A good time to be a petty criminal
Sampan, a freebie paper in Boston, carried this comic on May 6:
…which followed a string of purse-snatchings and other delightful urban foibles in Chinatown. (Documented here and here)
What does a law-abiding citizen do when the police are unable to be everywhere at once? I’m reminded of what happened during the L.A. riots of 1992:
As she watched, the news featured vivid images of Korean shopkeepers defending their stores with shotguns and pistols.
“I thought, ‘Where are the police? Why are these store owners having to protect their own property with guns?’ ” she recalls.
There may be a lesson for the law-abiding denizens of Boston in this — but probably not. If you’re a permanent resident, rather than a citizen (as I’d imagine many Chinatown residents are), it’s completely illegal to carry so much as a can of pepper spray in Massachusetts. (You have to be a citizen to get the appropriate permit.)