[sanjuro]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/us/06cleveland.html?hp

Cleveland’s gritty east side since the police last week arrested Anthony Sowell, a convicted sex offender who has been charged with multiple counts of murder after 11 decomposing bodies were discovered in his house and backyard.

Despite being accustomed to drugs and violence, residents said they were shocked by the case’s gruesomeness and appalled that a man convicted of attempted rape had apparently been able to hide such heinous crimes, even as the authorities were regularly checking up on him.

Being in Buffalo, a city close to Cleveland and similar in many ways, for the last few days, I am reminded about living in the inner city.

I was in Buffalo's West Side, another gritty neighborhood, although not as tough as the East Side. It is a beautiful but bleak place. I like the feeling of isolation, something I rarely see in overcrowded San Francisco.

I hate incompetency, and ultimately this is not about apathy or disconnection, but doing a horrendous job.