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I'm just posting what the human trafficking organizations say. People are trafficked to Las Vegas (the US center of sex trafficking) and Los Angeles using I10, that's why it's a major trafficking artery. In Houston the sex trafficking hotspots are the strip clubs and massage parlors (and there is a ton of them) and generally the Galleria area. I believe Houston has had zero trafficking arrests, because the city chooses to ignore the problem. Meanwhile Austin PD actually has a trafficking unit.
Austin is diverse. You'll find educated and open minded people from every country there. Austin isn't a college town with nothing but tech savvy white hipsters. Houston is extremely ghettoized. The city as a whole is diverse but these groups of people tend to keep to themselves in enclaves.
I've never heard of any swimming in Memorial Park. There isn't really hiking... There are a few trails through the forested parts, but it's mostly paved or gravel track.
I don't see what the OP and her family could possibly gain from Houston.
"A long-standing east-west geographic rift shapes race and class relations in the capital to this day. The workmen lived on the east side of I-35, where the city’s biggest concentration of minorities resides (Latinos make up 35 percent of Austin’s population, blacks 8 percent). The west side of I-35 was mostly white. This was where they came to work, and they literally kept their heads down while they did so. Was the state’s most progressive city also its most segregated?"
"But whether single-member districts are fully the answer remains to be seen. African Americans face a special challenge: they have been moving out of Austin entirely, making it harder to carve out an electoral district that will guarantee their representation. A different problem affects Asian Americans, who now make up 6 percent of residents. Not suffering the same segregationist legacies as blacks and Latinos, they are more spread out across the city, making it difficult to guarantee direct representation."
i believe the OP said they are African American? from wikipedia..
"According to the U.S. Census 2000, the racial makeup of the city [Houston] was 49.3% White (including Hispanic or Latino), 25.3% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 5.3% Asian, 0.1&% Pacific Islander, 16.5% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. 37% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race."
vs Austin.. (again, from wiki)
"According to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Austin is:
White: 68.3% (Non-Hispanic Whites: 48.7%)
Hispanic or Latino: 35.1% (29.1% Mexican, 0.5% Puerto Rican, 0.4% Cuban, 5.1% Other)
African American: 8.1%
Asian: 6.3% (1.9% Indian, 1.5% Chinese, 1.0% Vietnamese, 0.7% Korean, 0.3% Filipino, 0.2% Japanese, 0.8% Other)
American Indian: 0.9%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
Two or More Races: 3.4%"
and as the article pointed out, Austin is extremely segregated. so much for diversity when there are really only two races represented in the city with all the white people on the west and hispanics on the east..
theyve lived in Boston for 10 years and NYC before that.. im sure theyve seen/heard of worse than what happens in Houston.
Memorial Park has a public pool.. (not that there arent dozens of others around Houston.. oh, and the beach), also it has miles of trails.. yes, there is a 3 mile jogging track/loop with crushed granite, but there are many trails through the woods too that arent paved and have a surprisingly wide range of terrains.
there are some decent pictures in this link about the hike/bike trails.
of course there is also biking at Terry Hershey Park on the west side, along with numerous other parks in town, and the vast network of bike trails running along the bayous and along the "rails to trails" paths through the city and what not.
btw. when they say Houston is "ghetto".. this is "ghetto" by Houston standards. no different than most lower income areas that every major city has. it certainly isnt the projects or anything though like winko is making it out to seem.
San Antonio is the least diverse (major) metro in the state.. (from their wiki)
"According to the 2010 Census, 1,327,407 people resided in the city proper of San Antonio, an increase of 16.0% since 2000.
The racial composition of the city based on the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau is as follows:[32]
72.6% White (Non-Hispanic Whites: 26.6%)
6.9% Black
0.9% Native American
2.4% Asian
0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
3.4% Two or more races
13.7% Other races
In addition, 63.2% of the city's population was of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race."
SA is the cheapest major city in Texas though. the thought that your money goes further in the west/south used to especially be true, but as the population has been booming and more and more people move here gobbling up all the available houses,then the values of the few houses that are left increases. currently they are selling houses faster then they can build them (at least in Houston.. im sure its a similar situation in the other metros), so homes arent as cheap as they were even just a couple years ago.
I'm just posting what the human trafficking organizations say. People are trafficked to Las Vegas (the US center of sex trafficking) and Los Angeles using I10, that's why it's a major trafficking artery. In Houston the sex trafficking hotspots are the strip clubs and massage parlors (and there is a ton of them) and generally the Galleria area. I believe Houston has had zero trafficking arrests, because the city chooses to ignore the problem. Meanwhile Austin PD actually has a trafficking unit.
