How and why is Baltimore so troubled? Is there any solution or is it terminally doomed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For anyone busting on gentrification, name one functional and successful American city where the majority of the population is poor and black. I expect crickets. . .

Name one functional and successful city where the majority of the population is poor and white? crickets!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Study the history. Racist housing policies created dead zones in the inner city. Invest in some stores and businesses and medical facilities and grocery stores in areas that have nothing but liquor stores. A resident can’t get a job if s/he can’t get to it.

Investment happens in whites areas, just perpetuating the same problems.

And stores can’t stay in business if the merchandise keeps disappearing, they are regularly robbed at gunpoint, and the local job pool is filled with people with poorly developed work habits.

And non-profit job training organizations are failing and disappearing because people won't be trained. The can't show success, so they go under.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For anyone busting on gentrification, name one functional and successful American city where the majority of the population is poor and black. I expect crickets. . .

New Orleans

Washington DC. Atlanta.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
*Think about if you were to walk out of your house right now and see somebody get shot three times by someone driving past, and die, their blood all over the sidewalk in front of your house. Where your kids are usually standing to catch the bus. If that happened to you or me, in McLean or Frederick or Bethesda, you would be traumatized. You would cry on social media. You would seek counseling for your PTSD, your anxiety, etc.
- Now. Imagine a life where seeing someone killed is absolutely nothing remarkable. Nobody gives a damn that you are 4 and have seen 9 neighbors get shot / beat up. From the very moment you opened your eyes, your entire community is entrenched in violence. Trauma means absolutely nothing out of the ordinary to anybody, so nobody cares. Your mother or grandmother certainly did not think it was necessary to send you to intensive therapy the first time you witnessed a shooting, or your step-dad beat up your mom and siblings. Or beat you to a pulp. This changes the brain. The brain after trauma needs to be treated differently. These kids cannot be taught like a standard public school. NO WONDER THEY ARE FAILING ALL OF THE SCHOOLS. When you have multiple siblings at home that need to eat, you haven't seen mom or her boyfriend in weeks, and somebody stole your EBT card.... You do not have time or energy to give a flying fudge about geometry theorems or the Han dynasty. You also do NOT respond / if you do it is NOT WELL to being yelled at, or bells ringing, or someone demanding you do something, without respect or rapport. Trauama informed care has 5 principles : safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness and empowerment. Teachers and those who work in trauma informed care ensurethat the physical and emotional safety of an individual is addressed before anything else. Next, the individual needs to know that the provider, whether teacher, therapist, social worker, case manager, PO, etc., is trustworthy. Trustworthiness can be evident in the [b]establishment and consistency of boundaries and the clarity of what is expected in regards to tasks. (Example - teacher asks her class to be quiet in the hallway. You whisper something to your friend. She yells at you and you get a detention. You respond, and the situation becomes dramatic, escalated and far larger than you whispering something to a friend. Go back to the expectation that was set. She said quiet. She did not say how quiet, or how the level of quiet would be measured. So to the student, he did nothing wrong. Technically, he didn't. Clarity of what is expected is crucial. Specific directions will change everything. ). Additionally, the more choice an individual has and the more control they have over their service experience through a collaborative effort with service providers, the more likely the individual will participate in services and the more effective the services may be. Finally, focusing on an individual's strengths and empowering them to build on those strengths while developing stronger coping skills provides a healthy foundation for individuals to fall back on if and when they stop receiving services. nine hours of daily programming focused on education, vocational training, health and wellness, community service and clinical services.

[/b]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Study the history. Racist housing policies created dead zones in the inner city. Invest in some stores and businesses and medical facilities and grocery stores in areas that have nothing but liquor stores. A resident can’t get a job if s/he can’t get to it.

Investment happens in whites areas, just perpetuating the same problems.

Eh. Most of the poor urban Baltimore neighorhoods used to be solid white neighborhoods and even not that long ago. 1950 Baltimore was 80% white. I find all this blame on redlining and other racist real estate policies of the 1920s-1950s just an excuse for what the real problem is: a dysfunctional urban poor population that has no motivation or desire to change their lot. All the ones who could get out left a long time ago. But no one wants to face the simple truth: poor Baltimore is responsible for 99% of their own problems. They'd rather blame everything and everyone else.

