This is the photograph for Week 2 of the 2008 Challenge.
Richmond, California, the 9th most dangerous city in America in 2007. The city I call home.
I have lived in major metropolitan areas since 1990, and I have come to accept that violence is just part of the city. Richmond, in particular, is plagued by gang violence, with murders occurring on a regular basis. The violence tends to be concentrated in certain areas, and is almost always obvious gang activity. However, on December 28th, 2007, even Richmond residents were surprised by the events at Sahib Restaurant.
Around 9PM, two unidentified scumbags shot and killed the owners of Sahib Restaurant. The motive is not known. The restaurant was not robbed. Just a random act of violence. The owners of Sahib were two of the nicest people you could ever have known. One of the brothers was a waiter there, and was always ready with a joke and a smile.
The photo above was taken at the location of Sahib Restaurant, which is now closed. People are leaving cards, notes, flowers, and candles there still.
I can’t agree that violence is “just part of the city”. That doesn’t sit right with me at all. Violence like this is all about fanatical support for the idea that every citizen has the right to bear arms rather than the concentration of population in a particular geographic area.
Andrew,
My statement was broad; I am not going to attempt to dissect the social or political reasons for why there is so much violence in American cites, or America in general. The point was that, after living in large cities (at least large American cities) for a while, I have accepted that they can be violent places. I don’t like it, and I don’t think that it is a good thing, but it is a fact here.
Sadly enough, violence is a part of most communities in America, at some level. Some cities suffer more than others, like Richmond. This is a great post for the 2008 challenge because not every part of our community is necessarily a part we cherish. Some thing we hope to change, like this.
I live in El Cerrito and have been going to Sahib for ages. I don’t read the news so I had no idea until tonight that this happened, and I’ve just been pouring over the accounts trying to make sense of the nonsense. I found your blog in my search. Those guys were really nice. I can’t even articulate properly how much this has affected me. Thanks for your photo, it’s beautiful.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Gary! This post is fantastic for the 2008 Challenge. It triggers an emotional response. The people who know this community are drawn into your story and will cherish your image even more.
Great job, Jeremy!
Point taken, Jeremy. I guess that having never lived in a society where violence was part of the accepted norm the idea is quite alien to me. I think we’ve actually chatted about this before: there’s nowhere I can think of in Melbourne (the capital of the Australian state I live in) where I wouldn’t go. Sure, we have violence here, but it isn’t the senseless sort that you’ve described here. Interestingly, however, see http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/detroit-la-joburg-no-melbourne/2008/01/12/1199988647969.html.
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