Help me avoid the bad areas of Oakland/Berkeley please!! (San Mateo: rental, violent crime)

[Forker]

Originally Posted by E14

Jack london square is an upscale and expensive, quiet, gentrified neighborhood. If you would be scared to go outside in jack london square, i dont know what to say. People smoke "dope" in the streets? This is northern california, weed has probably been smoked many times on every single urban and suburban street in existance. You sound like youd be scared no matter where you live.

I'm not sure what part of Jack London Square you are referring to. I went to see Thirty Days of Night at a newly built movie theater there. As I exited the theater a thuggish group of teenagers was passing a joint on the steps outside. As I made my way into the parking garage another group was standing in a group smoking weed there. It wasn't dangerous, but it wasn't pleasant either. I don't think drug use on public streets is cool or nice, maybe I'm in the minority.

I grew up in SoCAL and when I smoked weed as an idiot teenager, we would do it in the car, not at an entrance to a theater.

My 80 year old Grandmother was also accosted and harassed by a transsexual prostitute there, but that's just my story.

My point is that simply building a new building doesn't make it nice. Most of the west side of Emeryville has been rebuilt, but I would not feel comfortable walking down Hollis late at night. If you do, have at it.

[BayDude]

Originally Posted by Forker

I grew up in SoCAL and when I smoked weed as an idiot teenager, we would do it in the car, not at an entrance to a theater..........................

My point is that simply building a new building doesn't make it nice. Most of the west side of Emeryville has been rebuilt, but I would not feel comfortable walking down Hollis late at night. If you do, have at it.

Exactly, I feel exactly where your coming from.

And they'll say things like "you don't deserve to live around normal people"

WTF is your definition of normal? You just don't smoke marijuana joints in open view and whatnot. Hell you can't drink alcohol in open view and its legal. But maybe I'm just old school or something lol cuz that ain't normal.

Somebody help me out here. LOL

[E14]

Originally Posted by Forker

I'm not sure what part of Jack London Square you are referring to. I went to see Thirty Days of Night at a newly built movie theater there. As I exited the theater a thuggish group of teenagers was passing a joint on the steps outside. As I made my way into the parking garage another group was standing in a group smoking weed there. It wasn't dangerous, but it wasn't pleasant either. I don't think drug use on public streets is cool or nice, maybe I'm in the minority.

I grew up in SoCAL and when I smoked weed as an idiot teenager, we would do it in the car, not at an entrance to a theater.

My 80 year old Grandmother was also accosted and harassed by a transsexual prostitute there, but that's just my story.

My point is that simply building a new building doesn't make it nice. Most of the west side of Emeryville has been rebuilt, but I would not feel comfortable walking down Hollis late at night. If you do, have at it.

Some kids smoking weed scared you? Am i missing something?

[Huckleberry3911948]

well currently in oakland when cops are shot they are cheering so jogging on lake merritt would not top my list of must do.

fyi not everything in bagdad is bad.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090416/...ivilian_deaths

[E14]

Originally Posted by BayDude

Exactly, I feel exactly where your coming from.

And they'll say things like "you don't deserve to live around normal people"

WTF is your definition of normal? You just don't smoke marijuana joints in open view and whatnot. Hell you can't drink alcohol in open view and its legal. But maybe I'm just old school or something lol cuz that ain't normal.

Somebody help me out here. LOL

You seem to have misunderstood what i was saying. I was simply wondering where someone who is apparently terrified of jack london square would feel comfortable living. I cant think of many safer places in cities or even burbs. Maybe you should live in the mountains or some ****. Wait but then theres bears and deer for you to be scared of lol at least they probably wont smoke weed in front of you

[oak274]

Yes, the entire city of Oakland was cheering when those cops got shot. They must have bused in more sane, compassionate suburbanites from Walnut Creek and Pleasanton to fill all those seats at the funeral...

Similary, anywhere that kids are smoking weed must be a haven for violence. I've seen people smoking weed all over SF, I wonder why so many people want to spend exorbitant amounts of money to live in such a dangerous, crime-infested city?

Some of you people are unbelievable. If you don't like Oakland, or feel it's too dangerous for you, that's fine. Not everyone will feel that way though. I grew up in a small, suburban, almost entirely white town in upstate New York, moved to Oakland in September, and absolutely love it here. I live in the "flats," have often walked home alone from MacArthur BART late at night, and have never felt threatened or in danger at all. Now maybe I just have an unusual tolerance for this stuff, but I highly doubt it since everyone else in my neighborhood also seems totally comfortable and safe. The point is that you can't make a blanket assessment on an entire area because you personally had one or two bad experiences there. Obviously plenty of people love Oakland and feel totally safe here.

