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It's funny these mayors are complaining. I feel sorry for the citizens of these cities. St. Lewie? Detroit? Oaktown? Have you people ever had the unfortunate experience of driving the surface streets through these cities? Instead of gangsters paradise Oakland reminded me of crackheads paradise.
I have driven in most of Saint Louis' neighborhoods. Places like the Central West End, Delmar and The Soulard are great areas. I have driven around the urban prairies of north Saint Louis. (They were more desolate than scary) The city has its highlights and its failures. You could live in any of the neighborhoods I mentioned and not have serious problems with crime. It is really no different than Chicago. If you live in Lincoln Park, there is no reason to go drive around Garfield Park. It is real easy to judge a place from the safety of Lake Forest, though. My experience is Saint Louis was no worse than my experience in San Francisco. I knew where to be and where not to be. It was hardly unfortunate.
Okay, that's a fair point about the variation in what "city" limits include.
I think most people would prefer that there not BE gangsters shooting, whatever their aim. I mean, look, I've lived in some hard neighborhoods. I was never really concerned about my OWN safety; I'm a pretty big guy, know how to handle myself on city streets, and never gave anyone a serious reason to have a problem with me. Still, it wasn't a particularly happy place to live, partly because terrible things occasionally happened nearby, to other people, and partly because those things kept good people away from the neighborhood, and precluded happier things from going on. It's not just a question of what anyone's odds are of being personally victimized; it's a matter of what a widespread culture of criminality does to a place.
If anyone had any sense to them, they would know they were in an area they were not safe in before they were in a crossfire they were not safe in. I am a fan of gang on gang violence. Lord knows the legal system can't clear them all out.
Widespread criminal activity is only as widespread as certain neighborhoods. You could spend your whole life in the City of Saint Louis and not find yourself in any gunfight. It is a drain on a certain neighborhood, and that is unacceptable. It is more unacceptable to disregard an entire city for its problems.
Numbers not fair???? Booo Hooo...
Perhaps those cities that made the top ten list for worst places should genuinely work to prevent and stop crimes so that there are no numbers to be "misconstrued"....
Some cities get exactly what they deserve....Oakland and Richmond are on the list....because they both have a crime problem.....[ongoing now for decades....]
Instead of supporting these cities for an iota of their progress, these studies undermine public perception of them. It is kinda hard to fight something when you are continually undermined by onlookers. Unless you have the idea that these cities have been missing for 50 years, shut up. An armchair referee never did anything for anyone. It isn't tougher laws, it isn't more welfare, it obviously isn't anything that anyone has thought of besides slowly cleaning up a neighborhood building by building and lot by lot. It becomes economically disadvantegeous to work in these cities when their reputation is undermined. This senselaess banter only adds to the problem.
I think crime in those cities is worse than the stats.
Go to some Podunk town and the police come out for everything. Those same crimes in big cities are ignored.
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