Thread: Aspen, CO - Violent crime: Who to blame?

Aspen, CO - Violent crime: Who to blame?

ASPEN TIMES
By Andy Stone
Aspen, CO Colorado
August 2, 2007
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070 ... 9436503258

There was a time - a lot of years ago - when people were arguing that the Aspen Police shouldn't carry guns. After all, Aspen was a quiet, peaceful place. Violent crime was almost unknown. Why did cops need guns?

The chief of police rejected the idea immediately.

"I won't send my men out there unarmed," he said.

Some of us snickered. "Out there"? He wouldn't ask his men to go unarmed out there on the mean streets of Aspen?

We didn't really expect the cops to give up their guns - what's the point of being a cop if you can't carry a gun? - but the whole "out there" business seemed a little silly.

Well, those were gentler times.

These days, it's hard to imagine anyone talking about police giving up their guns.

Within the last few weeks, we've had a brutal murder in Glenwood, a drive-by shooting in Basalt and, most recently, a cop shot at close range in Glenwood, his life likely saved only by a bullet-proof vest.

Sadly, the one thing these three incidents have in common is that the men pulling the triggers were apparently all Latino immigrants. And that understandably leads directly into the debate over immigration.

Certainly, it's easy - and not unreasonable - to point at the increase in violent crime by Latinos and declare that "Unchecked illegal immigration is filling our community with violent criminals."

We hear statements like that often enough and in some ways they are hard to deny.

It's hard to deny because ... well, it's true.

But wait.

It is also true that unchecked illegal immigration is filling our community with honest, decent, hard-working men and women whom we rely on pretty much every day of our lives. They keep our community going.

And that, once again, cuts to the difficult heart of the immigration problem: It does not yield to simplistic answers.

You cannot say, "They're all criminals! Throw them out and keep them out!"

Because they're not all criminals. And we need them.

And you cannot say, "We need them. Let them in and let them stay!"

Because some of them very certainly are criminals. And we need to keep them out.

And no amount of decent human concern for lack of education or economic opportunity can be allowed to obscure the simple fact that we must not, we should not, we cannot afford to open our country to a stream of violent criminals.

That almost seems simple, doesn't it?

The honest, decent, hard-working immigrants are an undeniable benefit to our country. We should welcome them, either as citizens or as temporary workers.

And the criminals should be kept out, thrown out.

But it's never quite that simple.

Looking right here in the area, we have to realize that, to fill our insatiable need for low-paid workers in our hotels, restaurants, construction sites and gas fields, we are, in essence, demanding the creation of a lower-middle class and lower class. We need blue-collar workers and itinerant workers.

We can't all be aristocrats, can we?

A large portion of that working class is Latino. And, again sadly, the lower economic classes generate more violent criminals. So the immigrant sorting process becomes much harder. How many "rough customers" do we accept as part and parcel of the lower class that we demand?

But we still have to reject the too-easy simple answers. We cannot demonize all Latinos, even as we recognize that some are violent criminals.

Because that kind of demonization and incoherent rage lead to yet another kind of violent crime.

Just this week, a jury in Eagle County brought in a verdict of first-degree murder in the death of an innocent woman who was shot and killed in front of her husband and young son.

Once again, there were Latino names on the police report.

But this time the Latinos were the victims.

Maria Madrid was shot to death by Charles Gross, who thought that Madrid and her husband and son had not cleaned up their campsite.

That's right. He shot a woman to death in an argument over trash. The victims were trying to escape, driving away from this violent criminal when he opened fire.

We cannot welcome immigrants who are violent criminals - but neither can we allow ourselves to foster violent rage in our own native-born hearts.

Andy Stone is a former editor of The Aspen Times. His e-mail address is andy@aspentimes.com

COMMENTS:

Re: Violent crime: Who to blame
by Carson on Thursday, August 02 @ 03:57:02 PDT
Sorting process!??
Some people are making this way to difficult on themselves.
The criminals in business that hire them are in violation of the law and are long over due for serious prison sentences!
The criminals the government that facilitated this are in violation of the law and are long over due for serious prison sentences!
Every illegal invader that crossed our border illegally is due for a swift kick home.

Re: Violent crime: Who to blame
by Carson on Thursday, August 02 @ 03:49:25 PDT
I’m getting a kick out of this article because I’m NOT an economist.

I can sort of see how a myopic economist may be able to see an increase in profits by snuffing the descendants of the founders of this country (Zero Population Growth). That makes room for the criminals in business’s illegal labor. Not only can many of the illegal invaders be paid off in token wages but that also leaves the honest workers stiffed with the invaders taxes, medical and social services. It’s a pure genius way of eliminating any competition. They won’t be able to compete on that playing field. Every day more and more will go under.

The part that confuses me is I can see examples of some of the illegal aliens previous work. And… How will all of the crime that surrounds illegal immigration be helping you out when the honest people are forced to join in, in the lawlessness?

It is very, very simple.

If you are here illegally - you are breaking a law. You are not law-abiding. If you work, drive, get welfare - you are again breaking the law.
That doesn't make you an innocent person. Forgive me, but breaking the law becomes a habit - it is addictive. If they can break one law - why not two.

The answer, if, and that's a big if, we truly need some extra workers - then go for temporary workers. That's not 'guests' - that's temporary workers. They can come for a year - maximum. No spouse- no children, preferably. If a couple come together - they get no freebies, the employer or parents pay for the child's education, medical care, food, etc., any child born WILL NOT be a citizen, and breaking of the law means you go home.

Also, the employer needs to have on deposit enough money to send these people home either at the end of their contract or when they transgress.

Canada has a program in place for many years that has served them fairly well - much better than ours has served us.

The employer is responsible for keeping track of these people and reporting if they disappear.

In short, make the worker and the employer responsible - it is not the job of other working Americans.

IF THEY ARE NEEDED.......

IF THEY ARE LAW-ABIDING......

LET THEM GO HOME and apply to come back legally. IF THEY ARE NEEDED, there are thousands in line to come here LEGALLY. That way, perhaps we can keep criminals and disease carriers OUT.

These slanted stories do not move me ONE BIT.

....filling our community with honest, decent, hard-working men and women whom we rely on pretty much every day of our lives. They keep our community going.

Hmmmm? If you replace the words "our community" with "our plantations".......

grey parrot is right. Aspen is an aristocracy. The mountians are being over run by illegals and the rich of aspen can care less. Send the stars back to Cali with there illegal buddies.

The reciprical is I live in Colorado and dont want to spend time in the illegal ailen mountians. It is sickning. The violent crime is getting worse

Encourage your friends not to vacation in the mountians of Colorado until at minimum the towns of aspen, glenwood, vail Basalt etc. use 287g. Ski elsewhere.

The Democratic state legislature is beginning to pay the price for there inactivity on illegal immigration in Colorado.

Plantation ciy I like that.

Maybe when all those wonderful people start vandalizing the elites houses, stealing their hummers, molesting their kids, maybe they will get the message.