I am starting to see a trend and I thought I would throw it out there. Oftentimes a story makes a splash nationally then dies a sudden death and the opportunity to follow up is lost.  The situation I am about to report is a prime example of the phenomena. 

First, a shot at the reporter wrote this gem and the editor that let it pass.  “The armed customer then fatally shot the man multiple times, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.” When it comes to fatal you only get one bite of the apple. I think in great literature or some such shit, reference was made to “little death” but that was a veiled reference to orgasim.  Get your facts straight is this a sex crime or an armed robbery?  Possibly the writer meant but had not the skill to say, “The armed customer fired at the suspect several times, resulting in multiple wounds that led to his death.  Course this is Chicago and anything above a third grade comprehension level may be too difficult, so they may have been right the first time.

Back to my emerging trend.  Cops step on a cockroach and a society for the prevention of cruelty to cockroaches shows up complete with banners and protesters.  A citizen goes all Irish dancing on a colony of cockroaches, nothing.

I think two things are going on.  First, when one of these psychopaths gets blown up, friends, family, baby mamas, illegitimate kids, criminal associates, neighbors and fellow gangbangers heave a collective sigh of relief and reach the same conclusion.  “That asshole will never bother us again.”

Second there is a marketing machine that kicks in and evaluates the circumstances.  A dead asshole isn’t worth anything.  If a citizen did the deed, there isn’t any money to be made and everything remains quiet.  If the dearly departed was killed by the police, then there is money to be made. The machine swings into action.

Cue the crying grandma, can we get mama to collapse on the street, uh wait somebody grab that crack pipe she has in hand.  What’s Jesse doing, tell him free airfare, hotel and 10K if he hits town by tomorrow night.  Memorial service, candlelight vigil at 8 pm, free rap concert and free Mad Dog 20/20 at 6 pm, around the corner and down three blocks.  The cops are contenders in a national softball tournament next week, limit protests to three days, no more than thirty hours of overtime per officer so they will be fresh.

Everybody in the neighborhood has an incentive to participate. The bigger the show the bigger the payoff.  Doesn’t matter how guilty the dead asshole was, this is his only chance at providing for his family. Something that never occurred to him in life.  Next time it could be one of your surly, ungrateful, drag on society kids and you would want a good turnout.  Think of it as the modern urban equivalent of a barn raising where everybody shows up to help, in the expectation that neighbors will return the favor when needed.