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I try to be very diplomatic when discussing opinion-type things like states, cities, football teams, religion and politics. Therefore, I'll try to be so as I share my thoughts on MS and your post.
1. Crime - I haven't lived in MS since 2002 (full time resident since 2001). My parents seem to think that the crime in their county in NE MS is getting progressively worse. I only have their perceptions, no actual evidence. I really can't say that the crime is worse than anywhere else I've lived.
2. "Welfare junkies and the career unemployed" - I don't know anyone in our county that fits this bill. I know some people who are collecting disability and working under the table. That's not the same thing though. I didn't see this when I lived there, and don't know of anyone who can buttress this accusation.
3. Hypocrites - I think you find this in any religious community. I saw this in NY, NJ, PA, TX and here in TN. In the south, of course, there are more vocal Christians than in other parts of the county except the Midwest (Bible-belters, you know ). I think this lends itself to hypocrisy. It drives me crazy regardless. It's not just the pregnancy and divorce; I don't like the backbiting, scamming, or close-mindedness, which is why I distance myself from religion.
4. "Lack of activities" - I feel you on this one. Most of my friends back in MS would feel you on this one too. In NE MS, most people I know are really into watching SEC sports, which keeps them from being too bored. They also travel to the coast, to Florida and to the Rockies a lot.
5. " 'Thug life' culture" - I cannot comment on this. I have not seen this except on campus, and I just rolled my eyes. Out in town, I didn't see this much.
6. "Lack of intelligent people" - I'm split on this one, truly. In our county, there is a university so there are a lot of highly intelligent individuals. Out in the country (same county), people don't seem to understand simple tax laws or "basic" principles or concepts that I learned in school. I really don't understand it.
7. Apartment prices - When my husband lived in Meridian from 2000-2002, he paid $425 for a furnished, 2 BR apartment in a good neighborhood. I don't know what to say about your experience. Oxford & Starkville have ridiculous rental rates because of the universities. I don't know if that's true for Hattiesburg or not.
8. Fishing - no comment. Don't like to fish.
9. Lakes - I saw in friends' ponds. Those were always muddy. Didn't much matter to me. Someone else commented that it's the soil. This is true. MS has a lot of clay. It goes back to when MS was underwater - during the Cretaceous. Nothing to do about that.
10. Free speech - In my opinion this is more strongly related to the religious influence. However, I'm very, very sensitive about religious discrimination and stifling.
11. "The South in general is lacking. MS, AL, LA and GA don't seem to have much to offer." I would need you to be more specific about this. In general, I disagree with you that AL, LA & GA have little to offer. It really depends on what you're talking about.
AL has Huntsville for tech and arts, Montgomery for the AL Shakespeare Festival (which I really do enjoy), and the coast.
LA has New Orleans for culture, history, and arts.
GA has Atlanta for history, science and arts, the coastal region, and some minor "mountains".
I want to finish by saying that I never liked Meridian. Mostly, for many of the reasons you stated. NE MS and coastal MS are different though. Perhaps not night and day, but they are much more enjoyable, IMO.
CQ press doesn't give any reference where they get their numbers from, or how it is even computed. The numbers I posted are from the FBI Uniform Crime Reports- it's the standard. Pretty much if you want a low to average crime area in MS you need a city with less than 10k people.
Yes, it does. You should stop jumping to conclusions and passing judgment on people based on very limited experience and information.
This link explains the methodology and source. It's FBI data.
I disproved your claim of Mississippi being the welfare capital of the US as well. As for Mississippi having a high percentage of children in single parent homes, it is a problem that needs to be addressed.
I think you should really change the way you think, and understand we aren't
denying Mississippi has problems just because we see inaccurate information and challenge it. The problem is you make judgements based on your own perceptions with no factual basis.
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which compiles the data used by CQ Press, cautions on its website against ranking cities using the agency's crime statistics. "It's apples to oranges," says Gregory Scarbro, unit chief for the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. He points to potential gaps in crime-reporting rates by residents of different cities, and differences in how city borders are drawn."
"Each year when Crime in the United States is published, many entities—news media, tourism agencies, and other groups with an interest in crime in our Nation—use reported figures to compile rankings of cities and counties. These rankings, however, are merely a quick choice made by the data user; they provide no insight into the many variables that mold the crime in a particular town, city, county, state, region, or other jurisdiction. Consequently, these rankings lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting cities and counties, along with their residents."
I am mobile today, and posting from my iphone, but I want to bring to your attention one other thing. If you look at single parent statistics for each state you will realize it isn't just a Mississippi problem. Many states are 30-42 percent single family, and DC is 61 percent.
For those who heavily rely on crime rankings for city/county/state/region comparisons:
In Crime Rankings, Nuance Is a Victim - WSJ.com
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which compiles the data used by CQ Press, cautions on its website against ranking cities using the agency's crime statistics. "It's apples to oranges," says Gregory Scarbro, unit chief for the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. He points to potential gaps in crime-reporting rates by residents of different cities, and differences in how city borders are drawn."
You may also want to read this caution by the FBI when comparing and analyzing crime stats:
Variables Affecting Crime - Crime in the United States 2009
"Each year when Crime in the United States is published, many entities—news media, tourism agencies, and other groups with an interest in crime in our Nation—use reported figures to compile rankings of cities and counties. These rankings, however, are merely a quick choice made by the data user; they provide no insight into the many variables that mold the crime in a particular town, city, county, state, region, or other jurisdiction. Consequently, these rankings lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting cities and counties, along with their residents."
