Hiker who shot man says he'd do it again: NRA contributed to his self defense

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Downtown Elizabeth was down at the nasty end of the scale for me, though I think that whole general area (and the surrounding towns) have the same issues with gang crime. The residential parts a half mile past the high street are pretty nasty - lots of boarded up homes and people out on their stoops.

Irvington too - drove through there a couple of times and had a not so nice experience with a potential landlord there (this is when we were apartment hunting and didn't really know the area).

The hoods I'm talking about are similar to Elizabeth, but much better than Irvton.

Yeah Elizabeth isn't dangerous, grotty but I never really felt unsafe. Walked back home from the Elizabeth train station a few times. Pretty quiet.

You're likely to encounter open hostility in Irvington and parts of Newark. Esp in Newark - some of those neighborhoods look abandoned, with unsurfaced roads full of potholes, houses burned and tagged with graffiti.

Edited May 18, 2009 by Private Pike

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Irv is ground zero.

No hope. Burn it all down.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Some pretty bad crimes out there - second worst one I heard of was a guy who shot dead 5 people in an apartment building, including their pets.

Absolute worst was the rape/triple murder that my wife sat on the jury for - that actually happened in Elizabeth. Only paper that carried that was the Star Ledger. You'd think that a case involving a mother of two being raped and stabbed and her two young children strangled would make national headlines.

Edited May 18, 2009 by Private Pike

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

I love my quiet little suburban town

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I love my quiet little suburban town

"Thank God we live in a quiet little red-neck po-dunk white-trash mountain town"

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

damn straight.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The guy was certainly threatened, but the real issue is whether or not deadly force was necessary. Judging by the story it seems like deadly force was excessive, but at the same time the sentence seems excessive as well. If I were on the jury I would have convicted the guy of a lesser charge vs. what I believe was a murder charge (maybe something like negligent homicide would be more appropriate).

[alienlovechild 75]

Absolute worst was the rape/triple murder that my wife sat on the jury for - that actually happened in Elizabeth. Only paper that carried that was the Star Ledger. You'd think that a case involving a mother of two being raped and stabbed and her two young children strangled would make national headlines.

Sounds promising but the national media only focuses on crimes that have a "hook" on viewers and readers. I know nothing about the case your wife was in the jury on but was merely tragic not sensational. Not all victims or killers get "star" treatment with big headlines.

I was on a jury where a guy murdered his ex-wife. He was a loser living in his car and the whole thing was senseless.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Absolute worst was the rape/triple murder that my wife sat on the jury for - that actually happened in Elizabeth. Only paper that carried that was the Star Ledger. You'd think that a case involving a mother of two being raped and stabbed and her two young children strangled would make national headlines.

Sounds promising but the national media only focuses on crimes that have a "hook" on viewers and readers. I know nothing about the case your wife was in the jury on but was merely tragic not sensational. Not all victims or killers get "star" treatment with big headlines.

I was on a jury where a guy murdered his ex-wife. He was a loser living in his car and the whole thing was senseless.

There's little more sensational (in the sense of outrage) than child murder.

The difference in this case was that it involved racial minorities (a black guy wiping out a hispanic family) in an #######-end part of NJ where such things are deemed to be commonplace.

[alienlovechild 75]

The difference in this case was that it involved racial minorities (a black guy wiping out a hispanic family) in an #######-end part of NJ where such things are deemed to be commonplace.

I was going to guess the victims were members of some minority group living in some crappy part of town. That may not be fair but most people won't follow the story with much interest.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

It's always more interesting when it happens where you don't expect it to.

[Peikko 1,575]

Follow the money...

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Maybe, but it does give rise to racist double standards - why a home invasion in san marino is more "newsworthy" than one in Elizabeth, nj

[Peikko 1,575]

Of course there are double, perhaps even triple standards at work. So much for racial equality

[spookyturtle 9,466]

And the Ironbound is fine during the day, best Brazilian food in the state. Highly recommend it.

To be fair, MC, the gist of what he is saying - being aware of your surroundings is a good idea.

You sound like you're jonesing to give him a hj yourself.