The Observation Deck

Anyone know about this?

it's the topic of the day on WTAM...

http://www.wtam.com/pages/bfrantz.html

Has it really come to this?

Holy Cow that just scares me. Have we come to this? Can they even do that? AUGHHHHH!!!!

I could support this only if they wore Batman costumes.

ha, this has to be a put-on....!

From their flyer: "33% of us have a concealed carry permit"...
oh, so one of the three of you...?? I mean, how large is this vigilante force?

Did anyone listen to the Bob Franz show to hear more?

I'm on my lunch break and am tempted to listen to the archived show from this morning...

also, just found this: http://neighborhooddefense.wordpress.co ... cleveland/

Nice video on that link

Folks,

since we're talking about concealed carrying, I thought I'd share this.

Warning: Angry wife at the end of the video, some foul language.

Don't play with guns

hey, they took down their Web page!

It must of been a glitch. I just watched it.
Sorry to say I am not surprised.

I think I am with you on the batman outfit idea.
But women must wear, wonder woman. Haven't seen that costume in awhile.

Seriously, when the communites out there, and here are more worried about other issues, not so um pressing, we are laying off police everywhere?

I lived in a few really bad neighborhoods when I first moved here, dind't know better, didn't have the money to live somewhere better, well until I found Lakewood, and I don't condone it, but I certainly understand.
Don't know how many of you have had bullets fly outside your window everynight for a month until you move. Or have to take your dog, out with your Ruger to take out the trash. Been there done that, scary, eye opening and took me out of my realm of small town Texas , small town girl reality to the real world. I appreciate this city believe me. And like many of you I don't like the trend I see out here either. Been there done that don't want to go back.

We do need to focus on bigger issues here, before we all really understand what they mean...
So are you wondering since I mentioned I am a TX native if I am one of the three now... LOL sorry had to do it. And I will never tell.

I hope they have a cool logo and catch phrase! I guess having read comic books my entire life I have to say I don't remember the Justice League or Batman or the Fantastic Four advertising on telephone poles. It is a bold move and very grass roots. It has raised vigilantism (is that a word??) to the level of a weekend garage sale or missing cat. I am sure criminals and people looking for bargains or their missing cats are quite frightened.

Real vigilantes don't have conceal/carry permits. They don't believe in them and why in god's name would they advertise the fact that they have a gun that they legally registered and now can't use. It isn't self-defense to stick yourself in front of a bunch of hoodlums crying out "For Justice!" Real vigilantes carry sharpened screwdrivers and attack when they least expect it.

I have to say, with the police lack of response in many Cleveland neighborhoods, though, wouldn't it be more effective for individual blocks to hire their own private security force? Everyone pool their funds to pay for professionals to patrol their streets...like police, but actually present?

apparently Bob Frantz has found a member of this group who is willing to be interviewed. His show airs from 9-12 on WTAM am1100.

why can i picture in my head a whole bunch of masked men running around? Oh oh...do they have the Batman logo thing that shoots up in the sky? Oh how cool would that be? The Bat Signal.

Phil, you make some great points in your post.

So did anyone get to hear the interview on Frantz and can provide a summary? I was at work, thus could not tune in.

I can certainly understand the frustrations of the members of the "Defense League", but why didn't they just advertise as a neighborhood block watch, and go from there? You know, start small and see how that goes....

Or, on the superhero note, could we be witnessing the birth of a real-life "Great Lakes Avengers" team?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Avengers

For some reason I am fascinated by this topic, so I decided to listen to some of the Bob Frantz show tonight (I did not have time to listen to it all).

If you want to check it out, you can get the whole thing at: http://www.wtam.com/pages/bobfrantz/ondemand/. It is very interesting stuff.

Here's what I learned from what I heard of the discussion between Bob Frantz and "John", one of the members of the group:

- There are more than 35 members of the group that patrol the border area of W117 (or Highland, if you prefer) and the surrounding neighborhoods.

- Many are former military members, including some with intelligence background. Also, "John" indicated some members are retired police.

- The group has been in planning for more than 1 year, and its formation was prompted by a high-profile attack on an older woman who was well-known in the neighborhood

- The group has members on shifts every night, typically 15 on a shift

- Their interest is not lawlessness, but to keep the peace in the neighborhood

Frantz said about 90% of his callers were supportive of the group.

I'm not sure what to think. They obviously have an intense passion for their neighborhood, which I can appreciate. Still, this kind of escalation might backfire on them, or the neighborhood. Or, also very likely, this could all be a hoax.

All I can say is be careful if you are around that area at night - you wouldn't want to be mistaken for a criminal!

On a related note, http://nno.org/

Tuesday, August 5th is National Night Out.

A good time to light your house and meet the neighbors, if you haven't already done so.