WELP, Randy.
Looks like you been BUSTED OUT baby boy.
What 'CHOO gone do neh...shoot us?
I currently live in California and I've also lived in New York
and Hawaii.
How anyone can even afford to live in Calif. NY or Hawaii
is beyond me.
I'm sort of a loner and a privacy chick, so I love visiting
Mississippi and plan to live there eventually.
BTW--not all the ponds in Ms. are muddy. I've seen dozens
that are not. The dominance by Catfish in Ms. is one of the
reasons for the lake situation. My friend outside Jackson
has a 5 acre. pond and it's very beautiful but she has no
catfish, mostly blue gill.
I've been busted? The numbers I posted are directly from the FBI UCR's. Now the CQ numbers use a formula to recalculate the info and don't include all crimes. There's a reason why their data are numbers representing the results, vs just showing the actual numbers of crimes committed.I went with the total numbers so it wouldn't appear I was trying to manipulate them. But, all the responses to the issue of crime here have been hell bent on not counting certain crimes.
And as far as crime, MS is mostly rural, as nearly everyone agrees. But the crime rates don't reflect what I've experienced in other rural places.
A quick check shows that cities in America with a population of 40k-45k have an average crime rate of 3249/100k. You can download the FBI UCR's and put the info into Excel if you'd like to verify.
Here are MS cities, crime rates and population:
Meridian 5582/100k 40k people
Jackson 8405/100k 184k people
Gulfport 6420/100k 71k
Vicksburg 7855/100k 26k
Biloxi 6279/100k 50k
Hattiesburg 4832/100k 45k
Tupelo 5351/100k 34k
Greenville 6192/100k 42k
As you can see the similar sized cities all have major issues when compared to the American average. This is common all over the South. Southerners seem to deny the problems (as seen in all the responses), but their actions speak louder than words. There are quite a few people packing up and leaving the rotten cities, moving into surround tiny towns.
The US national average for single parenting is 32%. Are there state worse than MS? Probably. My parents never accepted the excuse "well Billy is doing the same thing wrong" to justify my bad actions, but I guess MS culture teaches otherwise. About my "claim to MS being the welfare capital", I never said it. "welfare junkies and career unemployed" the state ranks 25th for welfare per capita use, 11th in welfare per capita spending and is near the top of the pile for single parenting. So my observation that the state seems full of welfare junkies is fairly accurate. And after reading the news articles about the welfare reform in this state it appears the junkies are here, but their supply has just dried up.
The best part is if you compile a list of stats about MS it shows the state is rife with problems. The amazing part to me is that MS ranks worst of 50 on several categories (child welfare, IQ, obesity). The MS state motto should be "fat, dumb and happy."
Now the CQ numbers use a formula to recalculate the info and don't include all crimes... But, all the responses to the issue of crime here have been hell bent on not counting certain crimes.
I'm not hellbent on leaving anything out, and it appears CQ isn't either as the only data left out is data that is deemed by the FBI and an advisory panel of criminologists as not being a true and accurate determiner of crime.
CQ just happens to be who took the FBI data and put it into a comparison of states. That is the only reason I chose it.
A previous poster has already shown why crime
statistics mean very little anyway.
I've been busted? The numbers I posted are directly from the FBI UCR's. Now the CQ numbers use a formula to recalculate the info and don't include all crimes. There's a reason why their data are numbers representing the results, vs just showing the actual numbers of crimes committed.I went with the total numbers so it wouldn't appear I was trying to manipulate them. But, all the responses to the issue of crime here have been hell bent on not counting certain crimes.
And as far as crime, MS is mostly rural, as nearly everyone agrees. But the crime rates don't reflect what I've experienced in other rural places.
A quick check shows that cities in America with a population of 40k-45k have an average crime rate of 3249/100k. You can download the FBI UCR's and put the info into Excel if you'd like to verify.
Here are MS cities, crime rates and population:
Meridian 5582/100k 40k people
Jackson 8405/100k 184k people
Gulfport 6420/100k 71k
Vicksburg 7855/100k 26k
Biloxi 6279/100k 50k
Hattiesburg 4832/100k 45k
Tupelo 5351/100k 34k
Greenville 6192/100k 42k
As you can see the similar sized cities all have major issues when compared to the American average. This is common all over the South. Southerners seem to deny the problems (as seen in all the responses), but their actions speak louder than words. There are quite a few people packing up and leaving the rotten cities, moving into surround tiny towns.
The US national average for single parenting is 32%. Are there state worse than MS? Probably. My parents never accepted the excuse "well Billy is doing the same thing wrong" to justify my bad actions, but I guess MS culture teaches otherwise. About my "claim to MS being the welfare capital", I never said it. "welfare junkies and career unemployed" the state ranks 25th for welfare per capita use, 11th in welfare per capita spending and is near the top of the pile for single parenting. So my observation that the state seems full of welfare junkies is fairly accurate. And after reading the news articles about the welfare reform in this state it appears the junkies are here, but their supply has just dried up.
The best part is if you compile a list of stats about MS it shows the state is rife with problems. The amazing part to me is that MS ranks worst of 50 on several categories (child welfare, IQ, obesity). The MS state motto should be "fat, dumb and happy."
Well MS is number one in the nation in obesity, and Colorado is the leanest state.
Thats mississippi for you. Come to NYC. You will like it over here
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). I think this lends itself to hypocrisy. It drives me crazy regardless. It's not just the pregnancy and divorce; I don't like the backbiting, scamming, or close-mindedness, which is why I distance myself from religion.
