Is Concord a ghetto? (San Francisco, Arnold: crime rates, living, cost of)

[clongirl]

The problem is that you play some pathetic naive victim act like you've been completely sheltered behind some gated community your whole life, where you've only been exposed to the upper crust and wonder how in the world can people survive in the Bay Area only making 50K a yr. Poor things. What's really sad is your attitude and snobbery (I only get angry that your kind of mentality has moved into my area, injecting your stink of elitism).

Never been to a suburb? Give me a break. Most cities/suburbs will have some element of criminal activity or might look a little seem seedy. Just because you don't see a Gucci or Prada on the corner doesn't mean it's a real ghetto and need to tell your "not rich enough husband" to drive the Mercedes faster. I could direct you to some real ghettos in the East Bay, but luckily you are not in their vicinity at all.

Your wonderment of the everyday and mundane lives of regular folk has grown tiresome.

[Archan]

While I am disappointed with Concord's general direction, it is hard to call any city that has an average home value of $580,300 (city-data - 2007) a ghetto. Go to real estate sites in Dallas, Kansas City, etc... and you'll find that you can buy a house that would fit right in Danville or Blackhawk.

Having been born and raised in Concord, I really wish that the City Council of the past would have steered the city more towards a Walnut Creek than what it is today. Sitting at the base of Mt. Diablo, Concord could have been such a great upscale city. I am sad at what Concord is today as opposed to the promise that it had in the 60's. Bad decisions by bad management over that last 40 to 50 years!

[tstieber]

I grew up in Walnut Creek, and I've never seen prostitutes hanging around freeway exits. Maybe those girls looked slutty, but it just seems plain weird for prostitutes to be working offramps. They were probably just trashy girls. I do remember that there have always been a few homeless people living in the bushes near the offramps around there (we used to call it the "Oleander Motel"), but there is no visible, panhandling homeless population in Concord as in large cities.

Batransplant, what part of the East Bay do you live in? For nicer shopping environments, downtown Walnut Creek/Broadway Plaza is lovely (well, 9 or 10 months out of the year, maybe a bit damp right now), and for a great indoor mall, Stoneridge in Pleasanton is huge and has everything. Blackhawk Plaza is tiny but certainly upscale (and also outdoors). Most other Easy Bay malls are just so-so. You could also head out across the Richmond Bridge to the Village at Corte Madera -- another nice place to stroll and get your holiday shopping done (but again, outdoors). Most of the nicer malls seem to be outdoors for some reason.

[Archan]

Clayton, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Martinez and Walnut Creek are really like one big town as far as driving. People can with a short drive go to whatever restaurant or shopping center that fits their needs. Sunvalley has a very different vibe than Broadway Plaza. These cities are like different sections of one big town. I lived for a long time in Concord, but tended to spend more social time in Walnut Creek. The drive from the part of Concord that I lived in was equal distance from downtown Concord as it was to downtown Walnut Creek.

I haven't lived in Concord for a few years, but I would highly doubt that you would find hookers at the freeway exits.

[ssmaster]

the op is a total tool who keeps posting these inane comments.
how do you know these people where prostitutes?your posts do no not mention that you were solicited.maybe they were just fashion challenged women.
the same question concerning these gangbangers.did they identify themselves as gangbangers or mention what set the represent,flash gang signs ,threaten you or expose their weapons? or were they simply minority youth dressed de rigueur for many in the youth culture of today which is oversized tshirts ,baggie pants etc.
i personally know young marines who dress in this style out of uniform.this fashion is popular with young people throughout the country.
it appears you associate criminal behavior with people who do not look or dress the way you do.

[Think About It!]

Originally Posted by ssmaster

the op is a total tool who keeps posting these inane comments.
how do you know these people where prostitutes?your posts do no not mention that you were solicited.maybe they were just fashion challenged women.
the same question concerning these gangbangers.did they identify themselves as gangbangers or mention what set the represent,flash gang signs ,threaten you or expose their weapons? or were they simply minority youth dressed de rigueur for many in the youth culture of today which is oversized tshirts ,baggie pants etc.
i personally know young marines who dress in this style out of uniform.this fashion is popular with young people throughout the country.
it appears you associate criminal behavior with people who do not look or dress the way you do.

Who do you think commits a whole lot of the crime? People wearing baggy pants, oversized t shirts etc? Or kids dressed in their best Sunday church wear? Gang members also wear this attire so maybe that is why the OP put two and two together? Who are predominantly in gangs around this area? Hispanics / Asians / Blacks, right? So maybe it was the mentioned people wearing the usual gangster wear. Now whether they were or not in a gang is unknown.

Before you get mad, I know white people are in gangs too. I know people who wear the baggy pants and over sized t-shirts are not all criminals. I know not all people who are not white are not in a gang. I only ask that you look at the facts and be real about them.

If you still don't understand the next time I am on this website I can elaborate for you.

Now to answer the OP. I think the OP may also have over reacted in what they saw. In all honesty Concord is hardly a "ghetto." I think a lot of people (younger generation) idolize the wrong people and give off the wrong impression. I fear to believe that is what they intend to do. I think kids want to look like the "drug dealer, the gangster, the rapper, the robber etc" because that is what they see and like. That I am afraid is one of the problems with society today. <---my opinion.

[Archan]

Bernie Madoff dressed pretty nicely. He did a little more than hold up a 7-11.

As far as the women at the off-ramp... I think they are trying to hold a golf tournament in the area and were trying to attract Tiger Woods.

[ssmaster]

think about it ----i do not want to hijack this thread but youth culture fashion inciting fear and disgust in older generations is not new.now in 2009 hippie fashion is associated with peace and love but in the sixties and early seventies large parts of america associated people dressed like hippies with communism,terrorism, drug use ,sexual deviance, miscegenation and the violent overthrow of american society. While the vast majority people who dressed like hippies where not part of the weather underground ,panthers or sla this attire was associated with these organizations which engaged in bombings and violent confrontation with police.if you had long hair and hippie clothes and went into the wrong town you could get your a-- kicked for trying to destroy america.in the same way dressing like a hippie did not make you a member of the weather underground wearing baggie clothes does not make you a member of ms13 or the crips.

do i understand the op being frightened of youth dressed in hip hop fashion ?
Sure but this is based on ignorance and the obtuseness demonstrated repeatedly by the op cannot be ignored

[Think About It!]

Originally Posted by ssmaster

think about it ----i do not want to hijack this thread but youth culture fashion inciting fear and disgust in older generations is not new.now in 2009 hippie fashion is associated with peace and love but in the sixties and early seventies large parts of america associated people dressed like hippies with communism,terrorism, drug use ,sexual deviance, miscegenation and the violent overthrow of american society. While the vast majority people who dressed like hippies where not part of the weather underground ,panthers or sla this attire was associated with these organizations which engaged in bombings and violent confrontation with police.if you had long hair and hippie clothes and went into the wrong town you could get your a-- kicked for trying to destroy america.in the same way dressing like a hippie did not make you a member of the weather underground wearing baggie clothes does not make you a member of ms13 or the crips.

do i understand the op being frightened of youth dressed in hip hop fashion ?
Sure but this is based on ignorance and the obtuseness demonstrated repeatedly by the op cannot be ignored

Thanks, I did not think about previous generations also. Sorry, I'm young and only know about this one personally. I also have not checked on the OP other posts so I can not relate to their previous posts.

Bernie Madoff is involved in politics, aren't they all crooks?

[jman650]

Originally Posted by ssmaster

Sure but this is based on ignorance and the obtuseness demonstrated repeatedly by the op cannot be ignored

How could she be so obtuse?