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Manchester NH has a "ghetto' problem and white trash problem that only seems to be getting worse.The roads are turning to rubble also.Lots of hood gangster wannabees,welfare queens, deadbeat dads etc etc.I know all cities have these types of problems and it "is what it is' but the point is it is definitely not what it should be.
So how does a citizen that cares about the place they live in go about trying to find a solution or reason for it?
Obviously the parents of many of these people are out to lunch and have been for years.The school systems seem to leave something to be desired also.Where does one start to clean a place up?
The "there are no jobs" argument is not valid because most of these people choose not to work or are incapable of holding a job for any amount of time.So who ends up paying for their kids?
The largest city in NH should say something about this state and the people who live here in a positive way.People here should stop sweeping the dirt under the rug and make a real effort to to something about before they think it is okay if they don't already.
Dirty restaurants,stores,litter,trash,drugs everywhere are a cause and effect.So where does one start and what does one do?Many of the parents have obviously done nothing.
What are the causes of this?
Manchester has it's areas yep always has , but Nashua has worse, so does Salem.. I could tell you the causes but it would would be deemed political and gee I wouldn't want to get myself into trouble.
You could start making your neighborhood a better place by not being so judgmental.
-Mike
Ignoring problems do not make them go away, there is legitimate concern for the general apathy of any given city not just Manchester NH , however I agree that you and I have to do things to make it better individually.. No matter what we personally think the root causes may be we are the ones live it, there is great value in investing in individuals.. not just ideologies.. You can't help someone see that something is wrong in their lives while ignoring the fact that they need help..now.. you can't be pissed off at the littering if you ain't the one helping to clean up.. So where does one start to clean up a place.. our own streets our own neighborhoods, our own soup kitchens, religious and non religious charities. Hand outs? No.. a hand, a chance to catch a breather to some, a chance to turn things around for others, some..it won't affect at all..some will indeed be bad to the bone, no matter what mask they hide under.. humanity 101, it hasn't changed since there was mankind.
We can also be vigilant to criminal elements and aggressive in reporting suspected criminal activity and by aggressive I mean not only report something but making sure the police follow through, and yes in some cases be willing to become physically involved.. just complaining is easy..caring means living out of most folks comfort zones, I know I fall short.. gotta keep trying though.
Ignoring problems do not make them go away, there is legitimate concern for the general apathy of any given city not just Manchester NH , however I agree that you and I have to do things to make it better individually.. No matter what we personally think the root causes may be we are the ones live it, there is great value in investing in individuals.. not just ideologies.. You can't help someone see that something is wrong in their lives while ignoring the fact that they need help..now.. you can't be pissed off at the littering if you ain't the one helping to clean up.. So where does one start to clean up a place.. our own streets our own neighborhoods, our own soup kitchens, religious and non religious charities. Hand outs? No.. a hand, a chance to catch a breather to some, a chance to turn things around for others, some..it won't affect at all..some will indeed be bad to the bone, no matter what mask they hide under.. humanity 101, it hasn't changed since there was mankind.
We can also be vigilant to criminal elements and aggressive in reporting suspected criminal activity and by aggressive I mean not only report something but making sure the police follow through, and yes in some cases be willing to become physically involved.. just complaining is easy..caring means living out of most folks comfort zones, I know I fall short.. gotta keep trying though.
Geez, Dave. Well said.
I haven't seen a real city that doesn't have these problems. Singling out Manchester isn't really fair. City living involves this type of thing, although I agree there's things we can do to help without it being a handout.
OP - What Manchester are you talking about? I visit the west side fairly often and have not noticed these problems. Yeah, there are a lot of three deck houses but most are fairly well kept and the streets reasonably clean. The streets are falling apart but that is not limited to the city. You should try riding a motorcycle on some of our rural highways. I have been in Manchester’s slums and they are pretty decent compared to other places I have had the misfortune to visit.
I believe the problem is lack of work for warm bodies. The simple jobs available, stocking shelves at Target for example, are few and do not pay very well. Industrial work like this has disappeared with the textile industry. The work that is available in places like DEKA require significant skill and are also few and far between.
For instance a friend of mine interviewed for the position of Facilities Manager for a very high tech machine shop in Newport. He would have been responsible for several millions of dollars worth of machinery and the building they were in. These fools offered him about 50 grand for a 150 grand position. He politely declined. There is a streak of cheapness in NH industry that continues to want specialty work for janitor’s pay.
Slightly OT, but Newport is not Manchester, and the idea of any position in Newport being a "150 grand position" is illusory. It may be a 150k position in a place with a COL comparable to the Boston area or southern NH, but where the COL is considerably lower, 150k is pie in the sky. Greg, I think your friend could have knocked them up to 65k and lived very well unless he wanted to live in New London (wealthy retirement community) or Sunapee (used to be a nice resort town, now taken over by wealthy Mass transplants).
I do agree that the problem is lack of work for warm bodies, where the term warm bodies is being used to refer to unskilled labor. This is by the way the same thing that is happening in VT. That state has been in denial over a growing drug, crime and gang problem for the past ten years. Or maybe they didn't want to say out loud what everyone knoew for fear of disrupting the Currier and Ives fantasy that draws the tourists. It took a few armed robberies, drive by shootings, attempted murders in broad daylight and a few small time crooks who came up from NYC/NJ trading drugs for guns to get town officials across the state to finally wake up.
Manchester never had the tourist aura, but it has the same second generation welfare element that sits around and collects benefits while doing drug deals on the side. Thankfully, unlike VT, NH doesn't stuff the benefits down people's throats and keep the gravy train going for years on end.
Through all my years of travel I have seen you will get this in all city and town environments. Try to change it if you want, but unfortunately I don’t think you will get much support because a lot of people try to keep the trash in one area and not let it spread outside of that containment area. That is exactly why we sold our last home and moved.....the neighborhood was going downhill and no amount of my complaining would fix it so I let them have it. Move to an area the trash can’t afford to live in and life will be happier. :-) This is only my opinion though.
A major root cause of this societal problem is that our schools do not define merit as the majority of the population does. We have ignorant parents trusting their kids to this system which in many, many cases stunts natural, normal development. We are funding the creation of a stunted class which perpetuate the cycle. The Society (ies) in positions of authority are not threatened this way.
You could start making your neighborhood a better place by not being so judgmental.
-Mike
Stating clear facts about problems that maybe you are not aware of with an eye towards making things better is not being judgemental. You are being judgemental with your response
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