The Lived Environment

Just as the promise of new developments seems to bless an area with the prospect of future affluence and rejuvenation, crime, specifically homicide, does the opposite. Over the weekend, the big story was the shooting that occurred at the conclusion of TSU’s homecoming parade. One person was killed and nine others were injured. Predictably, local media colored their coverage with calls for “gun control” that could have theoretically prevented the tragedy from occurring.

Is safety purely a matter of access to firearms? Obviously not. As of this morning, we know that one of the suspects, 24-year-old Maarquez Davis, was convicted of robbery, felony gun possession and felony drug possession this past April.

“It’s sad because now-a-days you can’t do nothing,” witness Jashawna Rucker told the Tennessee Lookout. “You can’t do nothing, you can’t … go outside and have fun or nothing. And there’s kids around. It’s very sad that this kind of incident has happened.”

Rucker’s comment captures the sense of unease that pervades an area rife with crime. In such areas, residents modify their behavior to  protect against criminal activity that the city has proven unwilling or unable to address.

We all do this to some degree. It’s one of the factors that keeps the crime rate lower than it might otherwise be were people to operate with full faith in the safety of the streets in an environment that, despite their faith, might be dangerous. Absent that faith, citizens will avoid certain parts of town, affix Ring cameras to their front doors, and participate in all manner of “self-policing” to prevent the likelihood of becoming victim to a senseless crime – like what happened on Saturday. 

It would be silly to expect that stronger gun legislation would do anything to assuage these base concerns. If, let’s say, assault weapons were banned, would you then be comfortable strolling down Jefferson Street at 1 a.m. on a Saturday night? The assurance of safety goes far deeper than this, and the collective call to rally behind gun control legislation does absolutely nothing to address the deep-seated mistrust many feel toward the government’s willingness to maintain law and order.

Highlighting yet another tragedy, Smokin’ Thighs closed for good on Sunday following the tragic murder of owner Matt Carney at the hands of an illegal immigrant. Carney’s wife, Molly, took to Facebook to make the announcement at the end of last week. “It is with profound sadness that I share the time has come for us all to say goodbye to Smokin’ Thighs,” she wrote.

Carney was killed after Ulises Martinez and Adrian Diaz-Aguirre attempted to steal tools from Carney’s truck bed. After confronting them, Carney was hit by the fleeing vehicle and died later of his injuries. According to the Daily Wire, Martinez was accused of stealing two vehicles and a bunch of tools in February, but Nashville Judge Jim Todd dismissed the charges. Diaz has been deported four times and has multiple convictions in Indiana and Tennessee.

Smokin’ Thighs sat at an uneasy location by the Fairgrounds on a well-trafficked section of road that doesn’t lend itself well to retail or restaurants. Despite that, the restaurant carved out a nice niche in the neighborhood and managed to survive ten years in Nashville’s increasingly competitive market.

Whatever peace once governed the area was surely punctured by the tragedy in a way that will not be legible in the metrics for a while but will nevertheless haunt the area for years to come. The miasma of murder and tragedy that follows in the wake of such events bruises an area until enough time passe or in Nashville's case, developers move in, remake the area in their image, and fill our minds with the promise of affluence and prosperity—affordable housing, sidewalks, and bus lines—burying the tragedy and the problems the city failed to address that set the stage for the development and allowed for visions of a more equitable (or whatever) Nashville to take hold. This cycle will surely repeat itself if nothing changes. DAVIS HUNT

⛵️ Columbus Day Some people took off work for Indigenous Peoples’ Day yesterday. Lest we forget, it was also Columbus Day. First recognized as a national holiday by President Benjamin Harrison in 1892, Columbus Day was created to ease tensions following the lynching of 11 Italian immigrants in New Orleans on March 14, 1891. 

According to Basil Russo, president of the Italian Sons and Daughters of America:

"Those who orchestrated and carried out the lynching went free, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the U.S. and Italian governments. To help resolve the issue and curry favor with Italian American voters, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison held the first national Columbus Day celebration in 1892, 400 years after the navigator’s historic discovery of North America." 

Though not a federal holiday, President Biden has recognized Indigenous Peoples' Day every year since taking office. According to USA Today, “Approximately 29 states and Washington, D.C. do not celebrate Columbus Day. About 216 cities have renamed it or replaced it with Indigenous Peoples' Day.”

