What a tragedy. Another tragedy in a violent city full of them. Less liquor stores, less guns, more jobs, please.

# voiceofreason Says:
November 9th, 2009 at 9:25 am

What a tragedy. Another tragedy in a violent city full of them. Less liquor stores, less guns, more jobs, please.
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No where in your post did you mention the people responsible for committing this murder.

Anyone Notice MPD got the Date of the crime wrong?

So that’s why that block was closed off. That’s terribly sad.

VoR, you blame the victim. Here’s an idea: “More liquor stores, more businesses and jobs in DC, fewer thugs.”

It’s not “all of us,” it’s the two f-ing punks who shot this poor woman and continue terrorizing our neighborhood with their sense of entitlement and their enjoyment of physical power over their fellow man.

“Why is it that there is a gun shop on almost every corner in this community? I’ll tell you why. For the same reason that there is a liquor store on almost every corner in the black community. Why? They want us to kill ourselves.”

-Furious Styles

Rufina Hernandez was a good woman and her presence in the neighborhood was actually a positive one (even though she owned -GASP!- a liquor store!!). Business owners like her are the types of people we want to see succeed on Georgia Avenue- she was responsible and friendly to her customers and maybe most importantly she was making an honest living under circumstances that don’t always make that an easy task. No one from Councilmember Bowser’s office, the Mayors office or the city (besides our friendly beat cops) showed up to the candlelight vigil last night, which was a disappointment. This is a terrible loss for our community, and I hope that those in charge are aware that we aren’t going to let this slide by as just another comment thread about violence on Prince of Petworth.

“There’s no personal responsibility.” I agree with this statement. There has been very little personal responsibility for our community taken on by all of us.

Wonderland, as far as I know, doesn’t contribute to perpetuating addiction like the liquor stores on Georgia Ave do. I don’t think that’s a fair analog.

I’m not blaming the victim here. The shopkeeper did nothing wrong and is a tragic, innocent victim of violence.

But collectively, we need to work together to create communities where there are more jobs than liquor stores, and more opportunities for choosing success rather than crime. We should use tragedies like this one to band together and do some real work, rather than just complain about thugs and police work.

Here’s more info I just got in an email from MPD:

“Detectives assigned to the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch are investigating a fatal shooting committed during an armed robbery of La Casa De Morata Liquor store, located in the 5400 block of Georgia Avenue, NW.

At around 9:00 pm on Saturday, November 7, 2009, officers assigned to the Fourth District responded to La Casa De Morata , located at 5421 Georgia Avenue, NW, to investigate the report of a shooting. Upon arrival, they located an adult female employee suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the face and neck inside of the business establishment. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department personnel responded to the scene and transported the victim to the Washington Hospital Center’s MedSTAR Unit where she was pronounced dead. The victim has been identified as 51-year-old Rufina Hernandez of Hyattsville, Maryland.

Reportedly, two suspects, at least one of whom was armed with a handgun, robbed the business establishment at gunpoint. After obtaining an undetermined amount of U.S. currency, one of the suspects then shot the employee before the culprits fled from the store.

Suspect #1 is described as a medium complexioned black male, 30 – 40 years of age, 5’8” tall, weighing 160 –200 pounds, wearing a flannel shirt, armed with a black handgun.

Suspect #2 is described as a dark complexioned Hispanic male, 30 – 40 years of age, 6’0” in height with a thin build, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call police at (202) 727-9099 or 1-888-919-CRIM[E] (1-888-919-2746).”

VocieForReason: I agree with everything you’re saying.

I think the problem people have with you is because you don’t say much about the murderers. The “prevent the crimes before they happen” side of the equation is extremely important – More jobs, Better education, Less liquor stores, etc. But the other side: the “effective police work, effective court system, effective incarceration, and effective re-entry for convicts” is just as important.

You would save yourself and everyone else some grief if you acknowledged both sides of the equation in your posts. I say this assuming your comments are meant to be constructive and not just inflamatory…

I don’t like VOR, but in no way did they blame the victim, that’s just bizarre.

The definition of blaming the victim would be to say that she shouldn’t have been working in a liquor store. No one has said that, therefore no one blamed her. What college classes are you taking intractable?

This is just a sad story.

however, VOR, collectively we will have almost no effect on the number of jobs in the neighborhood. I live in DC and commute to work in multiple locations across DC, MD and VA as a consultant. That is the reality of work in 2009.

The question is this, do members of the Petworth community have the PhDs required to stay middle class in 2025? Because without a PhD you will be living in poverty.

There are HUGE amounts of nursing jobs at the Washington Hospital Center within walking distance of the entire Petworth area. “Jobs” aren’t the answer to anything. People starting their own companies would be closer to the answer. Those thugs need to sell me their landscaping services.

