Remember our collective outrage over the Dawsons? This is what it got us.
Criminologists who study Baltimore say apathy, alienation and cynicism have taken root. People have seen the criminal justice system fail to arrest and lock up criminals, allowing gangs to proliferate. They have seen politicians announce crime-fighting plans with great fanfare, only to have results fall short of the rhetoric.Rough stuff. And yet the status-quo Mayoral candidate leads the polls. Why?
At the same time, many of the positive forces of cohesion from the past have disappeared. Libraries have closed. Neighborhood associations have weakened. The number of recreation centers in the city has dropped from 145 in 1980 to 43 today. ... The violence considered routine in the city's most desperate neighborhoods is spreading to places once assumed to be safe.
Residents of Charles Village are assaulted and mugged on the street. A Roland Park woman is raped and robbed in her home. Near Patterson Park, a young man is beaten into a coma while walking home from Canton. ... After such well-publicized incidents of crime this summer... even people committed to the city are talking about getting out. They're disillusioned... after five police commissioners in eight years and no clear direction from the city when it comes to fighting crime.
"I think the entire city is under siege," [Warren] Brown said.
This guy's quote about a new anti-panhandling bill ("It's a stress for me. I'm like, 'Do I have any spare change? If I don't, are they going to be upset?'") sounds a lot like The Onion article titled, "Man With Friend With Cancer 'Going Through A Rough Time'."
16 comments:
Dixon's closing comments in the debate:
'Baltimore is a great city and it can be a greater city.'
'The jewel in the crown of Baltimore is its people.'
Huh? Are we in the same place ??
Baltimore is the second-worst city in the nation. Those not working are almost a majority. Over 60% do not graduate from high school.
What kind of jewel is that ??
Is she on crack ??
Wow, that article is something else, an exceptional piece of work. Who is Stephen Kiehl?
I'll post some parts up Chuck, before the Sun site has the link go dead and it's lost forever in their crap archives.
(Why does the Tribune lose so much money? because it deserves to!)
... not on account of the quality of the product, but the quality of the business' priorities, of course.
Murder of a male by gunshot last night at Belmont & Rosedale in SW Balto. City.
Personally, I'd call that location Walbrook.
It irks me to no end that Warren Brown has anything to say about the crime rate in this city, given his clientele. Oh but that's right, he's defending the constitution. Give me a break.
The "second-worst city in the nation"?
I guess that would be the case if your only yardstick for measuring a city is the murder rate.
Again, I have to say it, and I know I won't get a real answer out of you people: if you hate Baltimore to the point of NEVER saying a positive thing about it, leave. Just leave. It's not that hard.
Galt always deflects his answer for not leaving by pointing to some insipid phony notion about how if he left, that would be participating in some kind of "segregation." I don't buy that crap for a second!
I love this city! (Otherwise, why even bother calling people's attention to a problem?) But this blog is called 'Baltimore Crime,' not "Yummy Baltimore Restaurants," "Praising Fellow Baltimoreans" etc. If you think the blog-o-sphere lacks that perspective then by all means git in on it.
One can still love Baltimore and yet not feel so positively about the criminals and officious twats.
Hedonic studies are very clear on this: the desireability of a place to live is determined first by public safety and second by quality of public schools.
Baltimore ranks second- and third-worst in those categories nationally, respectively.
Further, the randomly-drawn Baltimorean tends to be far ruder than the national norm.
So,... the attraction would have to be something of a private good, since the public sphere is so very offputting.
Is it an overpriced espresso at a trendy cafe on Boston Street with a view of the luxury towers ??
New York & Chicago have far better espresso and far taller towers.
So, what about Baltimore is so compelling as to overcome the deterrent effect of doubling as an open-air prison colony ??
I'm supposing that perhaps Olegna doesn't so very much fraternize with the felonious masses for whom she is an apologist.
Kinda like telling dieters that chocolate is overrated while you bite into a Perugina.
So, tell me, just how many crabcakes with Old Bay or Flowermart lemonsticks does it take to make up for the offputting effect of a murder?
Do any of you guys actually LIVE un Bawlmer City?
I live in McELderry Park, just a block away from where the cops arrested the kid they shot in the shoulder. 2 blocks from where the 2 police officers were shot.
Stuff like that happens all the time here and THIS is a reasonably good neighborhood once you get used to it.
Nobody wants to hear the real answer to Baltimore's problems.
Kids need a mom and a dad. Living together if at all possible.
But thats not going to happen any time soon.
So here are some other ideas.
Flood the city with poisonous cocaine.
Devise a bullet that shatters in the gun blowing the hand off of the shooter. Free bullets. WOo!
The third possiblity is to legalize reefer. WOuldnt stop the coke trade 100% but it sure would make a dent in it.
Declare martial law and curfew everyone after 7pm.
See even though I live in a "not very good" area, I'm not very worried.
99% of the crime, shooting robberies and violent deaths are black on black.
SO FAR THERE ARE 12 WHITE DEATHS FOR THE ENTIRE CITY OF BALTIMORE FOR THE WHOLE OF 2007 TWELVE!!!
decent odds!!
Eddie
Eddie, your solutions sound a lot like mine. I support liberalization of drug laws, along with draconian punishments for other crimes.
olegna,
1) I, too, love this city. If I didn't care, I'd stick my head in the sand and pretend everything is hunky dory. I'm of the belief that things don't change unless an informed populace calls politicians on their bullshit. This is our (well, at least my) way of letting our politicians know that we're paying attention, we know what the problems are, and we expect to see them fixed. As Mayor Dixon once said, this is our way of expressing outrage. If enough people start expressing it, the politicians will have no choice but to respond (or not get re-elected). I like to think of this as a (comparatively) poorly written version of Common Sense. Different medium, different problems, same basic idea. And the last I checked, Mr. Paine loved the place he lived; the only people who accused him of not loving it were the people who were threatened by his voice of opposition.
2) I couldn't leave if I wanted to. I chose to buy a house in a "transitional" neighborhood, a gamble that hasn't paid off in the post-housing-bubble economy. Three people have been murdered within four blocks of my house in the past four weeks. I could sell, but I don't have $30,000 to cover the losses I'd take. So I'm lucky I love this city, because I can't leave anytime soon.
just out of curiosity, when we repeat the mantra that baltimore is the second worst city in the nation, who are we assuming is first worst? is it still detroit or is it new orleans now?
New Orleans is the worse.
So what do we do? Flood the city with National Guard troops (if there are any who arent in Iraq)?
We could offer cash incentive for the worse and high risk offenders to move to Oakland, Md?
then we could build a wall around the city to keep people in..um..out..err..well sure it would be intimidating but we would decorate it with wall sconces and paintings..murals about how walls build better neighbors and how if you try to climb them you will be shot or electrocuted. Ok that part would require smiley faces.
My point? A nod is as good as a wink.
Olenga what area do you live in?
Not only have they removed al the debris on the corners here on the 400 block of glover, buit I noticed tonight there is now a blue flashing camera on Glover and Jefferson!!
I love lection years!!
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