Finally..im in cincinnati with bad experience :( (Perry: camp, live)

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by Matthew Hall

I found out his age in the trial where I testified against him. He was on trial as an adult and quickly found guilty of armed robbery on my testimony and that of the police officer who investigated my complaint.

Suggesting that panhandlers represent a serious threat is hysterical in my view. They are weak and broken creatures. They are not a threat. The fact that the woman who initiated this response didn't understand this is the issue, not the motives of panhandlers.

I think you must be quite uninformed about panhandlers in general. Certainly some of them fit your "weak and broken" description. I've been approached by such people, and they don't frighten me. A lot of other individuals who panhandle are people who've figured out that if they size their marks up correctly and vary their stories and approaches to fit, they can actually make a nice chunk of change by panhandling a few hours a day. For these people, it's what passes for a job. I'm not really even criticizing--maybe some of them actually can see no other viable option. I think by and large these are the people who WILL act aggressively toward someone they think they can intimidate into giving them money. By the same token, they'll act cautiously toward someone who might turn the tables and actually hurt THEM. Here's where a good bit of the disconnect in the discussion on this forum comes from.

Then there are the drug addicts and the mentally ill. The fact is, these people ARE on our streets, and they're likely to act unpredictably and possibly violently. The worst case I've heard of recently--which happened a year ago in an inner-ring suburb at a gas station in front of many witnesses--involved a violent knife attack to the face of a 60-year-old woman who turned down a panhandler. She had to be hospitalized. The assailant was both mentally unstable and had a criminal record as long as your arm. As I recall he listed his place of residence as somewhere in OTR. Not that that matters.

Personally I just don't want someone getting up in my personal space and asking for money. Apparently I'm not the instant judge of these people's mental condition and motives that some of you seem to be. Or at least think you are.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by insightofitall

I agree. It gets old watching people go after one another with their jabs and pokes. It's neither fun nor informative. We've probably chased off the OP as it is, and it makes some of us not want to get involved out of fear we will likewise be confronted for what we say...however helpful we may try to be.

I know it can be a fine line between what you'd call debate and confrontation, but you do know about the "ignore" feature of the forum, right?

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by Matthew Hall

I found out his age in the trial where I testified against him. He was on trial as an adult and quickly found guilty of armed robbery on my testimony and that of the police officer who investigated my complaint. ..

Sorry. I guess I got the wrong impression from "I had a gun pointed at my head in Washingotn D.C. in 2002. I told the 17 year old who was shaking as he yelled at me to F*** off. He ran..." Couldn't tell from that that he actually robbed you, or that he was apprehended.

[abr7rmj]

Originally Posted by wolden

I am simply quoting police reports. Rape is much more common than homicide-- the fact that you don't know about it is not my fault. In Cincinnati there have been 220 rapes reported this year. Many rapes are not reported-- that is well known.

Robbery is much more common than rape. In cincinnati there have been 1629 armed robberies this year so far. What exactly do you mean that that is not common? You need to use numbers not a lot of emotion. These are facts.
This is definitely "common" compared to Mt Lookout, Indian Hill and many other communities around Cincinnati.

Here is my source, where is yours?

City of Cincinnati - Statistics (http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/police/pages/-4258-/ - broken link)

Again, you're ignoring the facts behind these crimes and simply using raw numbers to inflate your skewed position. Of course rape is much more common than homicide, that's for two reasons:

1. Homicide is very rare; homicide targeting random, unknown victims is exceptionally rare
2. Rape is a crime overwhelmingly committed by individuals the victim personally knows, be they an acquaintance, friend, boyfriend, husband, etc.; incidents of rape where the victim does not know the attacker is exceedingly uncommon. And while many rapes are indeed unreported, in some years up to eight percent of reported rapes turn out to be false accusations.

You imply that rape is a common occurrence plaguing random women walking down the downtown streets. That is not nor has it ever been the case and I will vehemently oppose any attempt by you or others to anonymously spread such misinformation about this city. Because, unfortunately, there are people who read this that may believe it. Your knowledge of the crime of rape is lacking. And for you to suggest that I don't "know about it" is comical, considering the years of extensive volunteer work I did in college trying to raise awareness.

As for armed robbery, no, I would not call 1,700 events in a calendar year "common" considering the size of the population and the nature of the offense which has a tendency to target specific segments of the population. Does that mean a random individual cannot be targeted? Of course not. That occasionally happens here and elsewhere - it's hardly unique, especially during these lackluster economic times. But to say it's "common" is misleading and, again, is consistent with your agenda.

