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You are grossly over exaggerating! How many cases of "lead poisoning" have killed our children??? I can't recall any.... now how many bullets have killed our children/citizens? happens almost daily. I'd say addressing the ghetto/thug culture is more important than lead in our water. I understand that the lead may be ONE factor in this thuggish behavior, but not the sole issue like you seem to be making it out to be. I've been drinking Cleveland water all my life and I turned out alright! Never once had the urge to join a gang and live that ignorant/selfish/ghetto lifestyle....
It's the standard liberal blame shifting to anything but personal responsibility. I'm not even buying the partly to blame for violent crime on this lead poisoning issue; as if the 4 dudes that robbed those 2 in the Rocky River Reservation did it because they have high lead levels. When do the excuses stop? Lead has been an issue for a long time. Lead based paint has been banned in 1978.
I too grew up drinking Cleveland water.
Why is no one discussing the violent rap music and the dress like a 'ho culture? The mothers in these communities because they're too self-interested and participating in the same culture. All that money for those hair hats they buy isn't going to their kids college fund.
It's the standard liberal blame shifting to anything but personal responsibility. I'm not even buying the partly to blame for violent crime on this lead poisoning issue; as if the 4 dudes that robbed those 2 in the Rocky River Reservation did it because they have high lead levels. When do the excuses stop? Lead has been an issue for a long time. Lead based paint has been banned in 1978.
I too grew up drinking Cleveland water.
Why is no one discussing the violent rap music and the dress like a 'ho culture? The mothers in these communities because they're too self-interested and participating in the same culture. All that money for those hair hats they buy isn't going to their kids college fund.
Oh jesus, I know you're gonna catch some flak for this one, but I agree 100%
Like I stated, we need a culture change. Sure the lead in our water probably isn't the healthiest thing in the world and I think it needs addressed, but there are other things higher up that need fixed first. Somehow if we can enforce a mass awakening and have everybody realize that the ghetto/thug culture should be ditched! Move forward and better yourself, while also bettering those around you in your community. Stop with the ignorance and excuses. Embed in these young kids heads that if you turn out like the neighborhood gangstas, drug dealers, and wannabe rappers, you are a loser. Somehow reverse this image that is idolized in the hood. Idk I'm just throwing my thoughts out there. I like to hear other people's opinions on ways to mitigate our city's crime issue.
I think an all-encompassing approach is necessary.
Imagine being a 16 year old from a family who has been living at or below the poverty line for at least two generations. You probably don't have total food security and you've probably lost your housing at least once and were forced to move a decent distance to secure new housing.
Then you leave home in the morning to take the RTA bus to school (most students rely on RTA, not traditional school buses) which is then late. Or funding cuts eliminated your bus route, so you have to walk further to even access the bus stop.
You finally get to school and the building is dated, amenities are limited, and they can't even ensure you'll get clean drinking water.
How likely is it that you're going to feel like you're being set up for success, or even that the city cares about you? Most students rarely make it out of their immediate neighborhoods, so they don't necessarily have the contextual experiences of things like the art museum, the lake, etc. Poor kids remain pretty siphoned off in their respective communities of concentrated poverty.
I think if you can demonstrate to these kids that there is some investment in their environments - school, drinking water, etc. - you can really induce some drive and foster growth. I've been part of groups that have worked on ways to engage teenagers, and one of the primary obstacles is that they just don't know how to break the various cycles. If someone does, it's seen as anomalous. As soon as you actually introduce engagement and collaboration between relevant activities/organizations, kids become interested quickly. It's not that most kids don't want to improve their lives, it's that a lot of the time there are a bunch of outside influences telling them that it's futile.
It's pretty unfortunate how little opportunity we actually provide to students.
This should have been all thought out when forced busing (also known as the final nail in CLE's coffin) was instituted. Where are all those social do-gooders now?
It's nice to hear you are active in assisting teens, but where are their parents? It's the parents' job to instill this in kids' heads, not the government or anyone else. What about the black middle class? You know the group that also fled the cities in ''black flight'' (that fact liberals do not mention). Aren't they an example to these kids? Are they with you in these support groups you have?
Also, being at or below the poverty level and having ''food insecurity'' and being moved around in housing should be enough incentive to get out of that. But the gov't removes the incentive by being the play-daddy.
This is going to sound like a really radical solution: stop having kids you can't afford, stop having kids with random fathers. Why is the government supporting this lifestyle?
When you have 6% of the U.S. population committing over 50% of the violent crime, there's more going on here than elevated lead levels and Republican Toll Roads.
This should have been all thought out when forced busing (also known as the final nail in CLE's coffin) was instituted. Where are all those social do-gooders now?
It's nice to hear you are active in assisting teens, but where are their parents? It's the parents' job to instill this in kids' heads, not the government or anyone else. What about the black middle class? You know the group that also fled the cities in ''black flight'' (that fact liberals do not mention). Aren't they an example to these kids? Are they with you in these support groups you have?
Also, being at or below the poverty level and having ''food insecurity'' and being moved around in housing should be enough incentive to get out of that. But the gov't removes the incentive by being the play-daddy.
This is going to sound like a really radical solution: stop having kids you can't afford, stop having kids with random fathers. Why is the government supporting this lifestyle?
When you have 6% of the U.S. population committing over 50% of the violent crime, there's more going on here than elevated lead levels and Republican Toll Roads.