Let’s look into the Harlem Children’s Zone model, which is being replicated with funds from the Feds (called Promise Neighborhoods). How can we esnure we are able to help start such programs across DC?

David, I”m interested in learning more.

A friend said that years ago memphis was having issues with robberies like this. They started placing folks armed with shotguns in the back room, so as the robbery went down, the perps were shot on sight. Go figure, armed robberies went down. Not to say that that would work here, or that armed robberies are that prevalent, but something to consider. Not!

VoR: This is not the fault of “all of us” or any such rot. And yes, you are blaming the victim because she was one of the “all of us” that you’re blaming.

It’s not the liquor store’s fault for existing either. It’s the fault of the two people who did it, no matter how many excuses you make for them.

Nothing in anyone’s socio-economic situation forces them to murder someone in cold blood. On the other hand, their choices to be thugs and murder people will prevent businesses and jobs from moving to and serving to areas like Brightwood and Petworth.

Wow, a Black dude and a Hispanic working together. Quite rare in DC.

“what they do has nothing at all to do with me.”

this attitude will all but guarantee that violent crime will continue in prevalence in DC and elsewhere.

Dr. Neener – what a blatant and reckless generalization.
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I don’t think those words mean what you think they mean.

“And yes, you are blaming the victim because she was one of the “all of us” that you’re blaming. ”

wow, that rationalization failed.

@Memphis
I am from Memphis & that is simply not true. Memphis has been ranked #1 or 2 for several years now for the most dangerous cities in the country. DC & Memphis have a lot of the same problems, but I would say Memphis is way scarier. People are leaving in droves because things are so bad. The last thing Memphis or DC needs is people with more guns!

Dirty, None of what you said makes any sense. I cannot argue against it. I stand by my original comment and the follow-up, so live with that.

David, maybe you could be that leader.

How American of us to say the blame lies ONLY with the criminals. Social Darwinism is practically the national religion here.

What are the odds those two guys would be murderers if they lived in a community with predominantly intact families, good schools, and a strong social safety net? We KNOW the answer to this.

But we maintain the fiction: “oh, they were bad people, and that’s the only reason.” They weren’t BORN bad people; we created the conditions that made them criminals.

And yeah, I’m a huge fan of the Geoffrey Canada’s HCZ already mentioned above. There’s no excuse for not taking that program nationwide; I literally cannot imagine a better use of our national resources.

Anon: It’s not an either/or. You can work to make a community less criminogenic while also continuing to incarcerate criminals for the usual deterrent, protective, and rehabilitative reasons.

The argument isn’t “ignore the criminals because it’s not their fault”, far from it. Rather, the argument is “invest some effort to keep kids from becoming criminals, and you eventually won’t have to deal with so many criminals.”

But our society is so wrapped up in making sure every Evildoer gets his rightful Biblical Retribution that we ignore our role in making sure that today’s cute baby doesn’t become tomorrow’s thug.

In the unlikely event you’re even TRYING to understand my “anguished hand-wringing”, try these facts on for size:

1. America already has the largest prison population of any country. One percent of all American males are in jail tonight.

2. American politicians are STILL campaigning on a platform of “we need to put EVEN MORE people in jail.”

3. The above politicians are actually getting elected.

What is wrong with this picture? Isn’t this good for at least a little “anguished hand-wringing”?

The countries of Europe, in general, have much less crime, and less than a fifth of our prison population. What is their society doing right? What is our society doing wrong? Because I refuse to believe that Americans are just genetically more evil.

I’d say a little “anguished hand-wringing” is in order. The experience of the WHOLE REST OF THE CIVILIZED WORLD tells us that we’re doing it wrong.

Anon at 9:43 you are way out of line. Advocating for a more effective way to deal with crime over the long term is NOT anywhere near valuing the accused more than the victims. Your interpretation is completely off the mark.

You should re-read what It Takes a Village wrote and you will not find one word that even comes close the idea of valuing the rights of the accused over the victims of violent crime.

What you will find is a well reasoned plea for a system of justice that works from both ends, building community and nurturing lives early so crime can be prevented, and also dealing appropriately with criminals on the other end.

This is just a horrible event all around. Makes me sad

For many years I would stop by the store when in DC and buy beer at the best price (I would tell her) around. I always thanked Mama and her son for being a “breath of fresh air” to life. They always responded with gratitude and encouragement. When I came by for my $5 Budweisers and discovered the makeshift shrine out front, I was devastated. I didn’t cry as much at the loss of my daughter who also went to be with God untimely. She died peacefully of a heart ailment. To think of Rufina being shot in her beautiful face with her beloved son standing nearby is too unbearable for words to describe. The peace of God be with us all.