4 ms·

Sounds hellish. Is the money really worth living in such a place?

chasd00 4y ago
Maybe it’s a form of the Stockholm syndrome? I can’t make heads or tails why someone would want to live in that environment either.
- orangepurple 4y ago
  It's difficult for Americans to change anything because all changes are potentially racist and they can't escape either because immigration to safe foreign countries is only feasible for those that can claim and prove unbroken ancestry or exceptional talent. The only solution Americans have is to universally liberalize handgun concealed carry and make bodycams in public ubiquitous so you can exonerate yourself after defending yourself. Americans are swimming in an ocean of criminals if they decide to be out in public. It can't be fixed at this point because all changes are perceived as harming some minorities or racist. Nevermind that in the places where most life threatening crimes occur, minorities are not the minority. Americans' mindset is so warped that it will take generations of suffering and unnecessary death to sufficiently correct the cultural zeitgeist. This is why concealed carry and bodycams are so essential to normal Americans today. You can't fix society so you have to protect yourself and exonerate yourself with video footage.
  - throwaway894345 4y ago
    This is the craziest thing I’ve read this week. Yes, we have too much violent crime, but it’s not worse than it was in the 90s. That’s a lot of regression in a short period of time, and we don’t want to continue on this trajectory, but it’s not nearly as extreme as you suggest. I suspect you’re making a couple of errant assumptions: 1. Looking at the sheer number of homicides in the US without accounting for the US’s very large population (our rates are still high for a 1st world country, but not as much as they seem without the population adjustment) 2. Assuming that crime is evenly distributed across our country. Most of the violent crime in the US happens in so-called “inner cities”. Most of the country is very safe, but a few places are very unsafe. Basically the US is a biiiigggg and diverse country by 1st world standards.
    - orangepurple 4y ago
      US crime is only "low" because such a huge number of people can live dispersed. And it's a terrible way to live. To make a meaningful safety comparison between interesting places low population density areas need to be excluded.
  - earth_walker 4y ago
    If you look around you and see only criminals, then the only answers you will come up with involve rounding them up, and moving them elsewhere. Those people on the streets that you're 'swimming in' - the homeless, the untreated mental health cases, the drug addicts, the ex cons, the unemployed, the slum dwellers - they are not criminals. Except where catch-22 laws make their existence criminal. They are the marginalized, and made so by the day-to-day actions and inactions of their fellow citizens who look down on them, block them from participating in society at every opportunity. There are well known solutions to these problems: economic, social, and humane. But as long as the voting public can keep coming up with reasons these people do not deserve a proper solution to their problems, you're all going to have to live with the consequences.
    - orangepurple 4y ago
      Pray tell what are these well known solutions? My personal solution is a Glock 9, a body cam, and praying that I can away run fast enough to never have to use either.
      - earth_walker 4y ago
        While many of these problems are never going to go away, they are absolutely manageable in a humane way. If you look at cities around the world there are many examples that are as large and diverse as an American city, but much safer and cleaner. Why is that? It's not like they don't have their share of unemployment, mental health or drug addiction. In most cases nothing surprising - just well funded and unhobbled versions of things most North Americans already know about but vote against. Just listen to your local Social Workers and Nurses, they usually have a very good idea of what's missing or critically underfunded. Here are some examples: Homelessness and unemployment: Various social safety nets, affordable housing, back to work and education programs, well funded social work programs Mental health: Treatment, accessibility, in- and outpatient programs, well funded social work programs Drug addiction: Decriminalization, access to safe use, needle exchanges and treatment programs, well funded social work programs Ex cons: Stop giving people lifelong records for drug offenses. Re-entry education and training programs. etc. etc. Maybe you live in a war zone, and a glock really is necessary for you to make it from your condo to your armored car. But until you start looking beyond just helping yourself, things are just going to get worse.

Maybe it’s a form of the Stockholm syndrome? I can’t make heads or tails why someone would want to live in that environment either.

orangepurple 4y ago
It's difficult for Americans to change anything because all changes are potentially racist and they can't escape either because immigration to safe foreign countries is only feasible for those that can claim and prove unbroken ancestry or exceptional talent. The only solution Americans have is to universally liberalize handgun concealed carry and make bodycams in public ubiquitous so you can exonerate yourself after defending yourself. Americans are swimming in an ocean of criminals if they decide to be out in public. It can't be fixed at this point because all changes are perceived as harming some minorities or racist. Nevermind that in the places where most life threatening crimes occur, minorities are not the minority. Americans' mindset is so warped that it will take generations of suffering and unnecessary death to sufficiently correct the cultural zeitgeist. This is why concealed carry and bodycams are so essential to normal Americans today. You can't fix society so you have to protect yourself and exonerate yourself with video footage.
- throwaway894345 4y ago
  This is the craziest thing I’ve read this week. Yes, we have too much violent crime, but it’s not worse than it was in the 90s. That’s a lot of regression in a short period of time, and we don’t want to continue on this trajectory, but it’s not nearly as extreme as you suggest. I suspect you’re making a couple of errant assumptions: 1. Looking at the sheer number of homicides in the US without accounting for the US’s very large population (our rates are still high for a 1st world country, but not as much as they seem without the population adjustment) 2. Assuming that crime is evenly distributed across our country. Most of the violent crime in the US happens in so-called “inner cities”. Most of the country is very safe, but a few places are very unsafe. Basically the US is a biiiigggg and diverse country by 1st world standards.
  - orangepurple 4y ago
    US crime is only "low" because such a huge number of people can live dispersed. And it's a terrible way to live. To make a meaningful safety comparison between interesting places low population density areas need to be excluded.
- earth_walker 4y ago
  If you look around you and see only criminals, then the only answers you will come up with involve rounding them up, and moving them elsewhere. Those people on the streets that you're 'swimming in' - the homeless, the untreated mental health cases, the drug addicts, the ex cons, the unemployed, the slum dwellers - they are not criminals. Except where catch-22 laws make their existence criminal. They are the marginalized, and made so by the day-to-day actions and inactions of their fellow citizens who look down on them, block them from participating in society at every opportunity. There are well known solutions to these problems: economic, social, and humane. But as long as the voting public can keep coming up with reasons these people do not deserve a proper solution to their problems, you're all going to have to live with the consequences.
  - orangepurple 4y ago
    Pray tell what are these well known solutions? My personal solution is a Glock 9, a body cam, and praying that I can away run fast enough to never have to use either.
    - earth_walker 4y ago
      While many of these problems are never going to go away, they are absolutely manageable in a humane way. If you look at cities around the world there are many examples that are as large and diverse as an American city, but much safer and cleaner. Why is that? It's not like they don't have their share of unemployment, mental health or drug addiction. In most cases nothing surprising - just well funded and unhobbled versions of things most North Americans already know about but vote against. Just listen to your local Social Workers and Nurses, they usually have a very good idea of what's missing or critically underfunded. Here are some examples: Homelessness and unemployment: Various social safety nets, affordable housing, back to work and education programs, well funded social work programs Mental health: Treatment, accessibility, in- and outpatient programs, well funded social work programs Drug addiction: Decriminalization, access to safe use, needle exchanges and treatment programs, well funded social work programs Ex cons: Stop giving people lifelong records for drug offenses. Re-entry education and training programs. etc. etc. Maybe you live in a war zone, and a glock really is necessary for you to make it from your condo to your armored car. But until you start looking beyond just helping yourself, things are just going to get worse.