Seattlest is not sure what to do with this P-I story about a poll on kids' perception of violence. The gist of the article is that according to Junior Achievement's survey, a startling percentage of kids in the U.S. don't seem to feel like violence in their communities is all that noteworthy--and that data resonates profoundly with the experience of many in South and Southeast Seatte. Presumably, the poll was faulty in some way, phrased poorly or not asking the right questions, because there's not a non-sociopathic kid in the world who isn't concerned when their friend gets shot at the mall. (Even as a young kid, we could recognize that "when is it okay to hit somebody?" was a dirty trick question.) It is conceivable, however, that street violence feels so entrenched in some Seattle neighborhoods that a kid could take the attitude that change isn't possible. more ›

Last night's shooting of an 18-year-old man outside of the Garfield Community Center was the first news item in Seattlest Abbey's local blog round-up this morning, and we received concerned emails about it overnight. We still haven't seen any official word that this is a gang-related shooting, but it is perhaps ironic that it happened on the same day that local law enforcement announced a renewed commitment to combating street violence. Seattle 911 has an interesting video with responses to last night's crime from the community center staff and the cops, below. more ›