Saturday 19 July 2008

Busted Part II

It appears the increased Police presence on Oxford Road is just for show. Caramac was mugged on his way home from our house the other night. He'd been to a cash machine, the best lit and most frequented one on Oxford Road to avoid attention. He was walking on down Oxford Road, under the bridge after the Palace, where the Thirsty Scholar is, and 5 guys, ballied up, surrounded him, the one in front with a knife and demanded his money. They must have been watching him, waited in the shadow of the bridge for the every-3-minutes police patrol to pass, and for a lull in the *crowds* of people. I say they were watching because they said "Yo, give us that money now!", they asked for the money not his wallet. Caramac being a smart guy gave it to them, kept his stash, phone, keys, wallet and didn't get knifed, good for him. Where the Fuck where the police??? Oh, did I mention The Caramac Daddy happens to be black?

Thursday 10 July 2008

Busted!

Wow! It is too easy to forget we live not just in Manchester (Or Gunchester as the media like to call it) but right on the edge of Mosside, then you're having your tea and you hear gunshots, or armed cars pull up outside a house down the street and haul the occupants away. It's scary because I watch the kids playing in that street everyday, this *is* a good area but you can't keep all the bad out, not when it's so close to your doorstep.

Take this example, I was stopped by the police on the way home from shopping the other day, just a random check for drugs and weapons in cars, sounds serious but in the city center they often do a blitz and usually grab a few names and heads in the process. Anyway, I didn't have my licence and insurance with me so I had to go to the station the next day to show them.

Now, i was in and out no problems, but as I was stopped at the traffic lights, not more than 600yards from the Police Station and old lady crossing in front of me was grabbed by 3 boys. This was broad daylight, with stopped cars and people watching and these kids, who couldn't have been more than 14 tried to take her bag and her trolley! I couldn't believe it. The man in the car in front called to her and shouted at the boys, scaring them off before they could get anything and my husband jumped out of the car and ran after them through the estate. Considering he has epilepsy was still covered in cuts from a fall the day before I was worried but he was determined to get them. He ran into 2 plain clothes Police officers in the chase and they joined in but we didn't catch them. As I was giving the police a description I still couldn't believe it, little G-boy wanna-be's, no morals, no empathy, disgusting.

The thing that really made me sad though was this; My immediate reaction, and my husbands was to help in any way, I would never walk past a person in trouble or hurt without offering what ever I could. Strangely the spot where the old lady was attacked was almost the exact same spot where he had fallen the day before. He had a minor seizure with his epilepsy and fell, breaking his nose and cutting his face, he was covered in blood and I had to walk him back to our flat, supporting him. He's nearly a full head taller than me and a big guy, I'm a UK10 and 5'6'', clearly a difficult task, and yet not one person stopped or offered to help, pleanty stared, some looked disgusted obviously assuming he'd been in a fight, but nobody asked if he was OK.

It makes me wonder if some people are just not human.