Park, Greenfield Park, Honey Creek Parkway.

    Check out Aggie's bakery, Crawdaddy's Cajun Restaurant.

    Yeah. There have been some unfortunate happenings recently here. But I don't see it as a signal of decline in quality of life here in Stallis. It's just shit happening around me.

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  5. I may have moved back within the city limits just four months ago, but for the previous 16+ years, I've lived only a mile and a half from here. And I've been in here almost every day to visit my dad. The decline is most notable and getting worse every year.

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  6. Also, you do realize that the parks are still run by the county, at least for now. Wait until the county dumps them on the city and they too shall become dumps themselves. That or more gentrification.

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