Shootings (Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg, Fox Chapel: section 8, transplants, crime rate)

[whoisjohngalt]

It's been years since completing my Criminology degree, but I can say that the FBI is serious about collecting accurate info and statistics about actual crime committed within every part of our country. No city will lie or makeup numbers and risk the federals coming to clean-up the mess-LIKE PGH PD HAD HAPPEN A FEW YEARS AGO, through with an unrelated incident. Any place that attracts people will attract a bad element, but commonsense will dictate the in a "cost-benefits analysis" whether one should go somewhere. The Waterfront is headed for trouble unless the PD starts becoming proactive and turns away those who don't deserve to be there. Wecome to thug-life.

[zip95]

Originally Posted by aveojohn

The sooner the black communities realize this the sooner they will be able to start solving there own problems and quit relying on the federal gov't and white people to solve their problems.

Let's discuss those East Hills projects you mentioned. Didn't they house people who were denied access to unions, and access to loans, and access to jobs, and access to quality educations, and access to housing in good districts??? So in your brilliant analysis, it's ok to systematically deny the benefits of capitalism to an entire race of people. It's ok to implement laws and policies that ensure the playing field is as unequal as possible. And then, after all that, you'll be shocked that the government mandated ghetto is poor...then you'll blame the ghetto for its poverty. You'll conviently forget that despite the centries long attempt to box-in an entire race of people...that in today's America, the majority of blacks have escaped their officially enforced poverty with many now members of a booming black middle class. You'll also conviently forget that a huge percentage of whites (who were never systematically oppressed) are pisspoor trash.

Instead you'll see one black guy on Fox News blaming white people and you'll remember the last time you drove through Homewood. And then, in your infinite wisdom, instead of judging people on the content of their character you'll decide that "as a rule" black people blame white people and are poor.........spectacular.

My personal feeling is that attitudes like this are often rooted in some sort of inferiority complex or something. It seems like the mentality is.....if I associate my self with the elite in Sewickley and Fox Chapel, and I associate those other people with the lower echelon in Homewood and Wilkinsburg...then I can feel good about my self even though I personally never did anything.....I don't know if that's you...it just seems like a somewhat common train of thought.

So back to the original post.....It's fine to fear for ones safety in bad areas (I'm certainly scared in meth-riddled poverty-stricken Fayette county). It's fine to question Waterworks security and lament the decline of Homestead. It's even ok to make fun of poor people (ghetto-fablous, trailer-trash, etc)....It's not ok (and not intelligent) to try and make everything a race issue.....That just shows an inability to see reality and interpret historical fact.

[mr.davon24]

Originally Posted by whoisjohngalt

it's been years since completing my criminology degree, but i can say that the fbi is serious about collecting accurate info and statistics about actual crime committed within every part of our country. No city will lie or makeup numbers and risk the federals coming to clean-up the mess-like pgh pd had happen a few years ago, through with an unrelated incident. Any place that attracts people will attract a bad element, but commonsense will dictate the in a "cost-benefits analysis" whether one should go somewhere. The waterfront is headed for trouble unless the pd starts becoming proactive and turns away those who don't deserve to be there. Wecome to thug-life.

well put

[kenyaa]

I live in Wilkinsburg and make a "middle class" wage. I have a degree and work for a well known company. I dont want to move into the white community because they look at us as if we are aliens. I'd rather stay in my neighborhood and try to help, then just run away and forget. As stated in an earlier thread, there is a lot that goes on in the white areas, but the news does not glorify it like they do our neighborhoods. What are we supposed to do about that? It's not a race issue, when we do try and bring ourselves up, there's that one other person from another race, that will do anything to get us to fail. Most are intimidated by us and afraid that we may take their jobs. Not thru affirmative action either. Wilkinsburg has it's areas of interest and there are still a lot of white people in that area, but most of yall would put their houses up for sale if we moved into your neighborhood, without even giving us a chance. So instead of having a cross burning in my yard( which happened in a polish hill neighborhood) I'd rather stay within my black community where I am welcomed

[kenyaa]

Originally Posted by Chuckles1821

Ghetto fabulous - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm sure you're trying to convey some sort of coherent thought or opinion, but I don't know what it is.

I'm sure you're trying to convey some sort of coherent thought or opinion, but I don't know what it is.

Obviously I did not want you to know what my thoughts were or I would have elaborated on it. I just said you guys are racist and you are...the truth hurts...No matter how you put it, through all these threads, racism!!!! Get over it. We we brought over here by you, now deal with it. We are here to stay just as you are and should be treated equal. Your thought and opinions do not matter to me, I live for myself and not what others think. I see there are a lot of others out here with us.

[Chuckles1821]

Well I like that you just wanted to tell us that you have thoughts but they are secret. That is pretty special.

And guess what, YOU were not brought over here by ME, now deal with that.

[aveojohn]

My ancestors have been here since the mid 1700's and have never have been south of the mason dixon line. You lumping me in with those who"brought you over here"is as bad as you accusing me of racism.WTF???

