Another Day, Another Murder In Yuppietown (Atlanta, Roswell: 2009, crime, homes)

[KevK]

While the mayor slashes cops and firemen from the payroll, another murder in Yuppietown (Memorial Drive/Oakland). This is like #3 in the past few months!

Grief, outrage at vigil for slain bartender | ajc.com

Last month there was a delivery man killed at the BP station on Boulevard- just south if I-20 and then a few months before that a clerk was killed at the Chevron station on Boulevard just north of I-20.

There is one thing I am glad of- at 5PM I see Atlanta in my rearview mirror as I cross the Chattahoochie. No way would I live there.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by KevK

While the mayor slashes cops and firemen from the payroll, another murder in Yuppietown (Memorial Drive/Oakland). This is like #3 in the past few months!

Grief, outrage at vigil for slain bartender | ajc.com

Last month there was a delivery man killed at the BP station on Boulevard- just south if I-20 and then a few months before that a clerk was killed at the Chevron station on Boulevard just north of I-20.

There is one thing I am glad of- at 5PM I see Atlanta in my rearview mirror as I cross the Chattahoochie. No way would I live there.

Normally I'm just as critical as anyone regarding what long timers have seen as a downward spiral here, but a few things that need to be clarified regarding your comments.

1) Yes, the cutting of police/fire workers from the City and Franklin's budget is a disgrace, and her and her minions handling of the City budget the last couple of years has been disgusting. But, even if there had been three times the number of police on duty in that area that night, they most likely couldn't have done a thing regarding the bartender murder the way it played out. Unless you have a security guard or off-duty police officer at your location 24/7, these criminals are too quick to hit for the police to do much.

2) As far as leaving Atlanta, remember that a lot of these thugs generally drive around in fancy SUVs in the SUBURBS and look for places to commit their crimes. They break into homes and cars, only to return to the city later that evening. Atlanta is one of a handful of "sprawl cities" where the criminals are mobile and travel to the burbs to do a lot of their crime. So leaving the city at 5pm doesn't really help you much.

There are a lot of people to point fingers at regarding this most recent crime and others. First of course, are those who did it. Once you cross the line from burglary to murdering people who cooperate with you, then you are no longer a simple criminal - you become an incredibly dangerous predator, and one that needs to be dealt with quickly and with everything the police have. Due to the nature of the crime, way it played out, and weapons - I'm very curious to see where these people came from (I have a suspicion they are not common local Atlanta area criminals). Can we say "post Katrina refugees?"

Another to point at is the owner of the establishment. That restaurant has been the scene of NUMEROUS crimes, including a mugging in the past and multiple burglaries. Yet, supposedly there were no real security cameras in good spots, no impact resistance glass, and no security guard on duty. The manager was even shown being kind of nonchalant about the whole thing on TV when interviewed. The owner of this place need to have a certain amount of accountability for not providing the security measures needed for such an establishment, in the location it's in. No doubt civil lawsuits by the victim's family will follow (and rightfully so).

Atlanta is simply a higher-crime city. But it's not just the city - it's the AREA, so no, you aren't safe in the burbs after 5pm.

[Go Blue 99]

You're a little late on this one. There is already a long thread for this story.

[Merin]

What is the point of this post? Surely you aren't suggesting that those of us who live in town deserve whatever happens. While you are at it, please comment on the home invasion in Roswell. Last time I checked that was the burbs

[south-to-west]

Originally Posted by Merin

What is the point of this post? Surely you aren't suggesting that those of us who live in town deserve whatever happens. While you are at it, please comment on the home invasion in Roswell. Last time I checked that was the burbs

Cheers, Merin!

KevK,

While you run to the suburbs we choose to stay here and fight for our community.

Greg,

As always--I disagree with a few of your points, but mostly you hit the nail straight on the head.

[RZaakir]

Yuppietown?

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by Merin

What is the point of this post? Surely you aren't suggesting that those of us who live in town deserve whatever happens. While you are at it, please comment on the home invasion in Roswell. Last time I checked that was the burbs

That's true. In a certain sense those who simply flee in the face of these things are aiding and abetting them.

Not that simple, I realize. But still, there's some truth in it and to the extent the suburbanites stick their head in the sand and refuse to face the fact that they're part of the same region as the troubled intown areas that are part of the city whose prosperity their own prosperity in turn depends, they'll become more and more disassociated, and ultimately more vulnerable.

I do though have to take slight exception to our honerable moderator. I wouldn't lump the suburbs into a single category that's equally vulnerable to crime all over, as there are certainly crime-infested areas in the suburbs just as well as in the city (areas of Norcross, Smyrna, Marietta, being examples) and some that are far less so. So it just depends on where you flee to. But basically it can't be denied that a residence in East Atlanta all things equal has a considerably higher probability of being hit than one in say the manicured neighborhoods around Indian Hills in Cobb for ex. (but I don't live in those places, so I guess I could always be wrong).

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by KevK

While the mayor slashes cops and firemen from the payroll, another murder in Yuppietown (Memorial Drive/Oakland). This is like #3 in the past few months!

Grief, outrage at vigil for slain bartender | ajc.com

Last month there was a delivery man killed at the BP station on Boulevard- just south if I-20 and then a few months before that a clerk was killed at the Chevron station on Boulevard just north of I-20.

There is one thing I am glad of- at 5PM I see Atlanta in my rearview mirror as I cross the Chattahoochie. No way would I live there.

Wow...3 murders in 6 months! Let's pack up and run away!

While these unfortunate stories are all horrifying, they are in no way indicative of life in Atlanta or any other city. They are examples of isolated random murders that sadly occur in cities, suburbs, small towns, and rural areas all over the world. The ones that occur in large cities happen more often because there is a larger concentration of people there...and these things do happen in affluent and not-so-affluent suburbs as well as in cities.

[AcidSnake]

Crime and murder happen all over the place. Why do people place such an attachment on crime in Atlanta? Man, sometimes I wish that many of the cities in Georgia were as properous as Atlanta, then this sort thinking about A-town would be null and void!

[LovinDecatur]

My cousin (living in MN) just sent me an e-mail..."What is happening down there? They are killing my friends in Cabbagetown now (she and the victim knew each other)!". I told her not to give in to the hyperbolic. An easy thing to do if you treat the media as the Voice of God.