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One of the top floors of Cabrini Green on Larrabee, visiting my friends' mom, every time i see those cinder blocks for walls in an apartment building, I could not stand to live in one... unfortunately, the worst part besides the graffiti on the walls and the ugly green color of the walls, are the large fence wrapped around the edge of it so that people dont fall off, it would make me feel like i lived in a cage, and not a pleasant one either, i mean really, who can live like that??? no trees or any pretty stuff but that ugly cage-like fencing. Thats no way to live. I would hate for the elevators to be busted if i lived up there too.
Another "worst" place, is waiting for the bus on Lake and Central over on the west side, now they have a really tasty bbq rib place down the street, but there was a liquor store right by the bus stop and you have a sense that people are just hanging out there, jobless and no aim in life about them, seems like the neighborhood is pretty depressing around there.
I think also some parts of Madison St on the west side are still burnt out/beat up from the 1969 (or 1968?) riots, however, when you go east of the United Center where the Bulls play, wow,, amazing!! but west of that.. not great.
oh another interesting worn out place is this - when you go over to the south east side, if you drive down South Shore Drive along its very southern end, (you are now on Route 41), it goes past Jeffrey and 71st, keep going south east down Route 41, ok you will come to this area that appears to be Hispanic area , it is a few miles before you get to Indianapolis St, THAT is pretty run down. Looks like there were some very beautiful buildings back a while ago including a beautiful church, that looks to be in good enough shape still. I am not sure what that neighborhood is called, but its near the steel works maybe, but its before you get to Indianapolis Blvd right when you cross over into Indiana there. its a very interesting neighborhood if you like to see how chicago changes here and there.
One more bad area, is when i was driving down Chicago avenue and it went into the west side, it was warm out and people were crossing the street, in the middle of the street, and these pedestrians do not seem to care that a car is about to hit them. they kinda stroll across as if they have not a care in the world, and/or they believe they own the street or something,,, because why would they do that? just strolling across the street in the middle of the street, not waiting for cars to pass, but just strolling! so strange! what is up with that?
Uh huh. So by your rationale, only people who have grown up in privileged white neighborhoods and live in a "bubble" don't clutch their pearls in horror when they see dudes hanging around in front of a liquor store?
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Originally Posted by Alacran
Not really.
We just avoid it.
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Originally Posted by Alacran
No one is saying you will get killed or that they won't be cool with you.
We're saying they're up to no good and anything at any moment something could spark off.
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Originally Posted by Lorielicious
I grew up with guys like these too. What's your point? You should know then that people standing around is no cause for alarm. They're not actually going to do anything to you. You know this, right? The OP started some ridiculous thread crying about how frightened he felt because there were "sketchy looking" people around, as if he was in any immediate danger. He wasn't. At all.
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Originally Posted by urza216
No, they kill each other mostly. And it's good to not be around when they do this.
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Originally Posted by tribecavsbrowns
SWPL doofus lectures blue-collar guy who grew up around liquor store characters about how he doesn't know the liquor store characters (not that SWPL doofus has ever said a word to them), so blue-collar guy is wrong to think they might be up to no good. And the beat goes on...
Huh, whaddaya know...
"Chicagoans near a liquor store or bar on the city's South or West sides are up to roughly 500 times more likely to be shot than other people in the neighborhood, according to an abstract of a study released Wednesday by Northwestern University.
"Though violent crime is a persistent issue in some distressed neighborhoods, Dr. Marie Crandall says there is a link between a troubled neighborhood resident's proximity to a liquor retailer and the risk of becoming a victim of gun violence."
The worst place I've ever been to were the Robert Taylor Homes, all of my family on my father's side lived in the Robert Taylor Homes so when I was young I'd go visit family there. There was a lot of metal inside the buildings, the hallways had metal grates and the balconies had steel chain fences, the elevator also had a metallic/steel type of build. People would pisss and shiit in the hallways so the hallways literally smelled like a mixture of decaying metal, nasty steel, pisss, and feces combined together. That combination of metal, steel, pisss, and feces cannot even be put into words. No one can tell you, you had to have seen it yourself. It cannot be fully described, my uncle who grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes was also murdered in a gang dispute so it wasn't just the smell, it was also the killings too that made me never forget that place despite the fact that it's been over 10 years since the last time I've stepped inside the buildings.
The one time I was in Chicago, I wanted to see the hood, so first I took a cab to a street i think was Polk St. where the Jane Adams Homes were. I walked west, then south, ended up in an area of pure prairie.
It took me ages to walk back to the Loop, but I did, caught EL, red line southbound. I wanted to see the last of the Robert Taylor Homes (this was 2002) and the historic South Side. All the PJ's that used to line State st. passed by me and eventually I recognized the remaining RTH buildings. I got off, walked towards the buildings, eventually ended up in a run down residential neighbourhood just past the high rises. i didn't like the vibe i was getting so i booked. I thought I should make my way back to the EL, and I did. On the way I picked up some followers. They caught up with me at the EL station - teenagers wearing all blue and black. I was pretty sure they were GD, and they immediately they started asking me where I was from. I told I was from no where, just walking around. apparently it's not common for white guys to walk aimlessly around that neighbourhood. They were asking who I was, why a white boy like me was walking around their hood. I told them I was from Toronto. "You mean Colorado?" They asked. "Naw, Canada," I said and they looked at me like some rare bird they had never seen and didn't know what to make of. Still, the fact I wasn't from around there seemed to buy me a little forgiveness for crossing a boundary they didn't think I should have been crossing.
