Nickerson Gardens And Imperial Courts.... (shop, safe, pay)

[slowbullet]

Originally Posted by the one

ya buddy, your down.

now you can go tell your friends... "i been in nickerson. i even been to the jungle, and it IS like in training day"

this fascination with the hood is amazing.

Why would you assume I would say such a thing, or that people I know would even Moderator cut: care?

It's a fascination with places and people in general. Public housing projects are totally legitimate places to be interested in seeing. So are the white collar suburbs and rural midwestern towns.

If you went to Detroit you should want to see the "hood."

You should also want to visit the Chaldian Iraqi communities, too (try to see a wedding, you'll never forget it), and the little towns that were built around the auto industry.

You should want to hang with old timers who have stories because those places are connected to the wider milieu of American car culture, and urban decay, the rise and fall of the American worker. I'd wonder about someone who has no curiosity in wanting to see those places, or speak to those people...

I've looked at rich places, poor places, and everywhere else in between.

I've been to Somalia and hung with rebels, and I've been to Greenland and hung with ice fishing inuits who lived off the fjords. I've made pilgrimage with Tibetans, dropped peyote with Navajos and been on patrol with Marines in Afghanistan.

Everywhere is interesting, and everywhere is unique. Public housing projects in inner city America are no different.

[dcashley]

Are they dangerous:
About 30 years ago I was a policeman there. Dangerous is not an adequate word. They were far more dangerous than the word "dangerous" seems to imply.

They have not gotten better over the years. To say one is more dangerous than the other is like asking to pick which is more dangerous: Improvised Explosive Devices, or Rocket Propelled Gernades.,

[slowbullet]

Originally Posted by dcashley

Are they dangerous:
About 30 years ago I was a policeman there. Dangerous is not an adequate word. They were far more dangerous than the word "dangerous" seems to imply.

They have not gotten better over the years. To say one is more dangerous than the other is like asking to pick which is more dangerous: Improvised Explosive Devices, or Rocket Propelled Gernades.,

Thirty years ago the family unit was much more intact. The crack epidemic, among other things, created a situation where parents were going to jail, and children were being raised by non-immediate family members with minimal supervision...

[dcashley]

Originally Posted by slowbullet

Thirty years ago the family unit was much more intact. The crack epidemic, among other things, created a situation where parents were going to jail, and children were being raised by non-immediate family members with minimal supervision...

So....you're agreeing with me when I said, "They have not gotten better over the years..."?

[slowbullet]

Originally Posted by dcashley

So....you're agreeing with me when I said, "They have not gotten better over the years..."?

I am thirty years old, so I don't have enough frame of reference to speak on it. My experience with those communities (south central L.A.) began in the mid-1990's.

As a police officer, I am sure you saw a certain side of it, but not enough to REALLY say one way or another what the deal is..

I will say, that thirty years ago (1979) was probably better then the golden age of crack and subsequent gang warfare (around 82-88).

In the late 70's, that lifestyle was starting to get a little steam, you had the nucleus of bloods, crips, crack cocaine, but it was nowhere like the 80's.

In L.A. in general, the 50's were a little better then the 60's, which were a little better then the 70's, then everything Moderator cut: got bad in the 80's and KEPT Moderator cut: getting worse in the early 90's. In the 90's you had this massive explosion of gang culture, in L.A., and around the country. There was a hunger for this stuff in the media, and young people all over the country just couldn't get enough of it.

Then after the riots, and Gates was replaced, I think things got a little better. The riots were the boiling point, and after that people stepped back a little bit..

I think it ebbs and flows.

From conversations I have had with people who lived in the area, the 50's-70's were allright.

From what I hear, there was a bit more honor in everyday life. Kids had parents that were present. Teenage pregnancy, drug use and dropping out of school wasn't so widespread. People went to church, etc, etc. There wasn't this glorification of gangsterism and violence that we see today..People settled things with fists and bats, and not shotguns. There were gangs, but they weren't as vicious or violent as today.

I understand those people may be romanticizing their own era, but I think there is something to what they are saying..

[owen eden]

I remember when I was in middle school. I wanted a Coca Cola shirt(this was 1987) I cried like a ***** because my mother would not buy me one. I thought I was SO underprivileged! Two days later my father drove me near Imperial Courts. All of the sudden I felt a great deal of shame and stupidity. I was 12 and Pasadena was the only world I knew. I get so embarassed when I think about that time.

[LA323]

Originally Posted by WestSideGirl310

I would say L.A.'s most dangerous gangs are:

Florencia 13
18th Street
MS13
Grape Street
Bounty Hunters
Avenue Gang

I'm no gang expert, just my opinion from what I read.

naw those are just some of the bigger gangs
but not the most dangerous
there ain't a such thing is the toughest gangs in L.A if. That was the case it would be a way bigger list then that man . in the gangs you mentioned on your list only a couple really go hard
out of your list though ms is the weakest
Alot of people think its the most dangerous gang maybe so but not in L.A
18 st put them in check so I'd say ms is the weakest out of the list
this might sound weird but most of the smaller gangs are stronger then the more bigger gangs. Not all but alot . Some bigger gangs tend to have more busters then actual solid soldiers . While alot of smaller gangs tend to have more solid soldiers then busters

[Tasksgirl]

Hi! We adopted a family for Christmas through an LA County program where you shop for the family and deliver the presents to them. It turns out they live in the Imperial Court projects.. do you think it would be safe for us as a family to go drop off the presents to the mom and her kids? I'm white and my husband is Hispanic and we have a 1 year old.

Thanks!

[calipoppy]

Originally Posted by Tasksgirl

Hi! We adopted a family for Christmas through an LA County program where you shop for the family and deliver the presents to them. It turns out they live in the Imperial Court projects.. do you think it would be safe for us as a family to go drop off the presents to the mom and her kids? I'm white and my husband is Hispanic and we have a 1 year old.

Thanks!

[Mr. Opinionated]

A little over three decades I lived in Imperial Courts near 114th and Grape Streets. Back then it was still not the best place to be sight-seeing. Like most other urban areas, it would get rowdy some Friday nights when the eagle flew and booze was guzzlin'. But I never got the impression that brothas were just waiting around for white people to show up and be robbed or worse. Then like now, there were white people passing through the area to work and beyond. Black people, for this reason and the media are probably more used to seeing white people and familiar with their culture, than whites are with Afro-American because blacks do not fear and cannot avoid interaction with white/American culture.

I would not venture into an area where I was intimidated enough to have to ask if it is safe.
I would not be sensible if I thought my race or ethnicity would reason for caution. Especially after dark. But if it could not be avoided, I would be sure to be as respectful, friendly and try to relax as I would in my own or parts of town that I didn't feel apprehensive about. How you present yourself can make a difference.