Conventioneer opinion of Atlanta (Stone Mountain: appointed, amusement park, theater)
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Downtown does kinda suck compared to other cities, but as far as panhandlers go, they know who to mess with and who not to. If you walk around like you have a sense of purpose they wont bother you. But walk around looking scared and they will be all over you. I've been walking downtown my entire life and I have never once had a problem. If more people here had at least an ounce of street smarts you wouldn't see half the robberies and jackings that you do. People here really make it easy for a criminal to take advantage of them.
Breaking your stride is really the worst thing you can do. Act like somebody has a string attached to you and is dragging you along. You can respond to people when they address you, but as long as you don't stop, you aren't committed to a drawn out interaction with them. Once your stride is broken, you're screwed.
I mean, would you rather try to explain to tourists how to walk and how to never break their strides and have street smarts, or would you rather create an environment where they don't have to do that?
I don't know about you, but when I'm on vacation, I like to take a break from constantly being aware and on my toes.
And just so you know, the steps that you mentioned above do not always work. I have walked fast and with a sense of purpose in midtown and ignored panhandlers talking to me, only to have them follow me and get angry that I'm ignoring them.
Anyway, I don't think that blaming the tourists for acting wrong is any kind of solution. People should be free to walk around without being harassed regardless of how naive they are.
I mean, would you rather try to explain to tourists how to walk and how to never break their strides and have street smarts, or would you rather create an environment where they don't have to do that?
I don't know about you, but when I'm on vacation, I like to take a break from constantly being aware and on my toes.
Oh I agree, it's definitely an issue. It doesn't bother me personally, but the fact that it makes Atlanta suck for some people definitely bothers me. I think the panhandling situation is overdue for a crackdown.
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And just so you know, the steps that you mentioned above do not always work. I have walked fast and with a sense of purpose in midtown and ignored panhandlers talking to me, only to have them follow me and get angry that I'm ignoring them.
99% of the time they work in Atlanta, from my experience--I always just say "I don't carry cash" and continue walking, and virtually every time that ends it. In other countries, it's a lot trickier to deal with; fortunately, you can usually speak gibberish and confuse the people until they give up.
Downtown does kinda suck compared to other cities, but as far as panhandlers go, they know who to mess with and who not to. If you walk around like you have a sense of purpose they wont bother you. But walk around looking scared and they will be all over you. I've been walking downtown my entire life and I have never once had a problem. If more people here had at least an ounce of street smarts you wouldn't see half the robberies and jackings that you do. People here really make it easy for a criminal to take advantage of them.
Back in the 1970s I got "stabbed" in the back by a wino while I was walking across Woodruff Park. I'd brushed him off 100 feet back and apparently he got mad and followed me. It was really more like getting poked, because all he had was a dull pocketknife and it barely penetrated my suit jacket.
I turned around and grabbed the knife out of the guy's hand and said, "What in the he** are you doing?" It didn't amount to a hill of beans and I was in a hurry so I didn't even call a cop. Still, it made me mad and I have since tried to be more aware of who's walking behind me.
It's such a cultural clash too. I have reflected on that incident many times and always try to remember the old saying that "There but for the grace of God go I." Here I was stepping off at top speed to what I considered an important business meeting, shoes shined, hair freshly trimmed and wearing my best suit. I was all about me and my world that morning.
So when I brushed the guy off initially he probably thought, "What a pompous jerk!" I wasn't mean to him because that's not my style, but I probably sort of put up my arm and said something like, "Not this morning, my man, back away!"
More often than not I give these guys a buck even though I know it only encourages them. It's just hard to tell another human being to buzz off when you have money in your pocket. They do have to endure my lectures on why in tarnation are they out there begging instead of working for a living but in the end I usually come across with the loot.
most people in the atlanta area could care less about atlanta the city. I hardly know anyone that "spends the night out on the town." Perhaps this is why no real entertainment district has been established in downtown. If I am going to a convention and all I see are people coming and going to and from work, then it's not really something that makes a city exciting. Atlanta has glare, but no substance. It kind of reminds me of a movie that has a great trailer but the real thing pretty much sucks. If the majority dont care about making the city better and friendlier or improving transportation, then ultimilty any improvments made will serve only to have an impact on the survice and not the underlying problems.
