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You say that, and yet I've almost been mugged twice in locations with much lower violent crime rates.
by scottLobster 9y ago
You say that, and yet I've almost been mugged twice in locations with much lower violent crime rates.
- tptacek 9y agoThat's super fascinating. I live next to (as in, across an alley from the border of) the "highest crime" neighborhood in Chicago, and nobody has ever once pulled a gun on me.
- scottLobster 9y agoIf this map is any indication, there's a big difference between "living next to" and "walking through". I'll admit it does seem pretty contained. http://crime.chicagotribune.com/chicago/shootings/ http://crime.chicagotribune.com/chicago/shootings/
- tptacek 9y agoI "walk through" that neighborhood many times every week. This may surprise you, but there are also plenty of white people on the south side, too. This, by the way, is the legit Chicago shooting map: http://heyjackass.com/ http://heyjackass.com/ The awful truth of Chicago is that unless you're a black person aged 16-40, crime in Chicago poses very little risk to you, very much including at those times you find yourself in the highest-crime neighborhoods in the city. Which is what makes Chicago's use as a rhetorical device in conversations about violence so galling.
- scottLobster 9y agoInteresting. So you're saying I could, as a mid-upper-class white guy, wearing a collared shirt, khakis, leather shoes and a backpack with a laptop in it (what I wear and carry on a daily basis), walk through references heyjackass map Englewood or Austin, and on a given night have a better than 99% chance of coming out untouched? You'd think noticeable outsiders, who dress like they have some money, carrying valuables (or at least a recognizable laptop bag) would be a target in places with essentially double the US national average crime rate. You're the local, why isn't that the case?
- tptacek 9y agoYes. Fly to Chicago and I will bet you $10,000 to your $1 that you'll be just fine. A word of warning: I wouldn't take this bet if I were you.
- kasey_junk 9y agoI'd take that bet, only cause I saw how your giant check bet ended up with `idlewords. But, I'd bet the cost of his ammo to the cost of a nice dinner that he's more likely to be invited to a bbq than accosted in Englewood. Further, I'd bet an even money amount that he's in more danger from the armed police in Englewood than he is from the people living there and thats knowing he's white.
- tptacek 9y agoShit. I revise my bet. Police violence does not count.
- scottLobster 9y agoPrologue: Yes, this is basically copy-paste. It's 2 AM and I'd be saying roughly the same stuff anyway. :) Well I'll admit, you and kasey_junk have given me something to think about. As I said though, I find it confusing that my University had a rash of random muggings over cell phones, almost a victim of one such (or similar) attack myself, and yet in a place with nearly twice the average crime rate and certainly more shootings/robberies/thefts per capita I'd apparently be relatively safe. And you guys are actually defending it, so... I don't know. Maybe crime is different in Chicago. Or maybe Englewood is fine and I'm just naming the wrong street over, that heyjackass map isn't exactly precise. Regardless, thanks for your perspective, it's something I didn't have before. For the record I'm also not blind to some cops being murderous dicks. I just think disarming cops would ignore the root of the problem and cause at least as many issues as it solves. But that's another issue.
- DrScump 9y agoScott: take the bet, bring $1,000, tell me where you will be, and I'll mug you. It's a win-win.