[Letters] No. 48 August 16 - 23

An Open Letter to Mayor Melton and City Council

It is 11:01 p.m., Aug. 4, 2006—that makes it about two hours ago that I was mugged on Morningside Drive in Belhaven Heights, about two blocks from my house on the way to get a pint at Fenian's Pub. It is a curious thing to have a gun put in your face—I imagine you know the feeling. I am now in the process of rearranging my affairs—canceling cards, changing locks and so forth. I am sure the two guys that put that gun in my face will go on to do so again as it seemed rather casual. They weren't afraid, and it seemed this wasn't their first "hustle."

Let me say this, too. The JPD officer came quickly, and I think he did everything he could to help. People say enough to badmouth JPD (and I, too, have my complaints, such as when they "lost" my brother's claim when his car was stolen, and we actually found it in Byram), but let me say I am pleased with how fast they showed up and helped me out in this case.

I grew up in a working-class South Jackson neighborhood off Terry Road. I moved to Belhaven to be closer to the "renaissance" that is happening in this city. My motorcycle was stolen from my front porch not long after. My brother's car was stolen two months later. A few months later, the truck he bought to replace the stolen car was broken into. Now there are two young thieves somewhere in this city with my wallet, cellphone and keys. As much as I am tired of the crime, I am tired of looking naïve and foolish when I chide my friends and colleagues for moving to Rankin County or elsewhere to escape perceived and the real epidemic of crime in Jackson.

I will not leave. I will not run away. Jackson is my home. I shop here and go to college here. I work here and pay taxes here. Tomorrow night I plan to walk the same route to Fenian's, and I am going to get that pint. I pledge to do my part. I think I represent many Jacksonians when I say: We are doing our part; now you do yours. That doesn't mean paramilitary tactics that produce arrests the DA can't prosecute. It doesn't mean dramatic televised raids. It doesn't mean being armed to the teeth and states of emergency. All that can be accomplished with force has been accomplished in Jackson. It doesn't even mean sending those guys that hit me up to Parchman to turn them from petty thieves into resolute, lifelong criminals. I have been inside such institutions and know firsthand that they accomplish absolutely nothing in terms of reform or the betterment of society.

What does it mean? I don't know. I really don't, and I doubt it is a thing that can be accomplished in a season or a year. I do, however, know this: It is not my job to know; it is yours. It is yours, Mayor Melton. It is yours, City Council. It is yours, elected officials. My job is to stay and see Jackson through this human pollution to something better. It is to walk that route to Fenian's and not live in fear. Help me do that, Mayor Melton, City Council and elected officials. Help us, and help Jackson.
— Justin Sledge, Jackson

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