I don't live in a cave somewhere and think our city is perfect by any means, but I do have to say... y'all are overstating your case quite a bit.
There are some real issues to discuss and overcome here, but the city's strengths for conventions are being ignored too.
Atlanta has one of the top 5 convention centers by size, large conventions, and total number of visitors. This doesn't even include the adjacent trade marts in downtown or the new, small, but growing convention center we have connected directly to our airport.
We have that, despite not having large companies developing huge theme parks or lax laws on gambling and adult entertainment. Sure we could try fostering those industries, but we lack the affordable space, the money, or the ability to deal with all of the side affects. (Although I definitely think Atlanta can handle a high quality casino or two.)
We have a huge agglomeration of nearby hotel rooms to handle the traffic. Our downtown is improving ever since '96. We are building more and more entertainment venues via museums.
What is most baffling to me are the comments about our airport. That is our single best selling point to trade shows and conventioneers in just about every way.
It is directly connected to the convention areas and nearby hotels by high capacity transit. It is the world's busiest airport, so it offers a large amount of affordable flight options to more places. It is centrally located to most of the U.S.' population and is easily reached by a less than 2 hour flight to Miami, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, NYC-DC-Boston. It is the GWCC's best asset!
I mean sure it is easy to get annoyed at the airport sometimes, because it is so busy and crowded. However, the things that make it that way are the same things that make it appealing. I am a frequent flier and have flown through many major airports. Atlanta's airport is hard to beat in terms of being able to handle a large number of people and flights.
Orlando has a nice airport, so I'm not going to knock it. What I will say... is it is not as centrally located and it does not have has many flight options to as many places.
The reason to make this distinction is Atlanta doesn't sell itself as a tourist destination. We sell ourselves as well connected and centrally located place with a strong local business presence.
Even downtown LA, as grubby as it is, has homeless people everywhere....but they quietly hold out cups and you can give to them or ignore them, it's up to you. Panhandlers in Atlanta approach you, have some sob story, and sometimes follow you around for a while. It's completely unacceptabe. Before we can fix anything else, we absolutely have got to get that under control or nothing else matters.
As a downtown booster and resident I hate to admit it, but you've got a solid point here. I don't have enough experience with panhandlers in other cities to know how Atlanta's are different, but I definitely have seen the problems they cause with conventioneers.
I take weekly walks out to restaurants and bars and I often pass through the throngs of conventioneers on Peachtree Street at night. I've cringed and felt embarrassment many times as I've watched horribly aggressive panhandlers walk beside a group of visitors for a block or two trying to get money out of them. It's a regular occurrence and, frustratingly, I've seen it happen in plain view of cops and members of the downtown ambassador force.
I don't really know what effect the panhandling here has on the overall visitor experience or convention business. But I can't help but think that cops would be doing a great service to the vitality of our convention/tourist traffic by stepping in to curb the nuisance. Instead they stand idly by while the panhandling happens and it bugs the hell out of me when I see it. I've thought about taking movies of the incidents but I'm not brave enough for it.
most people in the atlanta area could care less about atlanta the city. I hardly know anyone that "spends the night out on the town." Perhaps this is why no real entertainment district has been established in downtown. If I am going to a convention and all I see are people coming and going to and from work, then it's not really something that makes a city exciting. Atlanta has glare, but no substance. It kind of reminds me of a movie that has a great trailer but the real thing pretty much sucks. If the majority dont care about making the city better and friendlier or improving transportation, then ultimilty any improvments made will serve only to have an impact on the survice and not the underlying problems.
You sure do have a pretty strong opinion about a place you "could care less about" and hardly spend any time in. If you don't care for the city of Atlanta (and despite what you think, there are hundreds of thousands that do and choose to live in the city), why be part of the problem by lobbing tired old generalizations out about a place you yourself admit you rarely go?
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