[WheredoIlive?]

Originally Posted by SWV

Let's get one thing STRAIGHT..
Stop calling it ''THE GHETTO'' just because there's a large number of crime(s) in a ''BLACK AREA'' doesn't mean it's ghetto because if it was a ghetto PARCHMENT would be a ghetto as well.

Another thing, these kids have NOTHING to do. My cousin lives right on the corner of Frank and Westnedge and he always has problems with the same group of kids that jumped the innocent man, in fact most of the time if not ALWAYS it's the kids (ages 12-18) who are the one who's doing most of the crimes.

What other names do we have for places that are full of crime, falling apart and kids running wild, committing violent crimes?

They ARE GHETTOS.


{Kalamazoo as a whole is not ghetto, but it has a ghetto}

Parchment, one can walk down the street and not worry about getting their butt kicked.

I've lived in these ghettos, by the way, no thank you, NEVER AGAIN.

[WheredoIlive?]

Originally Posted by darstar

Kzoo was a nice city , with a downtown that has been updated to modern standards.. Lots of niche restaurants, shopping , and places for entertainment.
An oasis in an otherwise very rural part of Michigan. I always enjoyed my weekly visits ( except for the traffic ). Underlying however was a thin underbelly, of poverty , crime , and urban ghetto. I new it was there , just did not want to see or hear of it..... I am sure its worse these days , as all places.
The poor are throwing rocks at the rich , and , the youth are angry , without jobs..... Not a good mix , one thats repeated all over America. I am glad I moved far from the madding crowds.... to the UP, I feel safe , for the first time in years....

Yes Kzoo does have some nice things. I think their art center is great and there are some nice restaurants and other things to do there.

The underbelly may be getting thicker though, i lived in Kzoo for 8 years, I had about 7 years of not seeing the place, this would have been around 2002? or so, I went back and it had deriorated. There is some new stuff there now, but the poverty and urban ghetto stuff has gotten worse from what I can tell.

[WheredoIlive?]

Originally Posted by uggabugga

i read this a couple nights back on the kzoo gazette web site. the comments section was going fast and furious.

the latest:


9 punks beat the guy within an inch of his life while 30 to 40 watched and/or cheered them on.
i feel so much better about this now.

ugh

[vette-dude]

Originally Posted by funymann

I'm telling you it is Michigan!!!!

That place is crazy! Flint is on the top for most violent city. Then Detroit is up there too. Now Kalamazoo!?!

I think the weather does have something to do with it. There is no sun and it is cold for 8 months. Hated it!!!!!!!!!!

I would say the "weather" is just a reason to give them to be outside..but to attack someone on a bike and that many kids...WTF..Makes a person wonder what "if any" discipline these kids have...I was a kid once obviously, but definately didn't even consider this type of stupid actions...help a neighbor, read a book get some "knowledge between your ears"...instead of being punk thuds...that amount to nothing..

[wagonproject]

Originally Posted by vette-dude

I would say the "weather" is just a reason to give them to be outside..but to attack someone on a bike and that many kids...WTF..Makes a person wonder what "if any" discipline these kids have...I was a kid once obviously, but definately didn't even consider this type of stupid actions...help a neighbor, read a book get some "knowledge between your ears"...instead of being punk thuds...that amount to nothing..

Its the "run down" part of town if you will, or close so your going to get that attitude. You see a lot of young kids roaming the streets around there in the summer. Im not going to start stuff, but the kids aren't your friendly next door neighbor kids even on good days...

[Bluefly]

I've worked in some of our country's worst.... areas formerly known as ghettos .

The problems are so pervasively entrenched in the cultures of poverty that no amount of government spending or private sector financial investment can solve them (government programs just addict residents to handouts and private investments usually just attract wealthier people and push the impoverished people somewhere else without solving anything).

It has to change from within somehow. One of my best friends grew up in that life and he says that you grow up ignorant. You simply have no idea what else is available. It wasn't until someone in a position of city power took him under her wing and showed him what was possible that he could even find a direction in which to point his life. Once he did, he climbed out of drug dealing and violence on his own.

It's easy to write these kids off as lazy or whatever, but they simply don't know what else is there and are also burdened by a culture that celebrates ignorance and violence and degrades intellectual pursuits.

[xlabel]

The trouble is there are no consequences for this kind of behavior. Until we demand from our government that they start administering some real punishment it will continue to flourish. Handle it like the do in Iran. You want to be a thug, you lose a hand or a leg or perhaps a public stoning till death. There should be no such term as "career criminal". We have thugs running around on the streets today in this country that have scores of felonies and have been in and out of jail dozens of times. The judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys could care less about public safety. They live in thier ivory towers and gated communities, what do they have to worry about? It's an industry. Round the thugs up and put them through the revolving door and get em back out on the street as soon as possible because it's good for business, job security.

[malamute]

I think the problem is that we're paying women to breed when it should be the reverse. In order to qualify for welfare handouts, someone should voluntarily agree to be sterilized. The last thing someone who is trying to escape welfare needs is another baby and it's gotten to be too easy to do nothing, have no goals but a welfare life and having babies is all it takes to obtain it. Imagine if all drug addicts, alcoholics, and welfare recipients were offered $200 to $400 in exchange for permanent sterilization, or in order to receive any of the many welfare programs one had to agree to sterilization, many societal problems could be solved in a generation.

[malamute]

When chilldren of 12-18 have nothing to do, it's because they have parents that make no effort to show them what they should do. There's homework.....there are household chores.....there are family outings....there are books to read.....church or social groups and volunteerism..... The whole problem is the lack of parenting. Parents who simply conceive, give birth and feel their responsibility ends there.

[darstar]

The prisons are way over crowded now. We must change things from the start. Its way to simplistic , to just blame this or that , depending on your politics.
Starting with education , and decriminalizing Marijuana use, would go a long way in lessening the populations of our prisons. It is true that a lot of the breeding ground for crime is the ghetto. These areas need to be closed down. Move the people out. I know it sounds strange , but , considering the cost for incarceration , medical , and welfare-child care , we could afford to relocate the people for much less cost. There is a lot of wide open spaces in places like Wyoming , that need populated. Show them the way , that there is hope for a better way of life , and , things will start to change,... If we need to pay the parents for doing a good job with their kids , it would be worth it. If we need to pay young girls , not to have baby's , it would be worth it..... Yes , the cost of doing nothing has now far exceeded the cost of prevention.