Panhandling and harassment downtown (Atlanta, Gainesville: construction, university, price)

[RoslynHolcomb]

I was not giving an analysis of "how eachnrace handles panhandlers." i was explaining why I believe the City Council has been non-responsive to the problem andwhy I believe the panhandlers made the accusations they did. How could that not be germane to the topic of Atlanta not dealing with the panhandler problem?

[ATLTJL]

Let me explain something about Atlanta.

For many years, expecially in the 80s and 90s, Atlanta was super desperate to be taken seriously as a major city. That's the feeling that fueled the bid for the Olympics. Atlanta had a huge chip on its shoulder and wanted to be taken seriously more than anything.

That's the attitude that led to a lot of the problems we have now. Anything that was a problem of urban life.....traffic, beggars, crime....not only was it not dealt with, it was in some kind of sick way welcomed. Because it meant Atlanta had arrived. Big cities have traffic, beggars, and crime, so if Atlanta has them too, that must mean we're a big important city!

Anybody who has lived here for at least 15 years understands what I'm talking about.

The problem is, Atlanta has fallen behind the curve. Those aren't the qualities that people want anymore. While all the other big important cities are figuring out how to tackle these problems and correct them, Atlanta is still to some degree stuck in the "that's part of life in the city" mode. To quote Cyrus, "that's crap, brothers." Those are things associated with CRAPPY cities. Good cities try to figure out how to curb the problems and rest on other laurels, they don't welcome the problems of urban life as some sort of bizarre validation of their importance in the world.

We have become reactive instead of proactive. By the time we figure out how to deal with all of these problems, every other good city will have already solved them and be way ahead of us. When Detroit is making a serious effort to solve a problem that you still have, you know you are in trouble.

Get out of your acceptance of urban problems to try to seem urban, Atlanta. Figure out what people want. No longer will people accept being harassed just as part of city life. There are too many good cities that don't have it, it's not just part of city life anymore. It's only part of life in crappy cities.

[Staysean23]

oh lord..

[JPD]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Let me explain something about Atlanta.

For many years, expecially in the 80s and 90s, Atlanta was super desperate to be taken seriously as a major city. That's the feeling that fueled the bid for the Olympics. Atlanta had a huge chip on its shoulder and wanted to be taken seriously more than anything.

That's the attitude that led to a lot of the problems we have now. Anything that was a problem of urban life.....traffic, beggars, crime....not only was it not dealt with, it was in some kind of sick way welcomed. Because it meant Atlanta had arrived. Big cities have traffic, beggars, and crime, so if Atlanta has them too, that must mean we're a big important city!

Anybody who has lived here for at least 15 years understands what I'm talking about.

I've been here far longer than 15 years, and with regard to traffic, beggars and crime, neither you nor I have any idea what you are talking about.

[ATLTJL]

Wow, you guys really weren't paying attention in those days.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Wow, you guys really weren't paying attention in those days.

Atlanta "welcomed" traffic, beggars, and crime? Not only is that absurd and laughably false, all of those things existed prior to the time period you are referring to.

[ATLTJL]

Okay, maybe "welcomed" was the wrong verb.

How about this: Atlanta did nothing to curb these growing problems instead opting to allow them to metastasize to where they are today.

Surely somebody else out there knows what I'm talking about. When I talk about this idea of Atlanta allowing anything associated with "big cities" good or bad, most Atlanta natives totally agree with that statement.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Okay, maybe "welcomed" was the wrong verb.

How about this: Atlanta did nothing to curb these growing problems instead opting to allow them to metastasize to where they are today.

Surely somebody else out there knows what I'm talking about. When I talk about this idea of Atlanta allowing anything associated with "big cities" good or bad, most Atlanta natives totally agree with that statement.

That's massively insulting. Much of the crime and begging of that time period was the direct result of the crack epidemic. Are you honestly trying to state that law enforcement, the mayor, and the city council "did nothing" to reduce these problems?

As for traffic, I guess you never heard of GDOT's "Freeing the Freeways" project. Granted, traffic is still bad, but to suggest nothing was done is dishonest, at best.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Okay, maybe "welcomed" was the wrong verb.

How about this: Atlanta did nothing to curb these growing problems instead opting to allow them to metastasize to where they are today.

Surely somebody else out there knows what I'm talking about. When I talk about this idea of Atlanta allowing anything associated with "big cities" good or bad, most Atlanta natives totally agree with that statement.

I wouldn't say that Atlanta has done nothing to curb the panhandling problem either...a search for "Atlanta panhandling problem" yielded lots of results. Here are just a few:

Stop Panhandling Campaign Update | Downtown Atlanta
Reed pledges to aggressively address panhandling *| ajc.com
Donation meters part of Atlanta's anti-panhandling effort | The San Diego Union-Tribune
Atlanta Lawmakers Approve Panhandling Ban | Fox News
Atlanta Rule Aims to Curb Begging | www.wsbtv.com
Plans & Initiatives | STOP Panhandling
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/panh...-a-371085.html

So it's really not fair to say that the city hasn't acted on this problem...it has, and quite often in the 22 years I've lived here.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

Nope. I mean black liberal guilt.

You may have coined a new phrase for our 21st century lexicon, Roslyn!

I Googled it and the only hit was a skit on the Jon Stewart show.

Black Liberal Guilt - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 11/06/08 - Video Clip | Comedy Central