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Old 01-03-2010, 01:34 PM
 
Location: Seattle
620 posts, read 1,299,848 times
Reputation: 805

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Quote:
Originally Posted by marmac View Post
I also think it's a " cop out" when people say-------" all places have crime"

Sure , and all places have humidity in summer but it's a whole lot worse in some areas compared to others.
You are right; some places have more "crime" than other places. There are more crimes in a metro area than a rural area due to the disparity in population. Does that mean that urbanites have a greater propensity to commit crime? No.

There was a lot of crime committed on Wall Street, but that's a whole different discussion.


 
Old 01-03-2010, 01:58 PM
 
Location: NY
188 posts, read 406,057 times
Reputation: 189
"Please take a moment to define what you believe to be a crime.

As of right now, most of the comments speaking to high crime rates in Black neighborhoods, are not defining what the crimes being committed are. A crime is action that goes against the benefit of the public welfare; there are crimes in areas of higher income and there are crimes in areas of lower income and there are crimes across all neighborhoods.

If we are talking about crime, let's include fraud, embezzlement, tax evasion, speeding, etc. and let's see how it breaks down across the economic, educational, and racial lines.

Any comments stating or inferring that Blacks and Latinos commit crime because it is inherent in their nature are just plain ignorant. Crime has less to do with race or genetics and has more to do with access to wealth and resources.

After emancipation, many Blacks migrated to larger cities where they could find jobs and members of their families. However, after generations of oppression, access to education and well paying jobs was not available to the majority. Take into consideration that in response to the influx of Blacks into the cities, many city governments created segregated sections of town where the new residents could only reside. This does not only apply to cities in the south but it also applies to cities in the north, with Chicago being a prime example.

Some generations were provided means to obtain higher education and loans to create and operate small businesses; but many descendants of the slaves were caught up in the Jim Crowe policies that continued to suppress residents of these predominately Black neighborhoods. With the lack of wealth, educational opportunities, and political power, certain crimes became a means to garner additional resources for one's family. Selling drugs or stealing a car is a means of generating income; beating or killing a rival is a means to protect your territory. Do I believe that crime is the best way to get ahead in life? No. But to some people, they justify it as a way to survive.

Black children don't pop out of the womb with the propensity to rob their OB/GYN and shank the nurse."



Thanks for taking it back to history, its always relavant. Everything today is a result of yesterday.
 
Old 01-03-2010, 02:18 PM
 
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
11,974 posts, read 25,462,489 times
Reputation: 12187
I volunteered for a few weeks at a place in a "high crime Black area" of Louisville KY and noticed that a lot of "White boys" drove to that neighborhood to pick up drugs. There was one corner alone where there would be 10 drug transactions per HOUR, usually it was a Black guy selling something to a White guy... point being that a lot of shootings in that area may not involve people living in the neighborhood.
 
Old 01-03-2010, 03:52 PM
 
9,803 posts, read 16,182,471 times
Reputation: 8266
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Siobhan View Post
You are right; some places have more "crime" than other places. There are more crimes in a metro area than a rural area due to the disparity in population. Does that mean that urbanites have a greater propensity to commit crime? No.

There was a lot of crime committed on Wall Street, but that's a whole different discussion.


---" There are more crimes in a metro area than a rural area due to the disparity of population "

???????????????

Which is why I use crime index rate which takes into account population

( you do know what --rate-- means ? )
 
Old 01-03-2010, 03:57 PM
 
9,803 posts, read 16,182,471 times
Reputation: 8266
I always laugh when posters, on similar threads, try to defend their citiy's high crime rate.

One poster, while vehemently defending his city, stated he has lived there for 6 years and only had his house broken into 3 times.

Safe ?

I wouldn't think so and I certainly wouldn't use that as an example of his city being safe .
 
Old 01-03-2010, 04:01 PM
 
Location: Seattle
620 posts, read 1,299,848 times
Reputation: 805
Quote:
Originally Posted by marmac View Post
---" There are more crimes in a metro area than a rural area due to the disparity of population "

???????????????

