Blade Runner is a joke in retrospect! (Los Angeles, Compton: crimes, how much)

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Visit a Library

I do not believe crime is on the decline. In fact, it's on the rise on the Westside, and people I talk to from other areas are seeing it rise as well, particularly in the valley. I believe the real crime stats are being hidden, just like Tony Villar's tattoos.

The statistics say that crime has increased slightly on the westside, although very low historically. No one's hiding anything (as for the rumor about Tony V having Mongols tattoos, PROVE IT.)

http://www.lapdonline.org/assets/pdf/pacprof.pdf

It would not make sense to alter the crime statistics to make them lower as that would mean less money for the police - something no police department wants. If crime statistics are being altered, they're being altered to be higher, as that is more in the interest of police departments.

There are always increases in certain areas and declines in others. For example, it's remarkable that Northeast Division's had a massive decline in crime, and Echo Park for the first time in decades has become an actual low crime neighborhood.

Not sure about the Valley but most of the Valley within the city of L.A. has been going to crap for years anyways, and much of it (that is not already the ghetto of the present) will become the ghetto of the future.

L.A.'s infrastructure is pretty crappy right now, but I don't think you know what the word "Third World" means - it's a term referring to political allegiances during the Cold War and I don't see how it's relevant to the discussion.

[Fontucky]

Third world to me is a place where the women walk 2 miles to the water hole, bringing it back in a basket on their heads while singing spirituals.

[RaymondChandlerLives]

Originally Posted by majoun

The statistics say that crime has increased slightly on the westside, although very low historically. No one's hiding anything (as for the rumor about Tony V having Mongols tattoos, PROVE IT.)

http://www.lapdonline.org/assets/pdf/pacprof.pdf

It would not make sense to alter the crime statistics to make them lower as that would mean less money for the police - something no police department wants. If crime statistics are being altered, they're being altered to be higher, as that is more in the interest of police departments.

There are always increases in certain areas and declines in others. For example, it's remarkable that Northeast Division's had a massive decline in crime, and Echo Park for the first time in decades has become an actual low crime neighborhood.

Not sure about the Valley but most of the Valley within the city of L.A. has been going to crap for years anyways, and much of it (that is not already the ghetto of the present) will become the ghetto of the future.

L.A.'s infrastructure is pretty crappy right now, but I don't think you know what the word "Third World" means - it's a term referring to political allegiances during the Cold War and I don't see how it's relevant to the discussion.

He's suggesting that L.A.'s infrastructure resembles those of cities in third world countries (run-down, impoverished, impossibly overcrowded and sketchy) which is absurd. Our ghettos don't even look bad by American standards, to say nothing of ghettos in poorer nations (ever see a Brazilian favela?)

Some folks aren't happy unless they're unhappy.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Third world to me is a place where the women walk 2 miles to the water hole, bringing it back in a basket on their heads while singing spirituals.

Which is just as irrelevant to L.A. and its problems today as the accepted definition of "third world" meaning countries that were neutral during the Cold War.

The only place in California that was neutral during the Cold War was Berkeley...

[majoun]

Originally Posted by RaymondChandlerLives

He's suggesting that L.A.'s infrastructure resembles those of cities in third world countries (run-down, impoverished, impossibly overcrowded and sketchy) which is absurd. Our ghettos don't even look bad by American standards, to say nothing of ghettos in poorer nations (ever see a Brazilian favela?)

Some folks aren't happy unless they're unhappy.

Agreed. He seems to think that L.A.'s like an African country. For all of L.A.'s problems L.A. is not Cairo, Nairobi, Misrata, Lagos, or Tripoli. Just because it has weather similar to Libya's doesn't mean it has Libya's problems.

[mayorhaggar]

I like how in Blade Runner and the early Alien movies they were zipping around in flying cars and spaceships and surrounded by androids, but their computer screens were still in black and white with blocky text.

[Visit a Library]

Originally Posted by RaymondChandlerLives

He's suggesting that L.A.'s infrastructure resembles those of cities in third world countries (run-down, impoverished, impossibly overcrowded and sketchy) which is absurd. Our ghettos don't even look bad by American standards, to say nothing of ghettos in poorer nations (ever see a Brazilian favela?)

Some folks aren't happy unless they're unhappy.

When I look at the beach cities, such as Laguna Niguel, and then look at Los Angeles, the difference is more than appreciable.

Yes, we're not quite as bad a Rio, two foot deep ruts in our highways and such, but we're on the way if you look at the trend over the past 50 years.

BTW, how do you define "impossibly overcrowded"? When it takes me two hours to drive several miles on the 405, I'd say that's beginning to skirt impossible. And no, it wasn't like that 50 years ago.

[Visit a Library]

Originally Posted by majoun

L.A.'s infrastructure is pretty crappy right now, but I don't think you know what the word "Third World" means - it's a term referring to political allegiances during the Cold War and I don't see how it's relevant to the discussion.

Can you suggest an appropriate term to substitute for "Third World" that isn't offensive to some particular ethnicity of people and consists of fewer than three words?

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Visit a Library

Can you suggest an appropriate term to substitute for "Third World" that isn't offensive to some particular ethnicity of people and consists of fewer than three words?

In the sense of geopolitics, "developing country" is the term that has replaced "third world". Keep in mind some countries that were neutral during the Cold War and thus "third world" were quite wealthy, like Switzerland or Sweden, while some countries who were part of NATO and thus "first world" were poor, like Greece or Portugal. Most of the Warsaw Pact nations - the "second world"- were poor. The terms had to do with geopolitics not poverty.

Since you were talking infrastructure not geopolitics, I think "urban decay" is what you meant.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

I like how in Blade Runner and the early Alien movies they were zipping around in flying cars and spaceships and surrounded by androids, but their computer screens were still in black and white with blocky text.

Good point!

You're not the first one to point that out. Same thing with Star Wars and Star Trek!