You can't look at the number 1,700 in a vacuum and base assumptions off that. Sure, a single armed robbery is one too many. But the fact that you perceive that number to be high for whatever reason doesn't mean it is. The fact remains that Cincinnati is one of the safest big cities you'll find anywhere, and downtown is a perfectly safe place at any hour. The current projected statistics indicate that Columbus, Ohio, for example, is on pace for 5,591 violent crimes in 2011. This number may seem alarming until you consider the size of Columbus, its population and the presence of a major university with more than 45,000 students. Factoring that, Columbus' violent crime rate seems small, not large, despite what some may think of the number 5,591.

Again, that doesn't mean that there aren't isolated incidents in Cincinnati and elsewhere. But you're taking an arbitrary number and using it as some legitimate barometer to measure what you think renders an event "common." That's a flawed way to reason, and here's why, using your 1,700 number: There are more than 1,700 people in Cincinnati afflicted with AIDS. There are more than 1,700 people in Cincinnati who were born in an Asian country. There are more than 1,700 reptile owners in Cincinnati. And some 2,726 people voted in the most recent City Council election for someone by the name of Sandra Queen Noble, who, despite receiving well over 1,700 votes, finished in 21st place. Are any of those things cosidered "common"?

Two can play the statistics game.

That said, I had little interest in this thread when the OP started it and never planned to engage in any discussion within. At this point I'll bow out.

[insightofitall]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

I know it can be a fine line between what you'd call debate and confrontation, but you do know about the "ignore" feature of the forum, right?

Utilizing the "ignore" feature would mean I'd no longer see posts from people who I sometimes interact with in a civil manner.

Maybe I respect the rules of the forum too much. Perhaps I honor the wishes of moderators too much.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by insightofitall

Utilizing the "ignore" feature would mean I'd no longer see posts from people who I sometimes interact with in a civil manner.

Maybe I respect the rules of the forum too much. Perhaps I honor the wishes of moderators too much.

Well, you can choose to read individual posts from people you have on ignore. I do that occasionally when I'm not terribly concerned I'll be drawn in to engaging with them when I'd really prefer not to.

You don't have to worry about honoring Yac's wishes! S/he'll come down on you if you're out of line. From personal experience, I can promise that!

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

Well, you can choose to read individual posts from people you have on ignore. I do that occasionally when I'm not terribly concerned I'll be drawn in to engaging with them when I'd really prefer not to.

You don't have to worry about honoring Yac's wishes! S/he'll come down on you if you're out of line. From personal experience, I can promise that!

From personal experience I'll second that.

What seems to rapidly occur is in a zeal to make a point, common courtesy goes out the window and abrasive language results. It is one thing to defend your opinion, another to totally attack the position of someone who differs with you.

[Matthew Hall]

My point is that hysteria about crime is ofter worse than the crime itself. We are not powerless, even when guns are involved, which is rare. This woman's panic and unfamiliarity with cincinnati is the issue, nothing else. Downtown and otr haven't been safer in decades.

[rrtechno]

Originally Posted by Matthew Hall

My point is that hysteria about crime is ofter worse than the crime itself. We are not powerless, even when guns are involved, which is rare. This woman's panic and unfamiliarity with cincinnati is the issue, nothing else. Downtown and otr haven't been safer in decades.

"This woman's panic and unfamiliarity with cincinnati is" NOT the issue. She was in a situation where she felt threatened. She shared her experience and I suspect, hoped for some insight and thoughts to help her feel comfortable in the future.

Telling someone you don't know, that they are just imagining the whole thing and that they are blowing it all out of proportion does absolutely nothing to address the concern and promote hospitality to someone new to the city. Her feelings are just as valid as yours and deserve empathy, not dismissal. I don't care whether it was a panhandler, a large dog, a pastor, or a boy scout trying to help her across the street, she wanted nothing to do with the person involved. tried to leave the situation, and was followed by the person she was trying to avoid. She consequently felt uncomfortable and threatened. Can't we just understand that and stop trying to make her feel as though she was in the wrong.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by Matthew Hall

My point is that hysteria about crime is ofter worse than the crime itself. We are not powerless, even when guns are involved, which is rare. This woman's panic and unfamiliarity with cincinnati is the issue, nothing else. Downtown and otr haven't been safer in decades.

Witnesses said they overheard the woman involved in the knife attack firmly but courteously telling her attacker no, seconds before he slashed her face. I'm curious, do you think she would have prevented her injuries by doing something differently, like for example screaming obscenities at the guy like you did when you were held at gunpoint? Please enlighten me--as well as other people with less experience than you have--because the incident has left me more wary of panhandlers than I was before. I'd like to obtain the same level of confidence and security you possess.