Which is why I use crime index rate which takes into account population

( you do know what --rate-- means ? )

I responded directly to your comment which I quoted in my original response to you. In that comment, you did not mention crime rate, so I am not sure why this comment and the condescension is necessary.

I'm new to this forum but I'm not new to message boards. I will dialogue with you on a respectful level and I certainly hope you can show me the same respect in return.
 
Old 01-03-2010, 04:24 PM
 
Location: I think my user name clarifies that.
8,292 posts, read 26,664,764 times
Reputation: 3925
Quote:
Originally Posted by marmac View Post
I always laugh when posters, on similar threads, try to defend their citiy's high crime rate.

One poster, while vehemently defending his city, stated he has lived there for 6 years and only had his house broken into 3 times.

Safe ?

I wouldn't think so and I certainly wouldn't use that as an example of his city being safe .
Actually it's not that simple.

I'll use Omaha for example...

Several years ago I had extended family who were MORTIFIED when they found out we were moving to North Omaha - a black area of the city. They, of course, tried their best to veil their racism by calling it "concern."

What they didn't realize is that there are several "black areas" of Omaha. There are some black neighborhoods where there's a lot of crime. But it's almost 100% gang & drug related - and that's not unique to any race. Then there are other black neighborhoods that are outstanding. I'm fortunate enough to live in one of them.

There are economic factors involved.
There are neighborhood expectations.
There are family dynamics that play a role.
There are cultural expectations as well.


Then we come to the all-important question of what there is to DO about these issues.
 
Old 01-05-2010, 07:42 AM
 
78,335 posts, read 60,527,398 times
Reputation: 49624
Quote:
Originally Posted by h0tmess View Post
I've always wanted to discuss and get more information on this subject, but I always felt "bad" about looking at it this way..but it seems like anything goes on City Data lol

I do ask this in just the.. nicest way possible?

When areas...cities, towns, etc..are majority of black/hispanic, it's typically a high crime/drug area. Why? How did this happen?

I'm sure we'll get some mean racist responses, lol, but I'm looking for truth to this. I understand there ARE crappy areas that are mostly white, but typically if an area is mostly black/hispanic, it's an area you do not want to be in

So, why and how?
It's correlated to poverty....not skin color.
To put it another way, people see rain clouds and carry an umbrella...it then rains. Carrying an umbrella did not cause it to rain.

Understanding the relationship between poverty and certain ethnic groups is hugely complex and has many factors such as racism, cultural issues, immigration patterns etc.
 
Old 01-05-2010, 08:48 AM
 
9,803 posts, read 16,182,471 times
Reputation: 8266
---"poverty"--

Sure wasn't what I found out while researching.

Small cities with roughly the same poverty rates had very different crime rates corelating to their racial breakdown.

It appeared to me that worse poverty affected the crime rate in towns that had a higher percent of blacks.

Perhaps one could come to the conclusion that whites can adjust to poverty without resorting to crime better than blacks.

If that is not true, why the higher crime rate in towns with poverty that have a higher % of blacks compared to the same poverty rates in a town with a low % of blacks?

Perhaps blacks use --"poverty"--as an excuse/justification for committing crime way more than whites do ?
 
Old 01-05-2010, 04:47 PM
 
404 posts, read 1,094,254 times
Reputation: 361
Quote:
Originally Posted by marmac View Post
---"poverty"--

Sure wasn't what I found out while researching.

Small cities with roughly the same poverty rates had very different crime rates corelating to their racial breakdown.

It appeared to me that worse poverty affected the crime rate in towns that had a higher percent of blacks.

Perhaps one could come to the conclusion that whites can adjust to poverty without resorting to crime better than blacks.

If that is not true, why the higher crime rate in towns with poverty that have a higher % of blacks compared to the same poverty rates in a town with a low % of blacks?

Perhaps blacks use --"poverty"--as an excuse/justification for committing crime way more than whites do ?

Perhaps a good comparison would be the two poorest states in the Nation which happen to have vastly different racial makeups: West Virginia & Mississippi. Now I'm already aware that WV's violent crime rate is much lower than the national average, but what about Mississippi? Anyone care to chime in?
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