[aveojohn]

Originally Posted by kenyaa

I live in Wilkinsburg and make a "middle class" wage. I have a degree and work for a well known company. I dont want to move into the white community because they look at us as if we are aliens. I'd rather stay in my neighborhood and try to help, then just run away and forget. As stated in an earlier thread, there is a lot that goes on in the white areas, but the news does not glorify it like they do our neighborhoods. What are we supposed to do about that? It's not a race issue, when we do try and bring ourselves up, there's that one other person from another race, that will do anything to get us to fail. Most are intimidated by us and afraid that we may take their jobs. Not thru affirmative action either. Wilkinsburg has it's areas of interest and there are still a lot of white people in that area, but most of yall would put their houses up for sale if we moved into your neighborhood, without even giving us a chance. So instead of having a cross burning in my yard( which happened in a polish hill neighborhood) I'd rather stay within my black community where I am welcomed

That in and of itself is a racist remark.You are lumping us as white people all together.I live in New Kensington and have many black neighbors and don't look at them any differently,unless there a$$holes.Question???---What do you do to really help,seriously?

[jinxd_13]

That is exactly the root of the "reverse" racism you are exhibitting. You weren't brought here by anyone...you were born here, just like me and while you most certainly should expect equality, you, certainly, shouldn't expect preferential treatment or reparation. I had nothing to do with slavery and neither did you. The only people that weren't "brought" over here or didn't come over on a boat were indigenous "Indians". If you feel like going back in time and letting your ancestors get revenge on some other guys ancestors wait for the technology. Until then stop throwing out the slavery card. It is only then when we can get over it and acheive real harmony.

[ExPit]

Kenyaa, first of all, the thought that you could have had a cross burned on your front lawn on Polish Hill, in Pittsburgh, in the 21st century breaks my heart! I can only say that that is so sad, and the anger that it stirs in me has got my heart pumping.

It's hard to accept the stupidity and cruelty and hate that some people carry and wield. For someone who grew up during Vietnam and the civil rights movement and the demonstrations and Woodstock and all of the social issues of that day, I am incredulous that that kind of thing still goes on. To say that black people have been mistreated in this country is of course a gross understatement; in America, I believe no ethnic group has been done more wrong than have African Americans; you are hurt, and you have the right to be.

But just be careful that what you are reacting to on this thread or others on this forum is racism and not economics. It's a sad fact that blacks have had a long road, a long way to go from being abducted and imprisoned and enslaved, from being treated like dirt, stripped of their names and their languages, denied simple human rights like just being allowed to learn how to read. It's so horrendous that no matter what I say here it will not be enough, can not possibly come close to summing up the pain and the heartbreak you must feel; and as much as every new ethnic group in America has had to endure prejudice, in my opinion, no group has had to endure as much in the Land of the Free.

But, when you say, "you brought us here," my question would be: Who did? Who brought you here. Nobody in my family lineage, I can tell you that. My ancestors never even set foot on American soil until slavery was half a century gone, and I'd bet that's true of alot of people on this forum. And even if there are some descendants of "American Firsters" posting here, are they to be held accountable for something their great, great, great, great, great.... ok, you get the point, grandfather did? Would you want to answer for yours? The culprit here is economics, always it is the same, just follow the dollar and you'll have a better understanding of events that at first blush make look like something else.

I'm sure there are Jews on this forum, (how many millions were killed before and during WWII, Armenians (their genocide just had a big anniversary), and plenty of Irish people...(how long has England had them in chains? About as long as its been since slavery was abolished in America), Arabs, (do I really need to go into what the current world economical climate has done, is doing, and looks with no end in sight, to them... But wait, there is hope! Because we have, we Americans, we 21st centurions, we citizens of the world for better or worse, we have a new hope... not a great white hope, or even a great black hope, but a hope of mixed blood and color, probably going to be the next leader of the free world... things are looking up!

I truthfully don't believe that many people on this forum are racist. As you do and as I do, seems like a high percentage of them have four year and advanced degrees. I know they're not necessarily mutually exclusive, but one thing I know, is it's impossible to be a racist if you are an intelligent person; those two things are mutually exclusive. Throughout the run of history, the powers that be make ugly decisions the rest of us have to live with; and sometimes for a long time. We are all of us, black, white, and everything else still picking up those pieces, as we will for the next many years to come for the decisions this stupid and/or corrupt administration has made.

I don't know, I've got a big day ahead of me, and don't have much more time, but I had to in good conscience address this, but Kenyaa, I really don't think what you're feeling is about color, for the most part. Now, will you have a few morons, a few bastards, which is almost always the same thing in every group? Of course, I've seen it on the other end too, and though I am fairly new on this cite, I can't honestly tell you I've seen out and out racism here. It make look that way sometimes, as people on both sides of the color spectrum still try to make sense of those complications we've inherited by those (who by the way, weren't even as enlightened as us), but I'll tell ya, I'm gonna bet big and give odds that it's usually not racism; that's simplistic and therefore can not be true. The truth is always less accessible, it takes a lot of digging, alot of questioning of traditionally accepted explanations, of clear-eyed analysis, absent of as much emotion as possible, before we can even begin to zero in on real truth; if white people feel safer in an impoverished white community than they do on the Hill, can you blame them? They stick out. Just like a black guy sticks out in a poor white neighborhood and feels equally unsafe; but I just mean to maintain that it's not about race per se, it's about history, flawed as it is.

An edit: Thanks to Jinxed for bringing the American Indian genocide into the conversation; something I overlooked.