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Stop blaming ‘stray bullets’ and ‘botched robberies’ for CRIMINAL violence
New York Post ^ | September 26, 2021 | Nicole Gelinas

Posted on 09/27/2021 3:47:54 AM PDT by karpov

Bertha Arriaga, Davell Gardner Jr., and Ethan Williams were killed by “stray bullets.” Than Than Htwe, Nicolo Rappa and Tessa Majors were killed in “botched robberies.” As violent crime has soared, such language has become ubiquitous in news stories. It is lazily inaccurate — and absolves killers of responsibility.

Gotham shootings have more than doubled in two years, to more than four people wounded and one killed a day. In tandem, the term “stray bullet” has, er, strayed into more news reports. The New York Times has used it 42 times since January 2020, nearly double the 24 mentions in the similar period pre-COVID.

Davell, the 1-year-old baby “hit by a stray bullet at a barbecue” in Bedford-Stuyvesant last year. Arriaga, in her own apartment in Jackson Heights when “a stray bullet killed her.” Williams, the college student killed in Bushwick when “a stray bullet struck.”

Among the latest victims is a 19-year-old New York University student, wounded near the MetroTech campus last week by, as NYU said, “a stray bullet.” NYU pronounced itself “concerned about the occurrence of a shooting so near one of our buildings,” which raises the question: Where would NYU like the shootings to ­“occur”?

There is no such thing as a “stray bullet.” Each of these ­individuals was killed or wounded by a person who purposely shot a gun in a dense city, often at night.

The shooter knew there was a risk that the bullet would hit an “innocent victim” (another inaccurate term, as all shooting victims are innocent of whatever they are being shot for).

Saying someone was killed or wounded by a bullet that mysteriously strayed from its carefully planned trajectory is like saying someone was killed by being clonked in the head by a big hailstone.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; US: New York
KEYWORDS: banglist; newyork; nyc

1 posted on 09/27/2021 3:47:54 AM PDT by karpov
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To: karpov

So much for the Marc Rich narrative that served so well in the “Robbery gone bad” catagory.


2 posted on 09/27/2021 3:55:08 AM PDT by blackdog (Sophisticated so public policy is not applicable. )
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To: karpov

Seth Rich was killed in a “botched robbery” in which no attempt was made to take anything. It was a hit, but the media didn’t want to say that because it raised questions. So, “botched robbery”.


3 posted on 09/27/2021 3:56:06 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (China is like the Third Reich. We are Mussolini's Italy. A weaker, Jr partner, good at losing wars.)
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To: karpov

I hate these phrases, especially “botched robbery” or “robbery gone wrong.” When does a robbery ever go “right”?

Robbery is wrong to begin with, and minimizing it as just a little prank that went awry when the victim gets shot, stabbed, or beaten to death is an insane misuse of words.


4 posted on 09/27/2021 4:05:03 AM PDT by livius
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To: karpov

Hammer, meet head of nail.


5 posted on 09/27/2021 4:12:14 AM PDT by TwelveOfTwenty (Will whoever keeps asking if this country can get any more insane please stop?)
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To: livius
I hate these phrases, especially “botched robbery” or “robbery gone wrong.” When does a robbery ever go “right”?

Robbery is wrong to begin with, and minimizing it as just a little prank that went awry when the victim gets shot, stabbed, or beaten to death is an insane misuse of words.

Oh, but you see, depending on the individual, anything serious can be reduced to the level of a "prank." The equality under the law bit went out the window a long time ago.

6 posted on 09/27/2021 4:15:20 AM PDT by niteowl77 (The "Health Care" industry: it's not about health OR caring.)
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To: karpov

On different tangent, out of all robberies these days how often is the perp wearing a mask? Sounds like a stat that law enforcement is ordered to ignore.


7 posted on 09/27/2021 4:22:32 AM PDT by Hillarys Gate Cult (`)
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To: livius

—and then there is “gun violence”, as if the “gun” did something on its own-


8 posted on 09/27/2021 4:41:39 AM PDT by rellimpank (--don't believe anything the media or government says about firearms or explosives--)
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To: karpov

Stray bullets?

Leash laws for bullets!


9 posted on 09/27/2021 5:07:48 AM PDT by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: karpov

Well when the news reports Stray stories and Botched reporting, then what can we expect?


10 posted on 09/27/2021 5:16:30 AM PDT by Lockbox (politicians, they all seemed like game show hosts to me.... Sting)
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To: karpov

We have a “teen” problem


11 posted on 09/27/2021 7:23:05 AM PDT by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes)
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To: rellimpank

The source of the “stray bullet,” maybe?


12 posted on 09/27/2021 12:37:53 PM PDT by livius
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To: niteowl77

True. Some are more equal than others.


13 posted on 09/27/2021 12:39:01 PM PDT by livius
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