Open Palm of Broken Glass

Looking dead on at this image, it may appear as though a detached hand is offering a palm filling with precious stones. There seems to be some type of dusting around the dark hand and it's peculiar arrangement almost has it's own comment.

Would you believe that this image was snapped just like this in a residential-street parking spot at 6:30 in the morning?

What would you think if I told you this represents a comment on living at the high end of gentrification?

Those shiny looking morsels in the palm of the discarded glove are remnants of a busted car window. There's been a lot of that going around in this neighborhood. About once per week, those walking along this up-and-coming area will see the shattered windshields and windows of smash and grab victims.

That absolutely sucks. Imagine coming out to go to work in the morning and discovering a bunch of jagged glass next to your vehicle. You may look at your car, truck or SUV and wonder, just for a split second, why you can see into your front seat so clearly and without any glare. Then it hits you. Someone busted out your window or part of your windshield. You've been robbed. You're a victim.

You could comfort yourself with the knowledge that at least your car is still here. But I imagine this is the part where you start to wonder what you may have lost and what you left in your car. You're mind is scrambling, thinking about what was in the console or on the seat on the floor that may now be lost.

If this has ever happened to you, especially in your own neighborhood, do you wonder why your car was targeted? Do you finally remember that wallet, cell phone, bag, watch, whatever that you left visible and think that may have been the reason? Don't get me wrong, no one deserves to be a victim of a crime, especially theft of one's personal property. It's not right to make it like the victim is at fault. It just begs the question - what made that thief choose that car?

I venture that it was because of that item, that personal bit of valuable, that someone must have been able to see. And when I continue through my neighborhood I'm wondering about the reason. Is it because this neighborhood is a hot second off the real 'hood? That this neighborhood used to be part of the hood until the middle income folks started to move in? Is it that the economy is so bad that those who were on the edge are now more desperate? Are the perpetrators seasoned criminals who are targeting those who believe they are safe in their gentrified neighborhood? Some of it or all of it?

I don't know. But I do know that I'm tired of seeing the crushed ice of windows and windshields when I walk down the streets. I'm sure the victims are too. We shouldn't have to protect ourselves like that, but we must. Just a thought.