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After reading through the thread and the the judges decision, I'm happy to learn a little about the Columbia community. For the most part I'm still interested in relocating to Columbia. I'm praying for Carter Strange and his family. If there is any information regarding how to donate to assist the family, someone please post the information; I would like to contribute.
In just the little time I've spent reading this thread, today, I've come to have a different impression of South Carolinians. I come away from reading this thread acknowledging that the concerns people have voiced here are just and fair. This thread and the Five Point incident suggests to me that racism is not an issue here; that people are genuinely concerned about the safety of their community. And, rightly so, racism shouldn't be the issue. A crime is a crime and what those thugs/criminals/people/kids/hoodlums did was wrong--and they should be subjected to the harshest punishment for what they did. I agree with the Carter's mother--the parents weren't keeping track of their kids when they committed this horrendous crime, so why should anyone feel safe that they are going to keep track of them now? KEEP THEM OFF THE STREETS!!!
Okay, let me step down off my soap-box . . .
I'm still looking forward to visiting Columbia and hopefully finding it to be a pleasant and safe place for my family and me to live.
The crime has nothing to do with my statement. I was referring the posts preceding mine with all the talk about gentrification and how it will help save Columbia, and the assumptions that low-income people are the only ones responsible for crime and that they are all like that.
It's the close-mindedness of so many people that I met in Columbia and that I see echoed here that make me glad to not live there any longer.
You didn't make it clear who you were referring to when you made your statement, so I apologize. But you should realize that it was only one person who mentioned gentrification as a solution, and that person lives in Sumter, not the Columbia. The Columbia residents voiced their disagreement with that person.
After reading through the thread and the the judges decision, I'm happy to learn a little about the Columbia community. For the most part I'm still interested in relocating to Columbia. I'm praying for Carter Strange and his family. If there is any information regarding how to donate to assist the family, someone please post the information; I would like to contribute.
In just the little time I've spent reading this thread, today, I've come to have a different impression of South Carolinians. I come away from reading this thread acknowledging that the concerns people have voiced here are just and fair. This thread and the Five Point incident suggests to me that racism is not an issue here; that people are genuinely concerned about the safety of their community. And, rightly so, racism shouldn't be the issue. A crime is a crime and what those thugs/criminals/people/kids/hoodlums did was wrong--and they should be subjected to the harshest punishment for what they did. I agree with the Carter's mother--the parents weren't keeping track of their kids when they committed this horrendous crime, so why should anyone feel safe that they are going to keep track of them now? KEEP THEM OFF THE STREETS!!!
Okay, let me step down off my soap-box . . .
I'm still looking forward to visiting Columbia and hopefully finding it to be a pleasant and safe place for my family and me to live.
What happened was very, very sad and unfortunate and I hope measures are taking to prevent such brutal crimes from happening again in the future. However, I do hope that you wouldn't let this one incident deter you from checking out Columbia for yourself to see if it's a fit for you. Many have done so and have concluded that it is. We definitely have safe neighborhoods and if one wishes to not patronize Five Points, the neighborhood can easily be avoided. It does have a lot to offer and I go there every now and again, but if I should happen to go at night, I go with a friend or two. It's the same when I go to our other nightlife district, the Vista. The Vista caters to a more mature crowd and doesn't back up against any questionable neighborhoods so it's overall much safer.
What happened was very, very sad and unfortunate and I hope measures are taking to prevent such brutal crimes from happening again in the future. However, I do hope that you wouldn't let this one incident deter you from checking out Columbia for yourself to see if it's a fit for you. Many have done so and have concluded that it is. We definitely have safe neighborhoods and if one wishes to not patronize Five Points, the neighborhood can easily be avoided. It does have a lot to offer and I go there every now and again, but if I should happen to go at night, I go with a friend or two. It's the same when I go to our other nightlife district, the Vista. The Vista caters to a more mature crowd and doesn't back up against any questionable neighborhoods so it's overall much safer.
I'm going to have to go back and read through the entire thread--after page 2 I jumped to page 9. But, because I'm pressed for time, I just want to say that for a person who has been out of the States for the past 12 years and just deciding last night that South Carolina (in general) and Columbia (in particular) might be the place where I want to return, I think I'd better do a lot more research before I make a final decision.
I've been researching several places to live in the States for a few months now and I finally determined that Columbia seemed to be a good place to raise my 13-month-old daughter. I was thinking that USC would be a great place for my wife to study and complete her degree and I would be able to teach. But, perhaps it's just wishful thinking.
One thing for sure--in case I do decide to move to Columbia, I definitely want to know where Five Points is so that I can avoid it.
I frequent Five Points and have never had a problem; any area that hosts hundreds of thousands of visitors in a year is going to have some problems from time to time, I don't care where it is. I personally have never felt unsafe in Five Points.
If you tend to religion, go for parochial schooling. You have a daughter and you don't want her to end up a typical dumb hick the public system produces.
For what it's worth, I attended private school for the large majority of my education, but this is downright offensive.
And, in any case, I've found that many Christian schools don't even offer as good of an education as the local public schools do. It all depends on your local public school and the private schools that you are considering.
To say that typical students educated in a public school are dumb hicks is just completely inaccurate.
I grew up in poor areas of Milwaukee WI a kid in the welfare system there, and spent most of school time ( elem and middle ) in parochial schools. With exception of the structure of going to mass several times a week before classes, and older nuns who at the time were not afraid to let loose with the ruler, I was no more well behaved or educated then my times in public schools.
In fact I got into more trouble when I was in Catholic school then when I was in public. So in my case i put more blame onto the home life, the many issues there, and lack of proper ( and stricter ) parenting.....
we can blame some schools for some issues ( it's another discussion for why or why not ), but blame should always start at home. And until parents and guardians become responsible for their children, troubled kids will continue to be a concern
This is great to see. Hundreds turned out at a fundraiser for Carter, to help raise money for his medical bills.
Residents reach out to Five Points beating victim - Local / Metro - TheState.com (http://www.thestate.com/2011/07/26/1911443/this-is-the-real-five-points.html - broken link)
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The Right Decision
