If you've been following the Nicole duFresne murder (you really don't have a choice, every NYC based news and entertainment channel is all duFresne all the time), you'll have heard the news now. Statements made by the arrested teens indicate that duFresne's party was targeted for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and for being too happy. Now, 10 years ago during the crack epidemic, this would be par for the course. Just looking at a person the wrong way (ie: any way) could get you knifed. Especially in yhe Lower East Side. But that was then, and this is now, and the vast majority of New Yorkers like this whole safe streets thing we got going. So it's a little shocking. But it really shouldn't, unfortunately. I think most unhappy people are unhappy for a reason, they lack the ability to pull themselves up to a happy place. This is no judgement, I am one of these people too. It's a lot easier to want to pull everyone else down to your unhappy place, rather then invest the hard emotional and physical work to change your situation into a happy one. I mean, misery does love company, no? When you hear that every other person you knew in high school just became a dot com billionaire, do you get all happy for them, or do you seeth with a little envy while you wonder how those morons struck it big when you were so much more talented. Or maybe that's just me. Anyhoo, so Ashley Evans was unhappy, and her "friends" were making her miserable by ragging on her. The smart thing would be to identify the cause of the problem, the "friends", and eliminate them and possibly find a better peer group. Lots of hard work, but ultimately I think it would lead to a much happier situation for her. But then the easy solution, the one she chose, was to see these really happy people and make them miserable. Now, again, the smart solution would be to rob deFresne & Co., and get away. Contrary to what might be obvious, the criminal is in the weaker position. Because once the crime occurs, they are the criminal, and society (via the police or vigilantes) seeks to punish the criminal. Escape is very very important, and as good bank robbers know, seconds count. You get the goods, then you get away. Especially if you haven't already cleared the area for cops, you don't have easy getaway transportation, and if you consist of a bunch of kids who can't keep their mouths shut. But then, robbery really wasn't the motive, was it. It was to make these people unhappy. It was to have a little fun by being bullies. And that's where deFresne drew the line. I think she instinctively knew that robbery wasn't the real motive. And I think that's why she was so emboldened to challenge her attackers verbally and physically. Robbery is one thing, being bullied is another. And then she got shot. Ashley Evans is, I'll wager, still unhappy. And she, and Rudy Fleming, and the others are going to be unhappy for a real long time. It's going to take a lot more work to find a happy place, and the options for doing so are going to be very very limited, probably for the rest of her life. I really feel bad for her, she really screwed things up. Bigtime. [via gothamist.com]
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