That's just crazy enough to work

The other day I discovered that my cable has an on-demand option, and that some episodes of the The Wire are available. Specifically, the last half of Season 3. To refresh your memory, its the one with Maj. Bunny Colvin's Hamsterdam enforcement strategy. For those who haven't watched this show -- what are you, racist?

Anyway, here's the plot. Desperate to make some impact in his final months as a cop, Colvin instructs his police to push all the outdoor drug trade in his district into specific, particularly-dilapidated "free" zones. He introduces the concept with an apt paper bag analogy.


The plan has predicable results. Minus the drug-element, West Baltimore enjoys an all too brief renaissance. Meanwhile the addicts flock to the free zones or "hamsterdam," which one deacon describes as hell. The word of drug-legalization travels up the chain to the police commissioner and mayor. And it all goes to shit, when the the TV news people show up. In the end Rawls orders the free zones taken down Western District-style, to Flight of the Valkyries.

I think my point is that although Bunny Colvin is a relatively minor character on this show, he still has a lot to offer. It takes a strong person to see the worst terribleness of man on daily basis and not become jaded. Not to mention the talk he has with Carver is a fantastic indictment of the drug war. He clings to his idealism, even after some 30 years as a police officer in the inner city. And he's also a tragic figure, when his plan falls apart, he falls on his sword to protect those he led.

So here's to Bunny Colvin, a fictional man who did everything he could to make the world a better place in the face of futility, incompetence, apathy, and an overall lack of viable options. Truly an inspiration for our time.