courtesy: yahoo.com
The shooting rampage that occurred a few days ago in Las Vegas belongs somewhere in the hinterland of a large, disgruntled and crumbling metropolis. But Las Vegas is not immune to the gun violence that seems to pervade the news since the Newtown shooting.
Whether it is because we are more aware of it, or because there is a real uptick in the gun violence throughout the States, it leaves people scared and scratching their heads.
Are we entering a new phase? Are people going mad?
That's what Las Vegas denizens are wondering. For the past three months there has been a spate of violent acts committed with firearms.
Many people think this kind of violence is endemic and natural in a place where people go to gamble and otherwise let loose in some form of forbidden behavior or another. But the truth is that most of the violence was relegated to areas outside the 'beltway' until last year.
Now the violence has come to the main avenues, to the shining heart of Vegas. Since December there has been a considerable uptick in the violence through the main artery of the city, and that worries citizens and official, since the city relies very heavily on the tourist trade.
Authorities have been quick to draw up and distribute literature that points to a decline in overall crime.
But the public recently has been witnessing firsthand the violence that is usually witnessed in other, darker and poorer locales.
In four separate incidents in the past three months, people have lashed out violently, either by shooting or by stabbing smack in the middle of the luxurious settings of the Las Vegas casinos.
There is a sense, in fact, that people are no longer resorting to negotiations or even talks or any other means to resolve their differences. And that, in an era when almost everyone possesses multiple firearms, spells disaster in large, loud and vivid words.
partially sourced from : NBC news 2.23.13/ Yahoo 2.23.13
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