Angel update

Although the citizens of Davenport no longer
support the Guardian Angels, it doesn’t mean
they aren’t making a difference where they
are welcome.

In Washington, D.C., the Guardian Angels began
patrolling a neighborhood after a man was
attacked in broad daylight.

Closer to home, and the former local chapter,
is the fact that 4 Guardian Angels were stabbed
in Chicago in a confrontation while trying to catch someone who pistol-whipped a man
waiting for the Red Line train.

A second man with a knife started stabbing
the patrol members. During the scuffle 3
Guardian Angels were cut on their arms and
1 one on the head.

After getting stitched up 3rd Rail said he
had no regrets, “if we don’t do something,
someone could get hurt or killed”.

These stories, and others like them, affirm our
belief our city is wrong in not wanting a
chapter here.
Comments are always welcome.

An opinion post

By now most have heard that the
Guardian Angels are in
the local news again.

It seems the ‘victim’ is suing those
involved in the incident, an Alderman,
the city, various chapters of the
Guardian Angels, and basically anyone
who may have money and can still fog
up a mirror held under their noses.

You should know by now where we stand
on this issue, but for those new here
we will say a little more.

Our first thought was why would the
‘victim’ go all the way to Newton to find
a lawyer. We have good attorneys right
here in the Quad Cities. Could it be
nobody locally would touch the case on
a contingency basis?

Then, some of those contacted by the
paper for the story admit they knew
nothing about the lawsuit. Wonder if
there was a leak to press before papers
were served?

And of course there is the fact that
there are a lot of groups and people
being served. If this guy was truly
hurt by the actions of 3, why sue the
rest of the people mentioned?

We know no more than what we have
heard on TV or read in paper but we
admit to being biased on the subject.

At least this time the story had a
reference to someone not buying the
‘victims’ story about how bad he
was injured.

Although we are no longer members, we
still support the Guardian Angels, and
believe in what they are doing. As to
rest, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Comments are always welcome.

A few facts

There are times when it seems like things
are getting a little out of hand. Times
when rumors and innuendoes spread like a
wild-fire. We hope this post will help set
the record straight.

Some of you may have noticed that I have
been silent about the recent news concerning
the Guardian Angels. There are reasons why
there have been no posts on this blog about
the issue.

One is that we have been asked not comment
in the media and some would consider a blog
media. Another is that we were not physically on
the patrol in question. Yet another is the fact
some of the allegations are too far-fetched to merit
a response.

Since a lot of people have been commenting
online concerning the group without the
benefit of facts, we’ll cite some facts here.

The Alliance of Guardian Angels just celebrated
its 32nd anniversary in March and the local chapter
just passed the 4 year mark.

The Alliance of Guardian Angels is an
International organization and when a mistake
is made anywhere, in any chapter, the news goes
worldwide in a matter of minutes.

Before this incident the local Guardian Angels
went on at least 400 patrols, started training
at least 150 people, received a proclamation from
the city for helping to lower the crime rate,
were named the rookie chapter of the year by the
Alliance of Guardian Angels, helped shut down a
crack house, gave safety talks to various groups,
and assisted the police when asked.

We believe in the Guardian Angels as much today
as we did the first time we heard Curtis Sliwa
talk at the Heart Institute, and will continue to
do so.
Comments are always welcome.

Lite post

Tomorrow will be time for another rant so today why not do
a lighter post? While this post will end with a joke I want
to start out on a more serious note. So now let’s get the
latest news out of the way and then leave with a laugh.
The joke involves nuns from another country and we’ll state
here we have no grudge against nuns or people who come to
our country from other places.

The trial for the accused Guardian Angels has been moved to
June 9th. This was done to allow the accused to hire lawyers
to state their case. I have a feeling the drive-by media will
have a field day with this fact.