I understand where your sentiment is coming from, but please read the PP's long post about trauma informed care. Once you begin to understand why there appears to be no motivation for change, you can start to become a part of the change. A traumatized person is frozen. A repeatedly traumatized person is shut down. The people who succeed without intervention are those who are wired to process and literally shake off the trauma. Most people cannot do that without intervention.

Trauma truly is the root of most of our social problems. We need to focus both on stopping the sources of trauma (poverty, hunger, drugs, guns, violent crime, abuse) and healing the trauma in individuals we can reach, which includes those in schools, health care facilities, prisons, the military, and even in the workforce. Truama of any kind does change the brain, but it can be healed.

[Anonymous]

Baltimore is similar to dc in the early 2000s

There are pockets of gentrification and improvement across the city

areas that have gone red to blue

http://graphics.wsj.com/baltimore-demographics/

Yes many parts of Baltimore are crap but EOTR in DC is still crap

[Anonymous]

Freddy grey is the upstanding citizen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Study the history. Racist housing policies created dead zones in the inner city. Invest in some stores and businesses and medical facilities and grocery stores in areas that have nothing but liquor stores. A resident can’t get a job if s/he can’t get to it.

Investment happens in whites areas, just perpetuating the same problems.

Eh. Most of the poor urban Baltimore neighorhoods used to be solid white neighborhoods and even not that long ago. 1950 Baltimore was 80% white. I find all this blame on redlining and other racist real estate policies of the 1920s-1950s just an excuse for what the real problem is: a dysfunctional urban poor population that has no motivation or desire to change their lot. All the ones who could get out left a long time ago. But no one wants to face the simple truth: poor Baltimore is responsible for 99% of their own problems. They'd rather blame everything and everyone else.

I understand where your sentiment is coming from, but please read the PP's long post about trauma informed care. Once you begin to understand why there appears to be no motivation for change, you can start to become a part of the change. A traumatized person is frozen. A repeatedly traumatized person is shut down. The people who succeed without intervention are those who are wired to process and literally shake off the trauma. Most people cannot do that without intervention.

Trauma truly is the root of most of our social problems. We need to focus both on stopping the sources of trauma (poverty, hunger, drugs, guns, violent crime, abuse) and healing the trauma in individuals we can reach, which includes those in schools, health care facilities, prisons, the military, and even in the workforce. Truama of any kind does change the brain, but it can be healed.

Whenever I hear people try to argue this, I immediately think of all the people who grew up poor and who did leave. They got out. In Baltimore, when people blame institutionalized racism, they also seem to forget that the majority of African Americans in the Baltimore region are not poor. They're middle class living in the suburbs or the middle class part of the city. So the argument doesn't work for me. I also think of all the white people who left dying mill towns while others stayed behind and didn't change their lives and slid into opoids and petty crime. As far as I can tell, it's more excuses piling on top of more excuses.

It's not as if the poor in Baltimore (mostly black but some whites too) aren't exposed to the possibilities of life and the what ifs. It's right there, in front of them. They just chose not to take the steps to improve their lives. And it's not that difficult either. Finish school, don't get pregnant, you're halfway there already. But you'd rather blame "trauma" than personal self-destructive habits and decisions. It's more and more excuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Study the history. Racist housing policies created dead zones in the inner city. Invest in some stores and businesses and medical facilities and grocery stores in areas that have nothing but liquor stores. A resident can’t get a job if s/he can’t get to it.

Investment happens in whites areas, just perpetuating the same problems.

Eh. Most of the poor urban Baltimore neighorhoods used to be solid white neighborhoods and even not that long ago. 1950 Baltimore was 80% white. I find all this blame on redlining and other racist real estate policies of the 1920s-1950s just an excuse for what the real problem is: a dysfunctional urban poor population that has no motivation or desire to change their lot. All the ones who could get out left a long time ago. But no one wants to face the simple truth: poor Baltimore is responsible for 99% of their own problems. They'd rather blame everything and everyone else.

I understand where your sentiment is coming from, but please read the PP's long post about trauma informed care. Once you begin to understand why there appears to be no motivation for change, you can start to become a part of the change. A traumatized person is frozen. A repeatedly traumatized person is shut down. The people who succeed without intervention are those who are wired to process and literally shake off the trauma. Most people cannot do that without intervention.

Trauma truly is the root of most of our social problems. We need to focus both on stopping the sources of trauma (poverty, hunger, drugs, guns, violent crime, abuse) and healing the trauma in individuals we can reach, which includes those in schools, health care facilities, prisons, the military, and even in the workforce. Truama of any kind does change the brain, but it can be healed.