[Forker]

Originally Posted by E14

Some kids smoking weed scared you? Am i missing something?

If you read what I wrote, I said it wasn't dangerous.
There are a lot of human activities that aren't dangerous but tend to be disturbing and socially unacceptable. Here is a list.

1. Public Drug Use
2. Public Sex
3. Public Masturbation
4. Public Urination
5. Public Deification
6. Public Vomiting

To name a few.

I have witnessed 5 of these when I lived in the east bay.
If you're trying to paint me as coward that's fine. You can be the manly man. I wouldn't take a kid around any of those public activities. If you think it's cool, and it's normal, that's fine. I don't, I think there's a standard of public behavior to be maintained.

Also when people flagrantly smoke weed in public it shows how little they care about law enforcement, or how weak the police presence there is.

[Forker]

Originally Posted by E14

You seem to have misunderstood what i was saying. I was simply wondering where someone who is apparently terrified of jack london square would feel comfortable living. I cant think of many safer places in cities or even burbs. Maybe you should live in the mountains or some ****. Wait but then theres bears and deer for you to be scared of lol at least they probably wont smoke weed in front of you

Nobody said they were terrified of Jack London Square, you are exaggerating to try and prove your case. I said I didn't like it, and that it feels sketchy at night there. That isn't being terrified.

[Forker]

Originally Posted by oak274

Yes, the entire city of Oakland was cheering when those cops got shot. They must have bused in more sane, compassionate suburbanites from Walnut Creek and Pleasanton to fill all those seats at the funeral...

Similary, anywhere that kids are smoking weed must be a haven for violence. I've seen people smoking weed all over SF, I wonder why so many people want to spend exorbitant amounts of money to live in such a dangerous, crime-infested city?

Some of you people are unbelievable. If you don't like Oakland, or feel it's too dangerous for you, that's fine. Not everyone will feel that way though. I grew up in a small, suburban, almost entirely white town in upstate New York, moved to Oakland in September, and absolutely love it here. I live in the "flats," have often walked home alone from MacArthur BART late at night, and have never felt threatened or in danger at all. Now maybe I just have an unusual tolerance for this stuff, but I highly doubt it since everyone else in my neighborhood also seems totally comfortable and safe. The point is that you can't make a blanket assessment on an entire area because you personally had one or two bad experiences there. Obviously plenty of people love Oakland and feel totally safe here.

People that pay high amounts of money to live in the city aren't living in the Tenderloin.

Seriously, since when did smoking weed in public become acceptable? I wonder what else is acceptable to you? I can understand doing it at a concert or something, but that's like an event though. Is it cool to just walk down the street smoking this stuff? Do you want that around your kids or your grandparents? This behavior creates an atmosphere that is not pleasant. Nobody is terrified here, people just want to enjoy a city without drugs being done in front of them.

Is it okay smoke Crack in front of a movie theater? Or mainline heroine on BART, or do speedballs at McDonalds in the dining area? If smoking dope is so great why don't you light one up at work in the lunch room?
Give me a break.

And yes where there's weed, there's generally other stuff too. All my friends and I that smoked weed at least got up to trying LSD and Cocaine. I had a friend who was hippy pot dealer that ended up getting involved in dealing Meth and Coke and was shot to death by the cops, perfect gateway drug story. This guy started out as a fun loving hippy.

Quit living in a dream world, drugs are bad. That's it. People that use them are stupid. That's it. End of story. When people get stoned they are at the intelligence level of a Dog. They get hungry and laugh at everything, or just stand in the corner and trip out. It's stupid. Stupid people do it. Especially people that do it in public on city streets.

[BayDude]

Originally Posted by Forker

If you read what I wrote, I said it wasn't dangerous. There are a lot of human activities that aren't dangerous but tend to be disturbing and socially unacceptable. Here is a list.

1. Public Drug Use
2. Public Sex
3. Public Masturbation
4. Public Urination
5. Public Deification
6. Public Vomiting

To name a few.

I have witnessed 5 of these when I lived in the east bay.
If you're trying to paint me as coward that's fine. You can be the manly man. I wouldn't take a kid around any of those public activities. If you think it's cool, and it's normal, that's fine. I don't, I think there's a standard of public behavior to be maintained.

Also when people flagrantly smoke weed in public it shows how little they care about law enforcement, or how weak the police presence there is.

I love how he's trying to make it seem like everythings totally fine. Smoke weed in public? Cool no problem. Masturbate on the streets in front of me? Go right ahead sir LOL.

Its not about being "scared" of anything, I agree certain behaviors are simply unacceptable in a public place. Lots of people have kids or just don't want to deal with those things you listed. I really don't see how you can agree that any of that stuff or try to make it seem theres something wrong with those who don't agree with it.

Crazy world we live in.