And now a clean joke-

Two Irish nuns have just arrived in USA by boat and one says
to the other, “I hear that the people of this country actually
eat dogs.”
“Odd,” her companion replies, “but if we shall live in America,
we might as well do as the Americans do.”
As they sit, they hear a push cart vendor yell “Get your dogs
here” and they both walk towards the hot dog cart. “Two dogs,
please! ,” says one.
The vendor is very pleased to oblige, wraps both hot dogs in
foil and hands them over. Excited, the nuns hurry to a bench
and begin to unwrap their ‘dogs’.
The mother superior is first to open hers. She begins to blush
and then, staring at it for a moment, leans to the other nun
and whispers cautiously, “What part did you get?”

Comments are always welcome.

Keep Angels’ Patrol

A friend was good enough to email me concerning a recent editorial
in the QC Times titled Suspend Angels’ Patrol that had
the Times editorial board as author. Since my response would take
up a lot of the comment section to the story I thought a response
as the Cruisin’ editorial board may be in order. Please remember
that this is the opinion of the Cruisin’ editorial board.

Since their piece was stated to be an opinion I will try to keep
that in mind with my opinion of their opinion. As someone who has
personally been on over 200 Safety Patrols in which neither a
Guardian Angel or member of the public was injured I have to
wonder how old the editorial board is. It is obvious that the
members have never made a mistake or had a situation get out of
hand.

Anyone who seriously thinks Guardian Angels go out looking to
hurt someone during a safety patrol has not done much research.
The International Alliance of the Guardian Angels would not have
been around for over 31 years if that was the case.

In this age of the internet spreading news almost as it happens
it only takes a short time for any story to span the globe. I
don’t know how an intelligent person could believe that we are
not aware of that.

We, as a group, have asked the city for nothing beyond doing
the background checks. We have never asked the city for a dime
of financing, or a place to meet. As volunteers we are told by
trainers in the Guardian Angels that our jobs, family, and schools
come first.

Based on the wording of the opinion piece I am led to believe
that the Times editorial staff must not read their own paper.
In a recent column it was stated that the local chapter will
not patrol without the supervision of the Chicago chapter. If
we only patrol under the direction of a chapter that has been
around for several years, and those involved and charged with
the incident are not allowed to patrol; where is the problem?

Lastly, I don’t know where a newspaper gets off being judge,
jury, and executioner before the case even goes to court. I
have to wonder what happened to ‘innocent until proven guilty’.
Comments are always welcome.

Been there

Since some in the media are intent on milking a recent incident
involving the local Guardian Angels I’m going to do one more post
on the subject before cruisin’ on. The local chapter has been
here since March of 2007 and I am still proud to say I’m a member
of the local chapter.

As someone who has been on a number of patrols I feel confident
that I may know a few things most people don’t. The most obvious
to me is that I’ve never met someone who was detained that didn’t
claim they were innocent. Most of these ‘innocent’ people went to
court and were found guilty.

Another is that a Guardian Angel will always use verbal conflict
resolution as a first attempt to stop a conflict. Talking down a
situation is always the preferred method.

We are trained not to react to verbal abuse and taunts. Calling
us names will not set anyone off or cause a citizens arrest. You
are welcome to your opinion.

We patrol in dangerous areas without weapons, on foot, to help
make our city safer. We do not allow anyone to go on patrol if
they are in a bad mood, using alcohol or drugs, or out of uniform.

All members do not carry handcuffs. Those who do are trained to
use them so that those getting cuffed do not get hurt. I carry
a small flashlight because it comes in handy.

You can join the Guardian Angels regardless of age, sex, or race
if you pass the background check. You cannot join if you are
openly racist or sexist, handicapped to a point you can’t walk 8
or more miles on a patrol, have a felony, or are on probation.

We have escorted little old ladies to the mini-mart if asked,
have walked elderly citizens home through rough neighborhoods,
searched for missing children, pushed stalled vehicles out of
traffic, assisted the police when asked, talked with
various civic groups and much more.

So if that makes us the bad guys, so be it.
Comments are always welcome.

A short rant

It’s thursday and I had a rant all set to post before I changed
my mind. I appears to me that yesterday must have been the
official ‘pick on the Guardian Angels day’. We’ve seen mention in
both newspapers, on TV, and heard it on the radio.

