"How are you, Sir. I have been worrying about you, living with those worthless negro neighbors of yours. You know, Sir, that fifteen of us cabbies have been carjacked this month alone! The bandits ride four to a car, bump the cab, and then, when the driver gets out to exchange insurance information—what insurance I ask you—none, Sir! They are rats that scurry like fiends across your beautiful city—a city that I see everyday was once grand.

"In any case, they use a woman among them to dampen suspicion. The man sees her and feels confident, is not threatened. Sometimes they are using a second car, the men in the second car, and they seize the driver, throw him down, beat him, stomp him and take his money, phone and car. My good friend is still in the hospital and may lose his eye. My other friend is just out of the hospital, but his shoulder is broken and driving is difficult—but he drives. Sir, we drive. We are Christian men and we do what God tells us and he does not tell us to surrender to these evil people, these rats. Niցցer is too good a term for them, so there is no point in employing it. Only the strong are left and we will not submit. God lets us know that when the Devil plants his seed he plants it deep and the spawn is numerous. With another woman for mayor, I do not envision victory—but, Sir, it is beneath a Christian man to run from such as these, fifteen to twenty-one years old, just baby devils. If you run from the devils when they are babies, what do you think is in store for you when they are full grown and horned!"

"I trust you shall go about armed, Sir."

As we shook hands I patted the knife on my hip and he winked his approval before walking down Aisle 11 with his hand basket.

Recently, the carjackings have been so bad that the BPD went to the news stations to ask for assistance in spreading the word about the danger. Of course the news stations did not specify whether these gangs of carjackers were Asian, Latino, Caucasian, or some other notoriously violent ethnic group, such as Pacific Islanders or Native Americans.