True stories from democrat-run cities that illustrate our sad state of affairs

[Boiler 45,949]

I think the big issue is that they have turned wealthy areas into ghettos.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

1 hour ago, yuna628 said:

Should I tell some tales from my Republican-lead town filled with scum, drugs, homeless, murder, and free rapists on a daily basis to even things out? You'd think I still lived in B'more sometimes... and sometimes I still felt safer there. Poor decision making/running/planning isn't exclusive to one party.

Absolutely.  People should hear the truth about what is happening to the lives of our fellow Americans.

[yuna628 9,700]

43 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I think the big issue is that they have turned wealthy areas into ghettos.

As opposed to already poor areas being a ghetto and no one really caring to do anything about that, except grease the pockets of some business people for some pet projects?

[yuna628 9,700]

33 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

Absolutely.  People should hear the truth about what is happening to the lives of our fellow Americans.

Well I think I've talked about the craziness that goes on in this town before. It's solidly red and always has been, the state rep is a joke that constantly gets re-elected even though he really doesn't even live here or have anything to do with this county. The election is currently tied up in the court system because of voter fraud - not on the part of the voters, but of officials doing sneaky things with ballot and of election fraud where there's a long paper trail of shady dealings. It's R vs R in this case and it doesn't even matter if one of them loses in the court based on cheating, because of some messed up laws the head of the GOP for this town gets to pick the winner, and they are just fine with cheating. One of them is probably going to jail eventually. Terrible schools, terrible crime, terrible poverty.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

39 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

Well I think I've talked about the craziness that goes on in this town before. It's solidly red and always has been, the state rep is a joke that constantly gets re-elected even though he really doesn't even live here or have anything to do with this county. The election is currently tied up in the court system because of voter fraud - not on the part of the voters, but of officials doing sneaky things with ballot and of election fraud where there's a long paper trail of shady dealings. It's R vs R in this case and it doesn't even matter if one of them loses in the court based on cheating, because of some messed up laws the head of the GOP for this town gets to pick the winner, and they are just fine with cheating. One of them is probably going to jail eventually. Terrible schools, terrible crime, terrible poverty.

I don't understand what "this town" means (guessing you mean where you live?).  But what I was looking for when I asked for stories was more along the lines of people you know who have lost their livelihood, or had their family put in danger because of things beyond their control (such as city leaders putting homeless people in a hotel near someone's home or business that ends up ruining said business as I shared).  I know these are not isolated cases, there are likely thousands out there this bad or worse.  

 

In my city, I only know of one such, a man and wife who live down the street from me who lost their restaurant/bar due to covid shutdown mandates.  But talking to him, there are lots of other business owners in the same boat.  Many will never have the money to open their doors again.

[Boiler 45,949]

LA Times had an article about how many Hotels would go under, certainly where I am if the close the ski industry down this year can see an apocalypse of closures.

[Dashinka 24,736]

1 hour ago, yuna628 said:

Well I think I've talked about the craziness that goes on in this town before. It's solidly red and always has been, the state rep is a joke that constantly gets re-elected even though he really doesn't even live here or have anything to do with this county. The election is currently tied up in the court system because of voter fraud - not on the part of the voters, but of officials doing sneaky things with ballot and of election fraud where there's a long paper trail of shady dealings. It's R vs R in this case and it doesn't even matter if one of them loses in the court based on cheating, because of some messed up laws the head of the GOP for this town gets to pick the winner, and they are just fine with cheating. One of them is probably going to jail eventually. Terrible schools, terrible crime, terrible poverty.

One party rule is never a good thing as evidenced by so many of their failures.  I like that new GOP House candidate running in Baltimore, Kimberly Klacik , but I doubt she will win.  In MI we have a long history of flipping between parties which I find a good thing, and we also have term limits for state office holders, but cities like Detroit have been Democrat ruled for over 40 years and we have seen what happens there.  The current Mayor in Detroit is also a Democrat, but he is a moderate D who believes in law and order with a very tough police chief.  

[laylalex 7,300]

4 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

Because I have never lied to you, and there is no reason for me to make this stuff up.  You don't know these people, so even if I were to give you their names and addresses, it would change nothing about the things they are experiencing.  Just because Media Matters isn't reporting it doesn't make it any less real for these people.  

Okay, I needed a giggle today, and I got it. Not at these experiences (assuming they are true), but because I have no idea if you're lying to me or not, just as you have no idea if I'm lying or not, and it's kind of beside the point. All you have to say is: I know these people, these are their experiences. That's fine (assuming it is true). But my friend's experience is just as real as these people's (assuming they are real). They don't cancel each other out -- neither is necessarily a prevailing narrative in a complex situation. Are similar experiences to the ones you mention true? I assume yes. But that doesn't mean that is the sum total of the reality. I don't discount them, it's just... throwing them out there without context makes them less credible.

[yuna628 9,700]

1 hour ago, Voice of Reason said:

I don't understand what "this town" means (guessing you mean where you live?).  But what I was looking for when I asked for stories was more along the lines of people you know who have lost their livelihood, or had their family put in danger because of things beyond their control (such as city leaders putting homeless people in a hotel near someone's home or business that ends up ruining said business as I shared).  I know these are not isolated cases, there are likely thousands out there this bad or worse.  

 

In my city, I only know of one such, a man and wife who live down the street from me who lost their restaurant/bar due to covid shutdown mandates.  But talking to him, there are lots of other business owners in the same boat.  Many will never have the money to open their doors again.

