North

I was reading the paper yesterday online and I noticed a story about someone being shot in North Mpls. I immediately opened up the story to see what happened and how close to home it was. Not close but in the middle of the day which was not good.
While I was disturbed by the story of a young man dying - I was upset initially because North Minneapolis was in the headline. This spring there was more violence in South Minneapolis and I don't remember that being in the headline. I remember I had to open up the story and find the address before I knew where it had happened.
North Minneapolis is a big place. It is a diverse place. But we have been pegged as the violent part of Minneapolis and that just isn't true. Yes. We have violence. But did you know that we have all sorts of community building activities as well?  We have Holiday on 44th, movies on the parkway, concerts in the part, ice cream socials, active block clubs, a large community garage sale, great schools, lots of parks, and many more fun family friendly activities through out the year.
When someone asks where I live and I say North Minneapolis, I would get a kick out of the response. {Really?} Then I would say - I love my neighborhood. There are a bunch of households that go on vacation together in Ely, we have an active block club that puts on a great National Night Out, and we are helpful and friendly to each other.
So my point is - challenge your assumptions. There are people in North Minneapolis that live and work with you every day. We deserve to be treated with respect. I understand the media sensationalizing the stories of the violence to sell more advertising but I don't like it.