Apples and Oranges?

Suppose I told you that I know of a community in which the tension is so thick that residents are afraid to walk down the street...even during the day.

Suppose I told you that in this community there are healthy adult men who don't work, because they insist that there are no "good" jobs to be had, and that the government is not doing enough to help them, and that it isn't safe on the streets anyway.

Suppose I told you that different factions in this community "fly" and wear colors that identify their allegiance to different groups, and that if a member of one group sees a member of a rival group in public the two will almost instinctively attack one another...physically.

Suppose I told you that sometimes innocent folks, who are members of neither faction, are also hurt or killed when these rivals fight.

And suppose I told you that even a politician or a big-named public figure risked catching a bullet if they showed their face in this community.

I posed this scenario to a buddy of mine earlier today. I wasn't trying to set him up. But this is a guy who doesn't pull punches with his opinion. So I genuinely wanted to know how he would react to such a "neighborhood" description.

I consider this guy to be pretty fair-minded...most of the time. His reaction to my scenario? Lots of bluster and ranting about the 'hood, ie. largely minority populated urban American neighborhoods overrun by street gangs. He hollered about "Crips" and "bloods" and "lazy-a$$ed grown men" using safety and government dependence as an excuse for not working. He got righteously indignant about the danger in such places, and even suggested that "the government" should just drop a bomb on communities like this, so as to spare the rest of society the headache of dealing with the place.

And then he asked what 'hood I was talking about, West Detroit, South Philly, Overtown in Miami, West Baltimore, Southside Chicago, Northwest D.C., Grilltown in Charlotte, Northside Milwaukee?

Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

That's right. I was asking about the 'hood where Benazir Bhutto, former Pakistani Prime Minister, was fatally shot this morning and more than 20 additional people died in a suicide bomb attack.

Her death isn't funny. But I found it amusing that my buddy considered that scenario in Pakistan to be part of a larger, noble fight to save society, but when he thought it was about a depressed American community he was was ready to call for the total destruction of the area.

As soon as I said Pakistan, he replied "Well, that's different. Those people are dealing with groups that want to break down their structure for power and profit."

Hmmm. Where have I heard that before?