Whenever I hear people try to argue this, I immediately think of all the people who grew up poor and who did leave. They got out. In Baltimore, when people blame institutionalized racism, they also seem to forget that the majority of African Americans in the Baltimore region are not poor. They're middle class living in the suburbs or the middle class part of the city. So the argument doesn't work for me. I also think of all the white people who left dying mill towns while others stayed behind and didn't change their lives and slid into opoids and petty crime. As far as I can tell, it's more excuses piling on top of more excuses.

It's not as if the poor in Baltimore (mostly black but some whites too) aren't exposed to the possibilities of life and the what ifs. It's right there, in front of them. They just chose not to take the steps to improve their lives. And it's not that difficult either. Finish school, don't get pregnant, you're halfway there already. But you'd rather blame "trauma" than personal self-destructive habits and decisions. It's more and more excuses.

That some people can escape a bad situation does not mean its not hard. Some people can overcome hard things, others not so much. Some are just luckier than others. Some took a drug and got addicted, some took the same drug in the same dosage and did not. Some got a good teacher in a bad school system, some didn't Some had a father imprisoned for petty theft - some their father did the same illegal act, didn't get caught and was around to help raise them. Don't pick those apart, they are just examples of how luck can play out in someone's life.

But when we see poverty leading family breakdown and personal dysfunction (in general, not in every particular case) , in different times and different places, for people of different races, we should consider the possibility that poverty and similar social circumstances DO cause the dysfunction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Study the history. Racist housing policies created dead zones in the inner city. Invest in some stores and businesses and medical facilities and grocery stores in areas that have nothing but liquor stores. A resident can’t get a job if s/he can’t get to it.

Investment happens in whites areas, just perpetuating the same problems.

Eh. Most of the poor urban Baltimore neighorhoods used to be solid white neighborhoods and even not that long ago. 1950 Baltimore was 80% white. I find all this blame on redlining and other racist real estate policies of the 1920s-1950s just an excuse for what the real problem is: a dysfunctional urban poor population that has no motivation or desire to change their lot. All the ones who could get out left a long time ago. But no one wants to face the simple truth: poor Baltimore is responsible for 99% of their own problems. They'd rather blame everything and everyone else.

I understand where your sentiment is coming from, but please read the PP's long post about trauma informed care. Once you begin to understand why there appears to be no motivation for change, you can start to become a part of the change. A traumatized person is frozen. A repeatedly traumatized person is shut down. The people who succeed without intervention are those who are wired to process and literally shake off the trauma. Most people cannot do that without intervention.

Trauma truly is the root of most of our social problems. We need to focus both on stopping the sources of trauma (poverty, hunger, drugs, guns, violent crime, abuse) and healing the trauma in individuals we can reach, which includes those in schools, health care facilities, prisons, the military, and even in the workforce. Truama of any kind does change the brain, but it can be healed.

Whenever I hear people try to argue this, I immediately think of all the people who grew up poor and who did leave. They got out. In Baltimore, when people blame institutionalized racism, they also seem to forget that the majority of African Americans in the Baltimore region are not poor. They're middle class living in the suburbs or the middle class part of the city. So the argument doesn't work for me. I also think of all the white people who left dying mill towns while others stayed behind and didn't change their lives and slid into opoids and petty crime. As far as I can tell, it's more excuses piling on top of more excuses.

It's not as if the poor in Baltimore (mostly black but some whites too) aren't exposed to the possibilities of life and the what ifs. It's right there, in front of them. They just chose not to take the steps to improve their lives. And it's not that difficult either. Finish school, don't get pregnant, you're halfway there already. But you'd rather blame "trauma" than personal self-destructive habits and decisions. It's more and more excuses.

That some people can escape a bad situation does not mean its not hard. Some people can overcome hard things, others not so much. Some are just luckier than others. Some took a drug and got addicted, some took the same drug in the same dosage and did not. Some got a good teacher in a bad school system, some didn't Some had a father imprisoned for petty theft - some their father did the same illegal act, didn't get caught and was around to help raise them. Don't pick those apart, they are just examples of how luck can play out in someone's life.

But when we see poverty leading family breakdown and personal dysfunction (in general, not in every particular case) , in different times and different places, for people of different races, we should consider the possibility that poverty and similar social circumstances DO cause the dysfunction.

And what's your solution?

We've poured billions and billions and untold billions over the decades into poverty programs.

