Murders too close for my taste here in Johnson City

[SarahSal]

Originally Posted by JakilaTheHun

rccrain,

That's true, but where do you think they get distributed to?

I hardly ever encountered drugs and/or druggies in Atlanta. It may be where all the drugs are routed through, but it doesn't mean you see drugs overtaking any parts of the city. Meanwhile, it's almost impossible to live in the Tri-Cities and not know several people who are/have struggled with drug addiction.

I'm not precisely sure why it's so bad in the Tri. My theory is that it's a combination of being urban enough to attract drugs, but lacking much in the way of professional jobs that most urban centers have. The lack of professional jobs creates a "brain drain" from the region with the most gifted people moving elsewhere. As a result of this, the region ends up with a lot of people who can find no path to life fulfillment and are very unmotivated, so they then turn to drugs. Since the region is so tightly-knit, if one person turns to drugs, if often means they can drag others with them. Over time, the culture in the region sorta reinforces this problem.

It's really sad to me every time I go home or take on the phone with friends and relatives and hear about another person lost in drug addiction. It's so common there.

No clue if my theory has any reality to it. I'm just not sure how else to explain why it's so much worse there than most other places I've been. Other cities I've seen with drug problems seem to have similiar traits (lack of professional jobs, more closely-knit population).

*That* is a very unteresting and intriguing theory, one that someone might think about invesitigating or researching.. I think you might very well be correct in your assumptions. The place to start would be, as you noted, in close-knit communities.

[janiceguazzo]

Originally Posted by Tony1790

I
Normally I watch the news and ho hum, but all the cities I've lived in, I've never been this GEOGRAPHICALLY close to murders, like I said, maybe it's just because JC is so small.

I lived in Bergen County NJ (10 miles from Manhattan) all my life and had no idea how horrible the murder rate was in my own county until my best friend got a job at the prosecutors office. She worked with the M.E. and told me that there were at least 30 homicides each month in our own little area.

I feel ok here that my odds are better since there are very few "random" killings or drive by shootings. It is mostly domestic violence.

You are going to have this everywhere you go...and our "news coverage" is at best entertaining on a slow day. When they get a real story they blast the hell out of it.

[ljay42]

Originally Posted by janiceguazzo

I feel ok here that my odds are better since there are very few "random" killings or drive by shootings. It is mostly domestic violence.

Very few...between the drug killings and domestics, I really haven't seen much, if any, random murders here. Just carry a gun in case you need to get the drop on one of your relatives and you should be fine around here.

[rccrain]

What always gets me is the people that knew the killer. "Oh yeh, Bubba was such a great person. "I can't believe he would every do this".

Just one time I'd like to hear: "Yeh, Bubba was a pretty bad dude ... doesn't surprise me at all."

If someone I know goes off the deep end, I will be honest.

[jabogitlu]

haha, too true, rccrain. Maybe it's our tendency to talk good about people but I've always wondered the same thing.

[Tony1790]

Originally Posted by ljay42

Just carry a gun in case you need to get the drop on one of your relatives and you should be fine around here.

Now that's funny, I don't care who you are, that's funny.....and so true (in some families)

Thanks for the laugh.

Tony

[williboy]

Being nicknamed "Bubba" probably contributes to the antisocial behavior.