I kept moving, chatting with them, they tried to sell me crack, then weed. I told them I was good. By this time we were on the same train car together, heading north on the red line. I thought id be safe there, but I could see all the people on the train looking at me, like "this white boy just stepped in some serious sh*t." Older thugs generally keep to themselves, don't go looking for trouble. But likko youth, 15 YO, strapped, walking in a pack are unpredictable. Oh, I didn't mention one of them showed me the gun in his waistband when he jokingly pretended to pull it on me? Right there on the train. By this time, I was alone on that car with these kids.
The crew surrounded me, sat behind me, in front of me, next to me, and one standing, keeping point. I ain't a fool when it comes to the streets, but every city's got its own culture. I had learned the hard way that a white guy like me walking around the worst part of the South Side tends to stand out. I recognized that they were setting me up for something, whether a robbery, beating, whatever. Their tone had changed, their posture was aggressive. The guy standing suddenly grabbed hold of the pole and swung around on it as if to drop kick me in the face, his sneakers missing me by inches. Instead of shrinking back, showing fear, I acted dominant, asked them about their lives, if they smoked blunts, where they were going, cracked some jokes.
You can imagine that, by this time, I was wondering when the hell they were going to get off. We weren't even near Chinatown yet. After a while they seemed to get bored with me and moved away. But I kept my eye on them and saw them talking, and thought it might be a good idea to call the, back over. I figured it was another ten or fifteen minutes before we got to the Loop, and I wanted them to see I wasn't afraid of them.
"Hey, yo!"' I called out. One of the guys looked over. I gestured to him. "Yo, I want to ask you guys something." They looked puzzled, but slowly made their way back over to me. "This is only my second day in Chicago. What should I do while I'm here, like for fun." They laughed. The dude that was kind of the leader told me if I liked girls with big asses I should go back down to their hood with them later.
"This is what you do for fun man: you go to 55th and Indiana, and on the corner there there's a building with a big guy standing out front. Go up to the guy and tell him "**** the Black Gangsters."
I misheard the guy, and cause he had been talking about girls with big butts a second earlier I thought he said to tell the guy "**** the black ***," like it was some kind of password to a brothel or something, so I asked him:
"**** the black ***?" They kids cocked their heads and looked at me funny when I said it, then busted out laughing. I realized I had made a mistake. They repeated their instructions, told me I could also walk up to the first group of guys I saw and repeat their password and I'd have a great night. "yeah, sure," I said skeptically, and the guy started mad dogging me. I shut my *** up. The South Side rolled by. They chanted off the names of the projects as they passed by.
"There's the Ickes. Dearborn. Chinatown Projects."
Soon we were underground, and they got off without saying another word to me.
I had more hectic experiences in the Chicago hood over the next two days, but my time with the little gangbanger youth was the most memorable. When I tell people in TO the story, a lot of the don't believe it. I don't care. It happened, I remember it, and I probably won't ever be going back to the South Side without someone who knows their way around.
What a great read! :-) read it a long time ago and found it again.
Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 4
Last edited by glass_of_merlot; 10-08-2013 at 10:23 PM..
"Chicagoans near a liquor store or bar on the city's South or West sides are up to roughly 500 times more likely to be shot than other people in the neighborhood, according to an abstract of a study released Wednesday by Northwestern University.
"Though violent crime is a persistent issue in some distressed neighborhoods, Dr. Marie Crandall says there is a link between a troubled neighborhood resident's proximity to a liquor retailer and the risk of becoming a victim of gun violence."
My goodness, Sour, you really got under the skin of Lorie and ChiNaan. Not quite sure what they are "defending."
There's obviously neighborhoods you'd be best to stay away from, and yes - congregations outside of run-down liquor stores are best avoided. That's not "paranoia"
At one time, I'd agree with the assumption that "you're OK if you just walk past and say NO THANKS to the offers."
But the thugs, sadly, have become less fearful and more desperate over the years. They've upped their game. The odds that one of them might carve you up (or shoot you) from behind - in broad daylight, on a busy street, for no reason - are MUCH higher than the apologists may acknowledge. It happens all the time.
There was some unfortunate racist garbage on this thread as well. A thug is a thug, they can be Mexican, white-as-bread, pink, green, etc ....
glass_of_merlot: This fellow Canuck also enjoyed your gripping and intriguing story. What happened to you is EXACTLY what I would expect. If that pack hadn't latched on to you, another would have.
Why is it ALWAYS NEW USERS OR TROLLERS WHO START THESE THREADS? CHICAGO ISNT THE MURDER CAPITAL! Your more likely to get shot in new Orleans than Chicago.
Why is it ALWAYS NEW USERS OR TROLLERS WHO START THESE THREADS? CHICAGO ISNT THE MURDER CAPITAL! Your more likely to get shot in new Orleans than Chicago.
Chicago isn't the murder capital but crime is still an issue worth talking about. People should be more level headed about it though. This thread is proof that both sides can say things that are kinda whacky.
Why is it ALWAYS NEW USERS OR TROLLERS WHO START THESE THREADS?
Because that's what they do. Not all are able to find meaning in life through the types of channels that might seem standard to you or me. I'm not sure if they actually get satisfaction from it, or if they're left with a sense of emptiness that they chase by trying again, like a heroin junkie. Either way, they seem to be an inherent part of unmonitored (or lightly monitored) forums like this. C'est la vie.
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Originally Posted by cali3448893
CHICAGO ISNT THE MURDER CAPITAL! Your more likely to get shot in new Orleans than Chicago.
Approximately four times more likely, in fact, at least per the 2011 data, which is the most recent I've seen. And guess what? New Orleans is still one of my favorite cities in the country.
My goodness, Sour, you really got under the skin of Lorie and ChiNaan. Not quite sure what they are "defending.".
I'm not sure who "Sour" is, and I can't speak for Lorie, but nobody is under my skin today or any time in recent months (partly because I haven't hung out here much lately...I'm getting wiser in my old age). This is a pretty old thread.
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Chicago rough areas
