"this area is bad"

In local news,

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/man-stabbed-to-death-on-street-at-campsie/news-story/7ab9434f418846aa9db097749948c163


You've gotta love how Campsie, near the railway station here, is variously described as a "a pretty chill place" and "this area is bad".
People have different opinions.
Safe as houses, for mine - let's face it, we are two suburbs away from the STREETS OF FEAR - the SUBURBS OF HATE are miles away - so we're kind of in the middle of Nowheresville.
By pure chance, I just happened to walk past about half an hour after the thing happened, and apart from a small crowd of folks loaded with shopping bags trying in vain to get to their parked cars stuck behind police tape and the joint seething with heavily armed NSW police - life continued on in main street Campsie pretty much as usual.
I had just bought a big bunch of asparagus at the World of Fruit, and stumbled out to see a little blue marquee surrounded by black plastic on the footpath around the corner and detectives in bad suits scratching their heads, and I thought to myself "mmm...there's a dead'n in there"; the greengrocer I'd just come out of was buzzing, the bank across the road was still operating, the busker was still busking, a bloke selling his honeycomb on the footpath was still taking customers, and there were no mobs of gawkers.
It's a big town, Sydney.
Too on-the-go to stop for a lookie.
The cops were right onto it but it was all too quick for them.
Too bad, no good, there's another one gone.
Then I ducked into the busy $2 shop to pick up a roll of gaffer tape to gerry-rig the ageing, shabby chook house.
Oh, and at the time, it was spitting with rain as a small thunderstorm loomed up from the north-west.
Situation normal.
Carry on, regardless.

(originally published 24-11-16)