At this point in time there's really not much else we can do beyond curbing civil liberties. Crime in Baltimore would easily disappear, to everyone's benefit, if we turned it into a de facto military state with army garrisons and checkpoints everywhere and armed patrols. But that ain't happening, ain't it?

I'm not convinced there's much one can do. So many of the entrenched poor refuse the help that is on hand. They refuse to leave their neighborhoods or towns or cities for opportunities elsewhere. Even Section 8 won't help them. They have access to free education but crap all over it. They won't change their behavior and mannerism, because we as a society no longer tell them to in fear of being branded racist or whatever.

In short, there's no real meaningful change for the entrenched poor until the liberal do-gooders look squarely at themselves first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
And what's your solution?

1. Some of the past poverty programs DID help some. At least some of the people who made it into the middle class, which you attribute to personal gumption, did get help and managed to take advantage of it. So I think we continue those. Of course those won't make a place like Baltimore look better, because those who succeed will leave.

2 We come up with better ideas. I mean we don't give up on finding a cure for cancer, or a better web search engine, why not keep trying for more effective programs? There IS new research suggesting some alternative approches, including the benefits of a universal basic income, higher minimum wages, unionization, etc.

Of course if you see poverty as punishment for sin, or as a useful tool to berate liberals, then neither of the above is a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: They refuse to leave their neighborhoods or towns or cities for opportunities elsewhere.

People refuse to leave because they have a network of friends and relatives who are a more reliable safety net than anything provided by the state. People to leave a child with, people to crash with if they are evicted, etc. Compared to moving for a job that might not last. People who stay are not necessarily irrational.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Study the history. Racist housing policies created dead zones in the inner city. Invest in some stores and businesses and medical facilities and grocery stores in areas that have nothing but liquor stores. A resident can’t get a job if s/he can’t get to it.

Investment happens in whites areas, just perpetuating the same problems.

Eh. Most of the poor urban Baltimore neighorhoods used to be solid white neighborhoods and even not that long ago. 1950 Baltimore was 80% white. I find all this blame on redlining and other racist real estate policies of the 1920s-1950s just an excuse for what the real problem is: a dysfunctional urban poor population that has no motivation or desire to change their lot. All the ones who could get out left a long time ago. But no one wants to face the simple truth: poor Baltimore is responsible for 99% of their own problems. They'd rather blame everything and everyone else.

I understand where your sentiment is coming from, but please read the PP's long post about trauma informed care. Once you begin to understand why there appears to be no motivation for change, you can start to become a part of the change. A traumatized person is frozen. A repeatedly traumatized person is shut down. The people who succeed without intervention are those who are wired to process and literally shake off the trauma. Most people cannot do that without intervention.

Trauma truly is the root of most of our social problems. We need to focus both on stopping the sources of trauma (poverty, hunger, drugs, guns, violent crime, abuse) and healing the trauma in individuals we can reach, which includes those in schools, health care facilities, prisons, the military, and even in the workforce. Truama of any kind does change the brain, but it can be healed.

Whenever I hear people try to argue this, I immediately think of all the people who grew up poor and who did leave. They got out. In Baltimore, when people blame institutionalized racism, they also seem to forget that the majority of African Americans in the Baltimore region are not poor. They're middle class living in the suburbs or the middle class part of the city. So the argument doesn't work for me. I also think of all the white people who left dying mill towns while others stayed behind and didn't change their lives and slid into opoids and petty crime. As far as I can tell, it's more excuses piling on top of more excuses.

It's not as if the poor in Baltimore (mostly black but some whites too) aren't exposed to the possibilities of life and the what ifs. It's right there, in front of them. They just chose not to take the steps to improve their lives. And it's not that difficult either. Finish school, don't get pregnant, you're halfway there already. But you'd rather blame "trauma" than personal self-destructive habits and decisions. It's more and more excuses.

+1.

BS-addiction is real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: They refuse to leave their neighborhoods or towns or cities for opportunities elsewhere.

People refuse to leave because they have a network of friends and relatives who are a more reliable safety net than anything provided by the state. People to leave a child with, people to crash with if they are evicted, etc. Compared to moving for a job that might not last. People who stay are not necessarily irrational.

They could learn a thing or two from immigrants.

[Anonymous]

Baltimore is being run like a Third World city, with crime and kleptocracy run amok. Gov. Hogan should dissolve the local Baltimore government and appoint a special master to run the city.