The problem I have with the "move away from the area" approach is that it cedes territory to the gangs, and inflated their ego. I must admit, I not not much on "accomodation"
I think it is way simplistic to blame it on reduced funding in schools. That sounds like a bride to me. "Be nice and we'll give you basketball"
The failure is in the disconnected familes--the familes of these boys who did this in Columbia were clueless. Parents are way too quick to side with their childrfen against any type of authority whether its the school, the cops, etc.
My wife is a substitute teacher in harford County--one of the more prosperous counties in MD. The kids on the Route 40 corridor are nearly all of one mind--that since Obama has been elected, they don't have to listen to any white person anymore. Now, where do they get this? Obviously, it must come from home, but the level of race-based hatred has increased; not decreased since Obama's election--at least in these communities aound here.
Are we really moving in the right direction, culturally speaking? I see plenty of evidence that warns things are getting worse.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Gather them all up, put them in uniform, and send them to Afghanistan.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

I don't want to cede territory to them, but I don't want to live next to them either.

In my city we have a TON of cops, Milford is overflowing with cops. OTOH this creates another problem. High taxes and bored cops, bored cops suck they have time to write you up for BS tickets.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

The cynicism and downright meanness expressed here, is most upsetting.

Everyone knows, they all just need more love. So come on, folks - hug a gang banger today!

You missed the point completely- it's not a bribe but if they play basketball and are nice then it worked.

Seeing this racial condition as new is interesting, I moved to the south for 5 years and found racism from every race going in full force all the time so I would say if you are seeing this as something new you've not been keeping your eyes open. I couldn't wait to get out of there.

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1983 300SD
200000miles

Increase minnimum wage
Leagalize marajauanna and other "illegal" "street" druggs
Find a way to educate our children better

Increasing minimum wage increases products and goods that are bought everyday...it does nothing to help society.

Legalizing drugs would do what to help the gang issues?

And for your last sentence...Wow, just...Wow.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Legalizing drugs would remove the main source of income they have. These guys ain't exactly hanging around street posts singing "West Side Story" ya know.

I'm all for legalizing mj, but the proposed taxes I have seen for such a move wouldn't be much of a discouragement to illegal import and sales, in my opinion. Also, more cops doesn't solve the problem of jail space, which is the foremost problem facing law enforcement everywhere in the country.

In my neighborhood, frequent, casual gatherings stressing community awareness and participation in calling the cops and reporting suspicious activity has all but eradicated the element of gangs presence in the neighborhood, in a very violent city. The cops were getting called so frequently, they have moved several in as residents of the neighborhood and subsidize their living quarters. We as a neighborhood, also bought a derilict historic property, restored it, and donated it to the same program of housing a cop and his family. We now have five black cops living in an almost all-white neighborhood of 700 homes. We also chip in for a private security firm, for street presence, but I have been voting against this for the past couple of years as I think they may serve as lookouts for folks who steal stuff out of cars.

Why the black cops? Didn't any white cops want free housing or is "empathy" for the criminal class what your neighborhood was after?

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1983 300D

[QUOTE=RichC;2215075]Increase minnimum wage
Leagalize marajauanna and other "illegal" "street" druggs
Find a way to educate our children better[/QUOTE]

Would that include school vouchers? They seem to work where tried, but are opposed by the "education" lobby.

I think outlawing marijuana has worked about as well as outlawing alcohol did. Time for a change.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

I have lived in NYC since 1975. Survived the Beame/Koch "do nothing and it will pass" system that reduced the city to a crime ridden cesspool then Dinkens and it got worse to the stage where I carried a gun since I knew the cops weren't going to protect me.

Then Guliani came on the scene and within 18 months of directed police enforcement of Quality of Life and Puiblic Order crimes we turned it around and the city got better.

Yes we gave up some Public freedoms-mainly the attitude of "**** the Police". If you gave the cops **** they kicked your ass and put you in the Concrete Hilton.

Yes the majority of those in stir were minorities but the fact that 80% of the crime was done by minorities was the cause.

Then the economy turned around and minority kids were able to get jobs...guess what CRIME DROPPED!

Bloomberg has done a decent job of keeping the system up to the mark but with the huge economic downturn and large numbers of minority layoffs in Construction and Retail the crime rate is inching back up...no where near the late 70's early 80's but definately up. I see broken car window glass on the street much more, threatening looks from disenfranchised youth, urglaries and street crime are up, etc...

The .38 is still in the drawer but I have found that there are good folks out there that do not want to see the bad times come back.

NYC is still a place where common citizens get involved and stop crimes when they happen. the cops cannot do it all.

You are still safer in NYC than Atlanta, Washingtion DC, Baltimore, Charlotte, LA, Phoenix, New Orleans, Miami, London, Moscow, Odessa, Paris, BudaPest...all have person to person crimes rates double that of NYC. With the exception of London all have much smaller municipal police forces on the street.

Right, just run away and ignore the problem!

And you have folks who are a part of the system that is supposed to change things yet you think that running away will solve the problem?

Try doing something about it and yopu will be amazed at the results!

Your attitude sounds like what happened in East St. Louis and Gary Indiana and Detroit and Jacksonville.

RUN FORREST RUN!

Run to the safest part of the county and think the problem is solved because you do not see it. Here in NYC most municipal employees are required to reside in side the city (post 1999 ALL new hired Cops, Firemen, Civil Service folks are required to live in the 5 Boroughs).

You really like hanging with Low Life Scumbags? Sheesh you deserve what you get...I lived in the 'hood and really got tired of the attitude and eventually they choose to prey on you as well...

Seriously I saw what that attituide has done in many towns and it isn't pretty. Philly sucks because all the folks who can do something run back outside the Main Line after 5 PM and leave the junkies and moochers and pimps and streeties for the rest of us to deal with.

The same with Miami, Atlanta, and many others. All have serious after 5 PM safety issues that could be fixed if the folks with the money adn the power and the connections chose to do their share.

WTF are you blathering about?

The black guys were descendants of slaves and were bred for this sort of thing; ass kicking and what not.

White flight. Big business in redeveloping urban areas that were decimated by white flight through the 70s & 80s. Becoming very fashionable.