Are we getting too paranoid?
 

A landscaper stopped by a house on Fenwick to see how the yard was doing. He was in his personal vehicle. He got out of the car and pulled a few weeds and left. As he was leaving via the Sanibel gate, the police came roaring in. The police turned around and pulled him over. They had gotten a call that two black men had been checking out the house.

To say the landscaper is upset is putting it mildly. No one asked him what he was doing at the house although he felt it was pretty obvious since he had not been near the house itself.

So, were people being good neighbors in calling the police? Would they have called the police had this been two white men in the yard? What would you have done?

Too little info to say, no harm done, better safe than sorry. Report anything that looks wooky.

It was a bad idea for the landscaper to just stop by anyone's house in an unmarked car, and just start doing anything in the yard. No one should be in your yard doing something without your knowledge. I don't care who they are or what color they are. He made a bad decision, and I certainly hope that if any of my neighbors see someone , even pulling weeds , who did not have a identified car, they would contact the authorties. Anyone could pretend to be doing something useful to get a neighbor feel like he is might have a right to be there, and then keep moving toward the house. An experienced robber, or worse could be in and out of that house in mere minutes. You didn't mention-not that it would probably matter--but was this in broad daylight, mid-day, or late afternoon? In a perfect world, this may have been very innocent, but so much has happened that we all should have potential danger on our minds.

How do you know that the person who called the police said it was two black men?

Maybe the neighbors don't have white guilt.

Maybe they called police because the guy's behavior looked suspicious.

My neighbors would call police regardless of color. They wouldn't care if somebody thinks it's 'racist' to call police when it's a black guy. They have the sense to speak up about suspicious behavior by ANYBODY unknown in the neighborhood, to guard against one of us being a victim of home invasion and worse during the night.

Before five p.m. Don't know if the homeowners knew the landscaper was dropping by or not.

Remember, he did not go near the house. People could see him checking the plants and pulling the weeds. Kind of hard to check the inside of the house from the yard.

I guess my problem is that a few years ago, none of this behavior would have been considered out of line here. Instead, the landscaper would have been given kudos for checking on his work and yanking some weeds while he was at it. It's a sign, to me, that we are getting just a little less friendly.

And, again, did the color of the landscaper factor into the police being called rather than just going over and asking him? Obviously, the landscaper feels that his skin color was the main factor in the call being made, not his behavior.

The police specifically told him that they were told that it was two black men in a Honda Civic.

I think that you are making too much of the fact that he is black. Anyone who is not a villager is rather apparent. I think that one is always better to be safe than sorry.

After the robberies, if you see someone around that doesn't look like they live there, send someone to see if they should be there. I think it odd for a landscaper to "check his work" and pull "a few weeds". In seven years no landscaper has done that at our property. They come, they work, they leave.

Sometimes people are too cautious and sometimes people are not cautious enough.

I could not have cared less what color the people were, but I am disappointed that race is the first thing out of a black persons mouth whenever anything happens. There are times, I admit when it might be an issue, but not all the time. I have equally heard black people who say horrible things about white people . Both sides of the race issue have a lot to learn and let go. A long time friend of mine, who is black, has always said something that I will never forget, and it would be a good lesson for us all.... Race is like a pile of shi*. If you keep it stirred up, it is going to keep smelling. But if you just forget about it, it will eventually dry up and blow away. Have you ever noticed kids in kindergarten or even a little older? They don't even know what race is. They have friends of all colors and races. They hug all the kids equally, they are best friends, until they grow up a little more and start to hear people saying things about race, and how everyone hates people who are different. It's all over the news, they see it on Tv. People just need to let it blow away.......and it has to start somewhere.

"...I am disappointed that race is the first thing out of a black persons mouth whenever anything happens." Okay, but in this case there is nothing in the posted version of the event that indicates the landscaper ever mentioned race.

In answer to your question, yes, I think we are getting too paranoid.
I guess I'm a minority of one. I would definitely NOT have called the police.
I might have watched someone who looked out of place, to see what they were doing.
If he pulled weeds, I would have assumed that he was under contract to the homeowner to pull weeds on the lawn.
If he looked in the windows and tried to open the lanai door, I might have been concerned.
But he was only pulling some weeds.
I think it's a big over reaction to call police on a man who stops and does some gardening.
I don't blame the landscaper for being upset.

You've got to be taught to hate and fear
You've got to be taught from year to year
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a different shade
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught before it's too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught
You've got to be carefully taught.

"South Pacific" .... 1949

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnY-Ft7F9eo

What would have happened if they had been up to no good?
The house broken into and ransacked
The neighbor thought they were harmless because they were just pulling some weeds
I'm not sure what the solution is

Since when do two landscapers drive around looking for weeds on property they work on. Sounds fishy to me. No advertising on the car to attract new customers. No uniforms to identify who they are. To be perfectly honest I wonder how many people that service your pool, your yard, inside your home, case your place for future burglary? You tell the landscape company yes I'll be gone for 5 months, ding, ding, ding. There's a lesson in this that the landscaper should of had a uniform on to identify who he works for, a sign on the vehicle identifying the company. Not a professional way to run a business.