Austin is diverse. You'll find educated and open minded people from every country there. Austin isn't a college town with nothing but tech savvy white hipsters. Houston is extremely ghettoized. The city as a whole is diverse but these groups of people tend to keep to themselves in enclaves.
I've never heard of any swimming in Memorial Park. There isn't really hiking... There are a few trails through the forested parts, but it's mostly paved or gravel track.
I don't see what the OP and her family could possibly gain from Houston.
I saw former President Jimmy Carter on the Lettermen show last night talking about just this. He said Atlanta is the "National hub" for human trafficking because of the airport there. He also said that selective abortions of female infants is driving the problem by creating a large number of single unattached bachelors in many third world and developing nations. He also said the economics are that one can "buy" a young female for about $1000 and generate about $20k a year in revenue from her prostitution. This is a serious problem but not particular to Houston or any other major metro.
He also said that large universities (such as University of Texas) are hiding sexual assault problems on their campuses by "not" reporting the extent of the problem. It can Therefore be extrapolated from what he said that cities such as Austin have to form "special" police squads in order to deal with the problem. Which goes a long way to explain why Austin may have this special police unit to deal with a problem that Houston does not.
How you continue to get away with this anti-Houston flame is beyond me winko, but I will continue to answer your propaganda whenever and where ever I see it
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
5,429 posts, read 14,844,510 times
Reputation: 3672
Quote:
Originally Posted by winkosmosis
In Houston the sex trafficking hotspots are the strip clubs and massage parlors
Which would not affect the average person/family at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by winkosmosis
Austin is diverse. You'll find educated and open minded people from every country there. Austin isn't a college town with nothing but tech savvy white hipsters. Houston is extremely ghettoized. The city as a whole is diverse but these groups of people tend to keep to themselves in enclaves.
You argue against a stereotype of Austin, while continuing to make idiotic ones about Houston. Do you not see the double standard and hypocrisy?
Quote:
Originally Posted by winkosmosis
I don't see what the OP and her family could possibly gain from Houston.
Of course you don't, because all you ever do is unfairly bash it with a bunch of nonsense you've apparently pulled out of the air.
Which would not affect the average person/family at all.
You argue against a stereotype of Austin, while continuing to make idiotic ones about Houston. Do you not see the double standard and hypocrisy?
Of course you don't, because all you ever do is unfairly bash it with a bunch of nonsense you've apparently pulled out of the air.
It doesn't affect the average family? When your daughters hit about 16 where do you think they're going to go clubbing? The Galleria, Montrose, maybe even Richmond. Remember those firefighters that died last year? They were average people, but they died trying to save a motel that was used for sex trafficking young girls, which the rotten city and media covered up.
Houston hobbits have a severe case of cognitive dissonance. They convince themselves that it's a nice city while surrounded by decay, strip malls, highways full of traffic moving at a crawl, high house prices, high rents, high property taxes, pitiful outdoor opportunities (no a flood reservoir's acres do not count as park land), dreary weather for half the year, a disgraceful lack of mass transit for a city its size, and no real plans to make the city better.
Instead of sitting in your suburb and talking about how great Houston is, how about actually going out and seeing what the city is really like? I dare you to spend a few hours driving around East Houston.
Last edited by winkosmosis; 03-25-2014 at 02:32 PM..
I saw former President Jimmy Carter on the Lettermen show last night talking about just this. He said Atlanta is the "National hub" for human trafficking because of the airport there. He also said that selective abortions of female infants is driving the problem by creating a large number of single unattached bachelors in many third world and developing nations. He also said the economics are that one can "buy" a young female for about $1000 and generate about $20k a year in revenue from her prostitution. This is a serious problem but not particular to Houston or any other major metro.
He also said that large universities (such as University of Texas) are hiding sexual assault problems on their campuses by "not" reporting the extent of the problem. It can Therefore be extrapolated from what he said that cities such as Austin have to form "special" police squads in order to deal with the problem. Which goes a long way to explain why Austin may have this special police unit to deal with a problem that Houston does not.
How you continue to get away with this anti-Houston flame is beyond me winko, but I will continue to answer your propaganda whenever and where ever I see it
Sexual assault isn't sex trafficking. Austin has a unit specifically for sex trafficking.
If a woman is raped and reports it, I don't see how that can be covered up. It's in the police records.
It doesn't affect the average family? When your daughters hit about 16 where do you think they're going to go clubbing? The Galleria, Montrose, maybe even Richmond. Remember those firefighters that died last year? They were average people, but they died trying to save a motel that was used for sex trafficking young girls, which the rotten city and media covered up.
Houston hobbits have a severe case of cognitive dissonance. They convince themselves that it's a nice city while surrounded by decay, strip malls, highways full of traffic moving at a crawl, high house prices, high rents, high property taxes, pitiful outdoor opportunities (no a flood reservoir's acres do not count as park land), dreary weather for half the year, a disgraceful lack of mass transit for a city its size, and no real plans to make the city better.