🗳️ Calling Early Bird Voters Tomorrow is the first day of early voting in Tennessee. We are only 21 days away from the election, but a quick glance at the latest Beacon poll shows an expected steadiness in resolve when it comes to the top of Tennessee’s ticket. Here are the Pamphleteer’s top local races to watch:

United States House of Representatives District 5 Between the recent ethics complaint looming over incumbent Congressman Andy Ogle’s campaign and Maryam Abolfazli’s transformation from left-wing activist to politician, this race’s outcome is primed for headlines.

• Andy Ogles (incumbent) Republican Party Nominee
• Maryam Abolfazli Democratic Party Nominee
• Yomi Faparusi Independent Candidate
• Jim Larkin Independent Candidate
• Bob Titley Independent Candidate

Tennessee Senate District 20 Given that this election is incumbent Heidi Campbell’s consolation prize after losing a bid for US Congress in 2022 and Nashville mayor in 2023, Wyatt Rampy might be a dark horse in District 20’s Tennessee Senate race.

•  Wyatt Rampy Republican Party Nominee
•  Heidi Campbell (incumbent) Democratic Party Nominee

Tennessee House of Representatives District 60 In exchange for a new position managing legislative affairs for Mayor O’Connell, Darren Jernigan decided to vacate his seat in the Tennessee House.  The race is wide open, and Chad Bobo has a chance to flip the seat red with the blessing of house Speaker Cameron Sexton.

• Chad Bobo Republican Party Nominee
• Shaundelle Brooks Democratic Party Nominee

📝 National Media No Longer A Beacon The Beacon Center’s quarterly poll is out, and it seems Elon Musk might have a hard time convincing Tennesseans to adopt Tesla’s Robovan. A decisive 74 percent of respondents were very or somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of using a driverless car service. 

When it comes to elections, it’s no surprise that Tennesseans prefer former president Donald Trump and Senator Marsha Blackburn to their opponents. But the indictment against the national media has never been clearer based on the results collected from the 1,200 participants in the survey.

When asked how accurately and fairly news is reported across different media sources, Tennesseans greatly or somewhat trust local newspapers (55 percent), television (59 percent), and radio (55 percent) the most. 43 percent somewhat or greatly distrust national cable television networks. Likewise,  52 percent felt the same skepticism toward online media outlets, while  65 percent somewhat or greatly distrust social media. 

DEVELOPMENT

• Nashville Yards Announce Two Popular Headwear Brands (Now Next)
• Adept Hospitality brings L.A.-based empanada concept to Nashville (NBJ)
• Jelly Roll announces plans for Downtown Nashville bar (NBJ)
• Airport-area property listed for sale (Post)
• Marathon Village-area property listed for sale (Post)

✹ THIS WEEK IN STREAMING (October 15th)

MaXXXine (Max) Just in time for Halloween, the conclusion to the horror trilogy Ti West began in 2022 with X and Pearl makes its streaming debut. Final girl Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) treks to 80s Los Angeles as she sets her sights on Hollywood stardom while evading a serial killer who might just be the infamous Night Stalker. As we said this summer, the best horror film of 2024 is a bombastic and often hilarious interrogation of stardom and ideological fundamentalism that features the performance of Kevin Bacon’s career.  

Disclaimer (Apple TV+) For his first foray into television, Gravity and Children of Men director Alfonso Cuarón enlists Cate Blanchett as a lifelong muckraker who receives a package containing a novel by an anonymous writer that exposes her own list of serial transgressions. With a top-shelf cast, including Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Lesley Manville, it’s the fall’s unmissable prestige drama. 

Only Lovers Left Alive (Prime) Indie film legend Jim Jarmusch’s languid character study of two vampires (Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston) at the margins of Detroit met indifference upon its release back in 2014. But, few films have maintained their effervescent cool–much less their allegorical warnings of our Rust Belt decline–this well a decade after their release.

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide and yearly festival guide.

TONIGHT

🪕 David Peterson & 1946 @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info

🎸 Honky Tonk Tuesday @ Eastside Bowl, 8p, $10, Info‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌
+ two-step lessons @ 7p, The Cowpokes @ 8p

🎸 Cole Ritter and the Night Owls @ The Underdog, 11:30p, Free, Info‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

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