Oh you mean COVID related loss of business? Sure, there's been some places that closed up. Others took the loans and then closed up immediately. But for the most part though people have been innovating and have managed to do pretty well, if not even better business than before - and that includes businesses that took heavy storm/flood damage. That's really nothing to do with R's and D's controlling the leadership though - everyone was largely in agreement about the shutdown and most like how our governor handled the situation. Homeless population is spread so thickly into the general population, that they are everywhere and there's no need to stick them in hotels (we have nowhere to put them on a good day). That huge population already has contributed to damaging this town for years.

 

13 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

One party rule is never a good thing as evidenced by so many of their failures.  I like that new GOP House candidate running in Baltimore, Kimberly Klacik , but I doubt she will win.  In MI we have a long history of flipping between parties which I find a good thing, and we also have term limits for state office holders, but cities like Detroit have been Democrat ruled for over 40 years and we have seen what happens there.  The current Mayor in Detroit is also a Democrat, but he is a moderate D who believes in law and order with a very tough police chief.  

Kimberly talks the talk, but unfortunately? She's not a Baltimore native and doesn't even live in the district she's running for and a lot of people find her yet another disingenuous politician trying to capitalize on the situation. Some also see her as a power hungry individual that has gotten to where she is by 'hanging' with and onto certain social circles. Of course there are many female politicians accused of similar things. There are not many of her current ideas that don't sound like empty promises and slogans so far. The GOP has barely backed her and she won't win. Mfume is too powerful and is old politics. 

 

The large problem with Baltimore is that we have people in office that genuinely do not care about it. We know our current Mayor is an absolute idiot who really didn't want the job to begin with, and we have a long standing police issue that won't go away any time soon. We have a lot of old blood in our politics that don't want new thinking on both sides. The problem with Baltimore is much much older than one party in power.

[laylalex 7,300]

13 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

Kimberly talks the talk, but unfortunately? She's not a Baltimore native and doesn't even live in the district she's running for and a lot of people find her yet another disingenuous politician trying to capitalize on the situation. Some also see her as a power hungry individual that has gotten to where she is by 'hanging' with and onto certain social circles. Of course there are many female politicians accused of similar things. There are not many of her current ideas that don't sound like empty promises and slogans so far. The GOP has barely backed her and she won't win. Mfume is too powerful and is old politics. 

Wasn't she the one that shot that ad that purported to be of her walking around the district to highlight blight, but it was actually shown to be just one city block? 

[yuna628 9,700]

1 minute ago, laylalex said:

Wasn't she the one that shot that ad that purported to be of her walking around the district to highlight blight, but it was actually shown to be just one city block? 

Yep. She'll continue to get 15 minutes of fame nationally, but otherwise? There's not a lot of point. Baltimore likes people that actually understand it, live it, are born in it.

[Ban Hammer 13,490]

13 minutes ago, laylalex said:

Wasn't she the one that shot that ad that purported to be of her walking around the district to highlight blight, but it was actually shown to be just one city block? 

if that was just one block, i suspect the others adjacent don't look much better.

[laylalex 7,300]

Just now, Ban Hammer said:

if that was just one block, i suspect the others adjacent don't look much better.

I think that's a fair point. But if they were/are, why not include shots of that as well? Were they excluded because they weren't awful enough to prove a point? 

[yuna628 9,700]

11 minutes ago, laylalex said:

I think that's a fair point. But if they were/are, why not include shots of that as well? Were they excluded because they weren't awful enough to prove a point? 

The 7th district encompasses a vast land mass of both the city and county. The majority of those areas being exceedingly wealthy, and some of the most wealthiest in the state.  Factoring that in, poverty for that district is only in the 70th percentile. It also has a good percentage of high black incomes compared to other districts. It would certainly trounce the poverty rate of my town by far! Of course there is blight in some places, and you can't overlook crime either.

 

I tend to think the national media projects to individuals a certain sort of image about Baltimore that you might be familiar with in The Wire. It's worse than that in some places and far better than you think in others.

Edited September 21, 2020 by yuna628

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

57 minutes ago, laylalex said:

Okay, I needed a giggle today, and I got it. Not at these experiences (assuming they are true), but because I have no idea if you're lying to me or not, just as you have no idea if I'm lying or not, and it's kind of beside the point. All you have to say is: I know these people, these are their experiences. That's fine (assuming it is true). But my friend's experience is just as real as these people's (assuming they are real). They don't cancel each other out -- neither is necessarily a prevailing narrative in a complex situation. Are similar experiences to the ones you mention true? I assume yes. But that doesn't mean that is the sum total of the reality. I don't discount them, it's just... throwing them out there without context makes them less credible.

I’m glad you giggled.  I can take the rest of the day off.

 

It may not mean much to your generation, but to mine, a man’s word was his bond.  A handshake meant more than a contract back in the day.  And if a person was given to lying or “stretching the truth”, it caused problems for him/her as life went on.  So honesty is still important to some, I guess I am trying to say.

 

I don’t know what context you need to help you understand or empathize with a man losing his store due to the bad element who was moved in stealing from him and the police doing nothing to stop it.  Do you need to know his family dynamic? How many children he has?  The kind of car he drives? His sexual proclivities?  I mean, I know none of those contextual items, yet I understand that his livelihood is being ruined right before his eyes.  What he likely worked years and years to achieve is effectively being destroyed due to recent changes in what happens to criminals in NY.

 

But since you seem so intent on context, the guy in SF I know, and the guy in NYC is the brother-in-law of someone I know.  Now that you know the degree of separation that I have from these people... does it change how you view their plights or the reality that they are experiencing?