Possible serial head-bludgeoner on the loose in NW

[WASHINGTON BULLETS]

Originally Posted by JEB77

I don't know if you lived in any of these neighborhoods at the time the attacks were occurring, but shame on you for trying to minimize how unsettling these serial attacks were to residents, current or former, of a local community. It's not appreciated, and the rejoinder that all these incidents happened back in some distant time when the city was dysfunctional is patently false, so please desist.

None of the "urban pioneers" on this forum were living here back then.
Hell, most of them were not even living here as recently as 10 years ago.
Yet somehow they magically think they know everything about DC and the surrounding areas.

[killabunnies]

Originally Posted by WASHINGTON BULLETS

None of the "urban pioneers" on this forum were living here back then.
Hell, most of them were not even living here as recently as 10 years ago.
Yet somehow they magically think they know everything about DC and the surrounding areas.

I don't quite understand this idea of a badge of honor for staying in one location for the longest time. People move. People stay. It happens. All people who move in are not gentrifiers (*cough*) and all people who move out are not haters.

The population of any given area is a constantly evolving ecosystem, not some constant, written-in-stone truth. I'm sorry that DC isn't blocked off so as to forbid any additional "outsiders" since you seem so disturbed by them but that's just how it goes. Hopefully the majority of those moving in are actually adding to the city's value instead of just mooching what DC has to offer as one of the few areas in the country barely touched by the economy.

I don't claim to know everything about DC but I can certainly tell you - or anyone who is asking - all about my own experiences from my own unique viewpoint RIGHT NOW. If anyone here were actually marketing themselves as some be-all-end-all DC expert, I'd hope they'd go make a living selling that information to tourists instead of spouting off on some forum.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

^
I never said anything about whether or not one serial killer should or shouldn't remind people of other incidents. That really has nothing to do with extrapolating such incidents to more common types of crime in the city. You're completely missing my point and being excessively indignant and critical. I'm actually not being disingenuous. I'm trying to understand the core reason you have a grudge against DC. It's probably legitimate, or maybe DC just pales in comparison to your experiences living in New York City or in McLean. I was just wondering what it is.

Edit: No need for that last jab, by the way. By any objective measure, the District of Columbia was relatively dysfunctional during much of the 90s. That doesn't mean many people weren't living perfectly happy lives as private citizens, but it does mean there were nearly 500 murders a year, a declining population, and a federal takeover of the local government due to budget issues.

I don't have a grudge against DC, so the premise of your post is incorrect, but in any event this thread would not be the right place for me to elaborate on the pros and cons of the places that I've lived in both within and outside the DC region. I have many good, and several bad, memories of the years that I lived in DC. I also continue to spend most of my waking hours in the District, so it's not as if I carry around some image of DC that's permanently frozen in the Barry era.

I think I've already established that incidents like the recent head-bludgeonings - the topic of this thread - bring back some bad memories for those of us who lived in the District in the early 1990s. As I mentioned in a prior thread, I will certainly be interested to see what defense or explanation Mr. Davis and his counsel offer for the recent attacks. Beyond that, I think it's time to let the criminal justice system take its course, and to move on to other topics here as well.

[paytonc]

Originally Posted by JEB77

When Malvo and Muhammad went on their rampage in 2002, it was also reported as bringing back memories of the "shotgun stalker" who killed and maimed multiple victims in Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights in 1993:

I first learned about Swann from this site:
http://dcjack.org/shotgun%20stalker.html
I'd just mentioned to someone that a friend of mine lived near Holmead (named after the neighborhood's developer), and they mentioned Swann's multiple rampages along that street. Chilling, to say the least.

[DCforever]

Wow props to the DC police. They jumped on this issue and solved it in record time. I feel a lot safer knowing that the DC police are that quick. I feel sorry for the families. Evidently the perp is mentally unstable.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by JEB77

You and other posters mischaracterize my posts as uniformly negative towards DC, because you apparently have so much invested in promoting urban living. .

If other posters means me, I would remind you that I have made numerous posts advising people on the best suburbs for them, of the advantages of Reston, of Annandale, of Falls Church, of Fairlington, of Vienna, and yes, for folks in many situations, of Loudoun County.

I DO like many things about urban living, and would like to help those who consider it find ways of making it work for them. I would never minimize real crime found in some urban areas, including DC, and am happy to discuss the actual crime statistics.

However I tend to share Bluefly's impression of your posts on this forum - you may have some positive posts about DC, but they are far outnumbered by everything from your preference for ethnic restaurants in the suburbs, to educational issues in DC, to crime in DC. You have suggested that "progressives" in DC should be concerned about the increasing number of DC kids in poverty, but also that "progressives" in Arlington should be concerned about the decreasing number of minorities and poor in Arlington. I believe you once blamed the independence of Falls Church and its seperation from heavily minority areas on "Ted Kennedy liberals" though I imagine such were scarce in falls church at the time (1948). Even on such a minor issue as the accessibility of kosher felafel, when I suggested that norhtern parts of DC might be more convenient to Wheatons restaurants than fairfax county, you stated that it would be easier to drive from Fairfax than take the metro from northern DC. When asked why a household in DC couldnt own one car, you did not respond.

You give the impression of having an agenda, whether that is the case or not.

I realize my own opinions about several issues give some people the impression I have an agenda against the outer parts of NoVa - while that isn't really true, I do realize that its better for all that I not enter much into discussions of those areas. If there were a seperate forum for alexandria, arlington, city of falls church, and the more urban parts of Fairfax county, I would post there, but thats clearly not happening.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by JEB77

. In Swann's case, his psychologists testified that his delusions caused him to shoot people in neighborhoods that were in the process of integrating, which he somehow weirdly associated with "civil rights," and then make pilgrimages to an area of NYC where Malcolm X had lived or preached. Regardless of whether they were, in each case the attacks were random, extremely violent, directed at innocent residents or visitors, resulted in one or more deaths, and took place in a gentrifying DC neighborhood. .

I think I saw someone say on PoP that one of Davis' victims was black.

It also seems that Mr Davis lived in this area, so his selection of it is easily explained apart from its status as a gentrifying area.

While I agree that we should see what the criminal justice system finds out, I find the discussion of this as gentrification backlash quite odd.