Anonymous wrote:We know two people visiting DC that got killed in cross fires from kids shooting each other. We know three other people that been robbed or carjack. We haven't been in DC in the last ten years and don't plan on visiting. The town is thoroughly out of control.

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Anonymous wrote:Boston has 12 murders so far this year and around 40,000 less people than DC. Incredible.

There's one big difference between Boston and DC....

What is that (what is the difference)?

Poor people, no education, no hope, generational poverty. I lived in the hood when I first moved here. Conflict is what they are engaged every waking hour. The ones who would like to get out, don't have the money. They live in stress, anger. Gave me anxiety.
I didn't even mention mental health/SN. Crime is the norm.
Super messed up, but it was created by society, politics, history.
Poor in US, any race, seem more messed up that many other places.

There are poor people in every city. In many cities there are many poor immigrants who come here with nothing but trauma and even they don’t commit crimes like the urban folks here. We should all stop making excuses for these people “oh but they’re poor and their parents were poor, what do you expect” and actually hold them all accountable to basic standards. When you hold people accountable, they will change their behavior. When you make excuses for them, they won’t.

I agree with this. I'm liberal. But I've lived in DC for 20 years.

It's not just poverty here. There is something else going on, and it's psychological, and it cannot be addressed with social services and "violence interruptors." I'm glad community services has worked in Baltimore, but in DC, when solutions like that have been implemented, there is a lot of grift. Look at the Trayon White situation -- he was taking bribes from "violence interruptors" in exchange for using his power to funnel more contracts to these groups. Who were bribing a public official. It's the most DC scandal you could possibly come up with, and Trayon getting re-elected after being expelled from office is the most DC consequence.

So yeah, it's not just poverty. It's apathy, it's total disregard for other people, it's a belief that the system is never going to work for you, so you might as well exploit and abuse the system. There is little faith.

DC needs a top to bottom overhaul of public officials and a different attitude about community and safety. We need a mayor and council who places the safety and security of citizens (all citizens, of all colors and backgrounds) above feeling sorry for criminals. Guess what, most of the victims of violent crime in DC are also poor and black, can we focus on helping them instead of wringing our hands over how racism and poverty MADE someone commit murder/rape/armed robbery? Lots of poor people don't become violent criminals. Most of them, actually. Why not protect and defend the many law abiding people in this city instead of allowing ourselves to be held hostage by a small minority of violent a$$holes who, yes, may have had hard lives but are now making everyone else's life miserable as a result? Reward people for following the law and being kind to their neighbors, and hold those who can't accountable.

I completely agree with you. Violence interrupters and social programs help a little but can only take you so far. There needs to be a complete cultural overhaul in DC, but unfortunately that requires confronting the rotten cultural attitudes of many residents and that means it's not likely to change soon. This was exemplified when the city convened a task force to figure out how to deal with drivers with expired and fraudulent temporary tags, and the task force recommended taking no action because enforcement has the potential to adversely impact minorities.

The entire edifice of city government is geared toward making excuses for and coddling antisocial jerks. It's really unfortunate, and it doesn't have to be this way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boston has 12 murders so far this year and around 40,000 less people than DC. Incredible.

There's one big difference between Boston and DC....

What is that (what is the difference)?

Poor people, no education, no hope, generational poverty. I lived in the hood when I first moved here. Conflict is what they are engaged every waking hour. The ones who would like to get out, don't have the money. They live in stress, anger. Gave me anxiety.
I didn't even mention mental health/SN. Crime is the norm.
Super messed up, but it was created by society, politics, history.
Poor in US, any race, seem more messed up that many other places.

There are poor people in every city. In many cities there are many poor immigrants who come here with nothing but trauma and even they don’t commit crimes like the urban folks here. We should all stop making excuses for these people “oh but they’re poor and their parents were poor, what do you expect” and actually hold them all accountable to basic standards. When you hold people accountable, they will change their behavior. When you make excuses for them, they won’t.

I agree with this. I'm liberal. But I've lived in DC for 20 years.

It's not just poverty here. There is something else going on, and it's psychological, and it cannot be addressed with social services and "violence interruptors." I'm glad community services has worked in Baltimore, but in DC, when solutions like that have been implemented, there is a lot of grift. Look at the Trayon White situation -- he was taking bribes from "violence interruptors" in exchange for using his power to funnel more contracts to these groups. Who were bribing a public official. It's the most DC scandal you could possibly come up with, and Trayon getting re-elected after being expelled from office is the most DC consequence.

So yeah, it's not just poverty. It's apathy, it's total disregard for other people, it's a belief that the system is never going to work for you, so you might as well exploit and abuse the system. There is little faith.

DC needs a top to bottom overhaul of public officials and a different attitude about community and safety. We need a mayor and council who places the safety and security of citizens (all citizens, of all colors and backgrounds) above feeling sorry for criminals. Guess what, most of the victims of violent crime in DC are also poor and black, can we focus on helping them instead of wringing our hands over how racism and poverty MADE someone commit murder/rape/armed robbery? Lots of poor people don't become violent criminals. Most of them, actually. Why not protect and defend the many law abiding people in this city instead of allowing ourselves to be held hostage by a small minority of violent a$$holes who, yes, may have had hard lives but are now making everyone else's life miserable as a result? Reward people for following the law and being kind to their neighbors, and hold those who can't accountable.

Anonymous wrote:DC Police have given up. The cities elected officials do not support them and they know it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For Baltimore seems like there was a shift in thinking about homicides from just a crime to a public health issue (https://popular.info/p/the-secret-to-baltimores-extraordinary).

Not sure how much that impacts the number versus things outside the mayors control (gang wars, macroeconomic impacts on drug trades, etc.)

It seems to be working.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boston has 12 murders so far this year and around 40,000 less people than DC. Incredible.

There's one big difference between Boston and DC....

What is that (what is the difference)?

Poor people, no education, no hope, generational poverty. I lived in the hood when I first moved here. Conflict is what they are engaged every waking hour. The ones who would like to get out, don't have the money. They live in stress, anger. Gave me anxiety.
I didn't even mention mental health/SN. Crime is the norm.
Super messed up, but it was created by society, politics, history.
Poor in US, any race, seem more messed up that many other places.

There are poor people in every city. In many cities there are many poor immigrants who come here with nothing but trauma and even they don’t commit crimes like the urban folks here. We should all stop making excuses for these people “oh but they’re poor and their parents were poor, what do you expect” and actually hold them all accountable to basic standards. When you hold people accountable, they will change their behavior. When you make excuses for them, they won’t.

Anonymous wrote:compare per capita crime in red states to blue...I'll wait here.

Anonymous wrote:For Baltimore seems like there was a shift in thinking about homicides from just a crime to a public health issue (https://popular.info/p/the-secret-to-baltimores-extraordinary).

Not sure how much that impacts the number versus things outside the mayors control (gang wars, macroeconomic impacts on drug trades, etc.)