Instead of sitting in your suburb and talking about how great Houston is, how about actually going out and seeing what the city is really like? I dare you to spend a few hours driving around East Houston.
woah. first off.. who lets their daughter go clubbing at 16. second. dont you have to be 18 to get into clubs? third. i didnt realize theGalleria had clubs. that would surely help it become a true mixed use (well, once it gets the residential tower anyways) venue/boost revenues after hours.
your seriously going to use firefighters who died doing their job as an example of it being dangerous for families? do you not see the lunacy in that? firefighters sign up for that type of stuff.. they willingly went into a burning building and happened to unfortunately lose their lives doing it, but its not like the OPs daughter is signing up to run into burning buildings.. i dont think that will be an issue.
your ignorance amazes me. as if Austin doesnt have decay, strip malls, ESPECIALLY highways full of traffic moving at a crawl, high house prices, high rents, probably high property taxesm and sure as hell doesnt compare to Houston when it comes to the parks and outdoors opportunities in the city. what exactly is "dreary weather" because i wasnt aware Houston had much different weather than Austin except for being a little cooler temperature in the summer and a little warmer in the winter. but isnt that a good thing? LOL, Austin got one rail line (with abysmal performance) and suddenly its capable of trash talking on other cities mass transit. our trains move over 10 times the people of Austins line, while being over half as short in length. no real plans to make the city better? your right.. we are just expanding/bettering our mass transit system, building and remodeling many new parks, adding dozens (hundreds?) of miles of new hike/bike paths along the bayous and in between, and continuing to work towards diversifying our economy so a collapse like the 80s oil crisis doesnt wreak havoc on our economy again.
what is so bad about east Houston? sure i make sure to put my A/C on recirculate, but ive drive through the 3rd and 5th wards numerous times.. whats the big deal? some run down houses, sure.. the lower income people have to live somewhere. unfortunately for them/fortunately for people like you, they are being pushed out of the city by gentrification and those run down houses are being replaced by new developments.
Sexual assault isn't sex trafficking. Austin has a unit specifically for sex trafficking.
If a woman is raped and reports it, I don't see how that can be covered up. It's in the police records.
You are so selective in your righteousness.
A Washington-based investigative journalism organization said in a report issued Tuesday that it found a "culture of secrecy" surrounding sexual assault cases on university campuses across the U.S.
The report by the Center for Public Integrity showed that nearly half of the 33 female students it interviewed in the past year about being raped were unsuccessful in pursuing criminal charges.
Students found "responsible" for sexual assaults on campus often face little or no punishment from school judicial systems, while their victims' lives are frequently turned upside down, according to a year-long investigation by the Center for Public Integrity. Administrators believe the sanctions administered by the college judiciary system are a thoughtful way to hold abusive students accountable, but the Center's probe has discovered that "responsible" findings rarely lead to tough punishments like expulsion — even in cases involving alleged repeat offenders. Read the overview | About the project
Also I don't see you posting in other forums about this trafficking problem you blame on Houston. You only use this as a way to flame against Houston. Atlanta is a bigger hub and the problem in Dallas is just as bad.
Texas is also a hotspot for domestic human trafficking because cities such as Dallas, Houston and Austin have many runaway and “throwaway” youth. On average, both Houston and Dallas have about 6,000 runaways each annually. According to National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Throwaway Children, an estimated one out of every three children that run away is lured into sex trafficking within 48 hours of leaving home. Even more frightening is the fact that the average age of entry into sex trafficking is between 12 and 13 years old. Children who run away from home can often be found at bus stations, which have become a major recruiting ground for prostitution. ICE Operation Predator estimates that 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys in the United States are sexually exploited before they reach adulthood. Texas is also home to a large amount of sexually oriented businesses including strip clubs, massage parlors, and modeling studios, most of which can be found along inter and intra-state highways. In addition, Houston, Dallas, and Austin, with their many university and professional sports teams and events, attract many visitors. Major sporting events and conventions provide a great demand for the commercial sex industry and traffickers often travel to these events to fill that demand.
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
5,429 posts, read 14,844,510 times
Reputation: 3672
Quote:
Originally Posted by winkosmosis
Instead of sitting in your suburb and talking about how great Houston is, how about actually going out and seeing what the city is really like? I dare you to spend a few hours driving around East Houston.
I lived in the city for several years, and worked in the city many more. Where in this thread was I "talking about how great"? All I said is I think you're full of it; you see nothing but the bad and you exaggerate it... from your spot in HI no less. It's gotten beyond whiny and absurd, doing it in so many threads. Like someone else said, time to move on.
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