You make some very valid points.
In my daily travels I feel like a minority here as I am mostly surrounded by African Americans. I enjoy talking with many of the older people but often the younger ones have that ghetto look and behaviors and I find it very off putting to say the least.
It's nice to hear you are active in assisting teens, but where are their parents? It's the parents' job to instill this in kids' heads, not the government or anyone else.
The person who I'm most involved with actually has both of his parents actively engaged. He's a pretty good example of a kid on the right track - good grades, polite, has a job, has plans, etc - and the barriers that he still has to face are really significant. It's unfortunate. They're all things I never had to face growing up in private school with constant economic security and this experience has been totally eye opening.
The issue is that for every situation like his there are significantly more kids who lack any type of support. If you had to take your suggestion of what needs to be done and boil it down to a few action items, what would they be? How do we go about actually taking steps towards a solution?
This should have been all thought out when forced busing (also known as the final nail in CLE's coffin) was instituted. Where are all those social do-gooders now?
Also, being at or below the poverty level and having ''food insecurity'' and being moved around in housing should be enough incentive to get out of that. But the gov't removes the incentive by being the play-daddy.
Slightly related here: food "insecurity" has always been a dubious idea.
Quote:
Households with low food security make up the majority of food-insecure households. These households manage to get enough to eat, but reduce the quality, variety, or desirability of their meals to do so.
Quote:
In 2015, 12.7 percent of U.S. households were unable to put adequate food on the table at times during the year." (Further description may clarify that for most food-insecure households, the inadequacies were in the form of reduced quality and variety rather than insufficient quantity.)
There's a ton more info like this. Basically food insecurity is just having to eat chicken and rice every day because you aren't rich. Or wishing you could buy organic chicken but have to settle for conventional stuff.
Slightly related here: food "insecurity" has always been a dubious idea.
There's a ton more info like this. Basically food insecurity is just having to eat chicken and rice every day because you aren't rich. Or wishing you could buy organic chicken but have to settle for conventional stuff.
It seems to me many people choose the wrong foods and could be eating well or better, even with food stamps. Also how many low income people smoke? Why waste money on cigarettes? But I've never gone hungry and maybe there are extenuating factors involved.
This thread is kind of jumping all over the place, but I'm just going to comment on the lead contaminated water issue.
IMO, the issue is way overblown. It's one thing to be aware, and the events in Flint have raised awareness of the issue. But, it's another thing to then overreact.
If your house was built before 1988, the solder used in your plumbing probably contains some lead. If your kitchen and bathroom faucets were installed before 2014, the brass they are constructed with contains some lead that could contaminate water that's been sitting in the pipes for awhile. (this is the most likely cause of higher levels of lead being found in some schools' drinking fountains) To avoid potentially higher levels of lead, let the water run for a few minutes before drinking it.
But, generally, this is all somewhat moot, because, over time, there is a mineral buildup that separates the running water from the lead found in plumbing. This is especially true for the lead service lines that many old structures in Cleveland have, because they are rarely disturbed. The Flint crisis happened because, when the source of the water was changed, its chemical additives weren't properly altered, causing the water to become more acidic, eating away that mineral buildup inside the pipes, and leaching lead into the water.
Slightly related here: food "insecurity" has always been a dubious idea.
There's a ton more info like this. Basically food insecurity is just having to eat chicken and rice every day because you aren't rich. Or wishing you could buy organic chicken but have to settle for conventional stuff.
I've talked to/worked with kids who can count on steady meals every other day, or so irregularly that they just have to eat when they can, particularly during the summer. Semantics aside, it's a situation that doesn't result in kids feeling exceedingly confident about their situations and when they feel there isn't necessarily a way out then it's understandable that, once they get to a certain point, they stop caring.
Oh jesus, I know you're gonna catch some flak for this one, but I agree 100%
Like I stated, we need a culture change. Sure the lead in our water probably isn't the healthiest thing in the world and I think it needs addressed, but there are other things higher up that need fixed first. Somehow if we can enforce a mass awakening and have everybody realize that the ghetto/thug culture should be ditched! Move forward and better yourself, while also bettering those around you in your community. Stop with the ignorance and excuses. Embed in these young kids heads that if you turn out like the neighborhood gangstas, drug dealers, and wannabe rappers, you are a loser. Somehow reverse this image that is idolized in the hood. Idk I'm just throwing my thoughts out there. I like to hear other people's opinions on ways to mitigate our city's crime issue.
We as city need to come together and start putting pressure on our leaders, and make them pay attention to the crime issues. Plus, we as communities have to come together and deal with it as well, and not just the crime from the knuckleheads from the community, but the crime that our law enforcement commit as well. I know some pro-cop people may get mad when I say that, but you can't expect somebody to protect you, who is being paid by your tax dollars, and they're doing the same things that the knuckleheads in the community are doing. I do disagree that not every kid in the hood idolizes the gangstas and drug dealers; that's a certain segment of kids that do.
There are some A & B, Honor Roll, Merit Roll students that live in the hood, but a lot of people write them off because of where they come from and always assume the worst because of the media. I've been working for the Cleveland Public Library for 13 years, mostly East Side branches. There are some kids that are A & B students that do read books then there's others who just want to get on the computer and don't even wanna read a comic book. Also, I would recommend this book called "The Pact" it's about three guys who were from the projects of Newark and they went on to become doctors and dentists. Great book!
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