Originally Posted by
Schwinnrider
Why do neighborhoods become that way? Because law abiding citizens tire of becoming victims, of watching their neighborhoods fall into slums. But the law abiding can't dispense justice on their own, so they move(if they're financially able). What do you suggest people do?
Hey, I'm all for vigilante justice. Burn down the crack houses. Hunt down the gangbangers. But that's not realistic, and if the police DO increase their presence then the residents of said neighborhoods complain about profiling and police brutality. WTF?
I hate to sound like a crazy liberal here, because I really do sympathize with that opinion, even though I think it is wrong. Here in Atlanta we have done exactly what you've suggested, sort of. The Atlanta Housing Authority decided to demolish all the housing projects in the city and displace everyone that lived in them, because there was too much crime/drugs/violence etc. The result is that the people are now without permanent homes, but they are still the same people. Some of them found ways to stay in the same areas, some of them found ways to move into the nicer areas of town. Society's underbelly is just like the rest of us, they are going to figure out a way to survive despite the circumstances.
I work in one of these neighborhoods in South Atlanta, where 50% of the houses are boarded up, has the highest carjacking/violence/crime/prostitution incidence in the city, so I have to bike through it pretty regularly. I wish I could say that I feel comfortable biking through there, but I am usually pretty on guard. I have three locks on my bike when I get where I'm going. During the day I am pretty sure that I'm ok, more worried about my bike being stolen while its locked up than I am worried about being robbed, but at night I won't go down there. I just make sure my work is done by 6pm so I can leave.