By Jim Ries Pico Neighborhood Board member
The response to yet another shooting directed at or around 1845 17th Street is pathetic. The question is really whose inaction or lack of outrage is worse. Is it the Pico Community, who quietly accept shootings as part of life in the Pico neighborhood? Is it the property owner, who keeps stating we are working on it, but our hands are really tied? Is it the police, who have not addressed the series of violent acts associated with a single property or for not interviewing a community member who saw the car driving away before calling 911? Is it the City Council, who relegates Pico violence somewhere far behind helping the homeless and/or making sure businesses meet the sign code? Is it SMRR, an organization that has controlled Santa Monica politics for 25 years without addressing this issue? Is it the media, whose coverage is sporadic and never provides depth into these issues? Or, is it the Santa Monica community at-large, who appears to be content that the violence is confined to a three-or four-block area far away from them?
It seems to me that each group, including some not mentioned, shares some responsibility and shame. However, it is the silence of the Pico community’s majority that speaks the loudest. If the recent violence does not keep us up at night searching for an answer, then why should anyone else really care? There may not be a single answer to this problem, but I fear that our silence and inaction will lead to yet another death.
We each know members from the stakeholders listed above. Never let them forget violence is a real concern for us. We have four Council seats open this election cycle. Let’s make sure we support candidates willing to address the issue of violence in our community.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 22, 2004. Read the original PDF.