Coming Home to Murder City

I was all ready today, to come in and write a nice happy post about all the good times being had in our Kollegium kitchen, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Today I logged onto my Google New Canada, and look what I read.

Weekend sees five stabbings in Edmonton

and

Edmonton's murder rate rooted in demographics: experts

which states that

Their deaths came the week after Statistics Canada released a study showing Edmonton had the highest murder rate among major Canadian cities.

The Alberta capital, with 4.29 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2005, surpassed Winnipeg's rate of 3.72.

And after this weekend, Edmonton is on pace to break last year's record of 44 victims.

Unbelievable! I don't know...i'm not even sure what to write. It's disgusting really. Really makes me look forward to coming home. "Hey everyone, I'm moving back home to the murder capital of Canada."

And the majority of the stabbings are happening outside of the bars, and the majority are stabbings. We could say that the problem is Whyte Ave, and it's large concentration of bars in a small area, leads to a higher probability of problems occurring. But I don't think so.

Here in Aalborg we have Jomfru Ana Gade, effectively known as 'the street.' 26 bars, packed along a pedestrian street that is maybe 4m wide by 5om long. And every weekend it is packed, literally like sardines with people in the bars and partying on the streets (no open alcohol laws). And I haven't once seen or heard of any major problems (granted I can't read the news....but you would think word would travel if something did happen).

No the problem is the society. Starting with our embarrassing justice system, Teen Gets four Years for Rolston Murder. Three out of the four 'teens' who bludgeoned another kid to death get two year conditional sentences to be served in the community??? Big punishment! That ought a put the fear into people who are thinking of murdering someone.

And lastly, in my little tirade, what happened to a the fist fight. Now I'm not condoning violence, but tempers rise (especially with alcohol it seems) but in the old days this would lead to a fist fight. Somebody would go home a little bruised and battered, but the conflict was settled and everyone moved on...alive! But now days, a conflict isn't settled until someone is dead. And it seems a fight doesn't end until someone ends it with a knife.

Bahh, I'm disgusted. That's all I am going to write.