OUR ROLE IN GANG ACTIVITY

Once again, Calgarians have cause to wonder about public security, as
gang-related violence claims another life.

Police Chief Jack Beaton said the shooting of a known member of an
Asian criminal gang Thursday was not random, but expressed his concern
that innocent bystanders could be still victims if the cycle of
retaliation continues.

That's entirely reasonable. In 2005, Sophorn Kim, 21, was shot dead
near the Max Bell Arena, apparently a victim of mistaken identity. He
was not a gang member.

Yet, even if Calgarians could be sure the risks were entirely confined
within a narrow criminal clique, they should still be concerned.
Although some untimely deaths may accurately be called the consequence
of rash or illegal behaviour, all are tragic.

Confirmation a murder was drug-related offers modest reassurance to
those who have nothing to do with drugs. It is only when entirely
innocent people face the possibility of sudden death that they have no
way left to say it's not their problem.

The truth, of course, is that the deaths of these young Asian men are
bitterness to their families, the ruination of dreams and a measure of
the society we have become.

After all, if they make their life from crime, who are crime's
customers but the people who buy the drugs they sell?

This is not a problem limited to an ethnic group -- it is a problem of
crime.

And, if some innocent Calgarians are killed, it is because too many
Calgarians are supporting the criminals' endeavours -- perhaps by
purchasing illegal drugs.