WHAT'S GOING ON IN FOX CHAPEL??

An astute reader emailed in a curious document a few days ago.  This reader received this document from another resident of Fox Chapel who was looking to set up a neighborhood watch.

Why a neighborhood watch?  In Fox Chapel?

It seems that some folk there are a tad worried. From the letter:

We know a small number of families who live in our Forest neighborhood, but we are a distinct and circumscribed group of families who share a common border and neighborhood. We all value privacy, hence, we all keep to ourselves quite a bit. Despite this independence, We feel that it is time for us to come together in a loose organization of families. The political climate of polarity, the deepening income disparities, and growing unemployment are showing no signs of reversal. Many are saying that there is a very real possibility of civil unrest should the economic situation not reverse soon. [Emphasis added.]

For those who don't know, Fox Chapel Pennsylvania is not what one would call a financially depressed area.  The median income is $182,739 while the median income for the rest of Pennsylvania is just $49,520.  (For those without a calculator, that's about 3.7 times higher.)  The median income for 47.5% of the households in Fox Chapel is more than $200,000 per year.

The letter continues:

As a borough Fox Chapel has historically remained isolated from inner city issues and crime. However, such isolation may have persisted because the under-lying economic and social pressures have not been sufficient to affect it. The sad Truth is that We are in the midst of a different World from the one of the past, one of much more violence, lawlessness, and threat, both domestic and foreign. [Emphases added.]

Doesn't take long to see what they're scared of.  Poor people from the inner city coming up to Fox Chapel to make trouble.

And so as part of this neighborhood watch idea, they're looking to collect important information on other Fox Chapel residents - in order to "pool our resources should the need arise in our uncertain future."

They're looking to see who has "USEFULL (sic) SKILLS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY" including:

MEDICAL
DENTAL
VETERINARY
PLUMBING
ELECTRICAL
CARPENTRY
FIREARMS

And they're looking to see who has the following resources:

GENERATOR
PRIVATE WELL
STREAM ON PROPERTY
EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION (SCOOTERS, MOTORCYCLES, BICYCLES)

Not sure how to put this, but what do they think is going to happen in Fox Chapel that they need to know who in the area is armed, who's a doctor, who can fix a broken tooth or rewire a house to accommodate a generator?  Who has a source of clean drinking water?

Only proves one thing:  Just because you're rich doesn't mean you're not batshit paranoid.