As happens there are those among us who would trash the
group and some of the comments I’ve read online leave no
doubt what some people think of us. No Guardian Angel has
been proven guilty in a court of law yet all the armchair skeptics
have an opinion.

Nowhere in the coverage did I see mentioned that before we
graduate we have to be familiar with local law, know CPR, learn
to withstand verbal abuse, demonstrate patrol protocol, pass a
background, and physically patrol each weekend.

The Guardian Angels have been around since 1979 when Curtis
Sliwa started the group in New York. The organization has since
grown to over 140 chapters in 14 countries. The group is not
a fight club full of brawlers but a group of concerned citizens
who are tired of the direction their communities are heading
and want to make them safer. We dare to care.
Comments are always welcome.

Weekend wrap-up

This weekend has been as hectic as any I remember. This
post is about some things that happened to make it so
hectic. So, in no particular order, here’s the wrap-up.

The wife had an uncle visiting our fine city and we spent
some time with him. He was raised here but moved away
and hadn’t been back in decades. We found it interesting
that he noticed the air seemed cleaner than years ago. He
also mentioned how spread out the city had gotten and a
few one-way streets that he didn’t remember.

On the issue of crime it looks like progress is being made.
The skybridge has been a target of vandals for some
time now. During the Saturday Safety Patrol of the local
Guardian Angels 17 vandals were caught in the act. The
patrol detained those involved until police arrived on the
scene.

Since the paddy wagon was in use there was no way to
transport that many people to jail and all were issued
citations. Four were charged as adults, thirteen were
charged as juveniles, and all have a court date. Due to
the recent rise in vandalism on the Skybridge the Guardian
Angels now patrol the area more often.

Lastly we heard the cruise-in at South Park had a good
turn out and we may post some pictures tomorrow if we
get them. I’m sure more happened on the weekend but
haven’t had the time to check on them.
Comments are always welcome.

Some good news

Once again this is a day late and I’m a dollar short. A press
release in yesterday’s RI Argus is one I’m proud to post. I
would give credit to the author, but none are mentioned. Here’s
the article-

$1,000 Grant aids Guardian Angels

The Quad Cities Guardian Angels Chapter in
Davenport has received a $1,000 grant from
the Leading Ladies Giving Circle to support
the Street Patrol program. The grant will
help the Guardian Angels buy equipment needed
to strengthen and expand their patrol reach.
Currently, 15 members are enrolled in the
Quad Cities Guardian Angel Chapter that con-
ducts street patrols on Friday and Saturday
evenings and other times deemed appropriate.
“The Guardian Angels came to our community
in 2006 and have provided many benefits to
our area,” said Jill Bjerke, Giving Circle
member. “Their work is volunteer-driven, and
our grant supports their efforts to help
protect and keep our community safe.”
The Leading Ladies Giving Circle, a program
of the Community Foundation of the Great
River Bend, attend regular meetings and
discuss the needs of the community.
——————————————

A heartfelt thank you to the Leading Ladies
Giving Circle for the generous donation and
to those who made it possible.
Comments are always welcome.

A short history

The last post was about history so we’ll go for two in a row.
This post won’t have any pictures with it, just facts about a
group that shares some of it’s history with us locally.

Last month was the 31st anniversary of the International Alliance
of Guardian Angels. On February 13th, 1979, Curtis Sliwa led the
Magnificent 13 on the first patrol. The group has continued to grow
over the years to include chapters across America and in Canada,
Mexico, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, New Zealand,
Australia, the Philippines, Japan, and Korea.

Three years ago this month Mr. Sliwa held two meetings to see if there were enough people interested in starting a Guardian Angels chapter here, and two weeks later we were training. The first group graduated on July 29th, 2007. Since then the group has received a proclamation from the city of Davenport and was awarded Start Up Chapter of the Year from the International Alliance of Guardian Angels.

The local chapter is going strong and still patrolling our streets. We’d
like to take this time to thank everyone involved. Dare to care.
Comments are always welcome.