@PocketBrain Civil disobedience. Our town is one of the fireworks nazis; you can’t even have sparklers, snakes, or smokers anymore, and there have been attempts to ban paper caps, party poppers, and the little snap-pops you throw at the ground. Its really pitiful. I revel in the noise, and I used my Bangsite carbide cannon (not banned to add to the cacophony, though I stopped by 10PM. Its one day a year.
I think I’ve shared this before, and it might not have been this exact article but it’s the first one that’s come up in Google. Have you heard about the interesting, but still controversial, theory about how the crime rate correlates to the use of leaded gasoline? Lead: America’s Real Criminal Element
Crime in general is down, but rape is rising. We had a decreasing population, due to a loss of steady jobs in the mines. Families are leaving. Most of the careers left are female-heavy, or require a higher level of education, but we do have a police academy, so you have more cops on the street, which usually discourages crime. As for the climbing rape rate, there are a few theories, but I’m not knowledgeable enough to figure that one out.
I dunno, I haven’t seen any statistics on local crime. Really can’t go by the local media as we’ve been in the middle of crime wave since the invention of the printing press.
When it comes to trends in crime, I’m honestly more concerned about police than other criminals (the ones without a badge and a uniform) these days. Apparently they’re allowed to kill folks (well, yaknow, certain folks) for traffic violations, and “I was skeered” passes as a legit defense.
And before someone asks or assumes, no, I don’t think all cops are criminals and I do think they have a tough job. I also greatly respect the officers who do their jobs well, except for that part where they all form a protective wall around the bad ones.
@joelmw Unfortunately you have a generation of vets that have been conditioned with lightemup first then ask questions urban warfare, and they are getting hired as civilian peace officers, and old instincts come forward when stressed. Another gift to society from the Republican party.
@cranky1950 Yep. And the guy who shot at officers and demonstrators in Dallas last year was himself a vet. It’s tragic, and while individuals obviously need to be held accountable for their actions, we as a society (and especially the elected and/or self-declared “leaders” who glorify military engagement and state-sanctioned violence of all forms) are also responsible and I’d have to assess our conduct overall as truly deplorable.
@cranky1950 I have a a cop buddy who was in the Marines, he says the biggest thing he had to relearn was the meaning of "Cover me."
For cops, it means "Let me know when to duck down again."
For the Marines, it means “Shoot anything that moves.”
@simplersimon The other reality is that deescalation works and should be pursued in almost every situation. Yes, there are risks and it is a dangerous job and necessary precautions should be taken, but the problem isn’t just “shoot first”, it’s assuming that the other guy is an enemy.
And another aspect of “cover me” should be “let me know when I’m headed off the rails; and please step in and keep me from doing something stupid.”
@jerk_nugget chicago is the poster child for this. Doesn’t get the media coverage it needs but the police blogs and other sources make it clear how strong the correlation is
In the past few years, the owner of some of the houses down the street ( he owned more than one ), kicked his meth head kids out, refurbished the houses and sold them.
Those white tweakers were way scarier than the people who live in section eight housing just a little further down the road.
@lisaviolet what does this have to do with anything? and why do you think people who live in section 8 are “scary”?
while there is a correlation between poverty and illegal activity, i would caution you to make assumptions like that about those who need and/or are stuck in affordable housing.
@jerk_nugget you misunderstand. I’m NOT afraid of the section eight families. At all. They are NOT scary. Not to me. I’m thankful that folks who have fallen on hard times have a safe place to live.
It was a poorly worded comparison. Those tweakers WERE scary. Living on the cheap off of mommy and daddy, stealing from the neighborhood…I’m glad they’re gone.
My wording was kind of poking fun at those who believe that the poor are the enemy.
@lisaviolet thanks for the clarification! sorry about the assumption, it is (obv) a sensitive topic for me, as the way many in this country view the poor & poverty is just so incredibly warped and offensive. and then those viewpoints get perpetuated by The Internet, yadda yadda yadda…
Do the amateur fireworks displays count as crime? If so, there was a spike of crime just a couple hours ago.
@PocketBrain There were at least a few hundred crimes in my area alone last night. Made it very hard to sleep
@PocketBrain Civil disobedience. Our town is one of the fireworks nazis; you can’t even have sparklers, snakes, or smokers anymore, and there have been attempts to ban paper caps, party poppers, and the little snap-pops you throw at the ground. Its really pitiful. I revel in the noise, and I used my Bangsite carbide cannon (not banned
to add to the cacophony, though I stopped by 10PM. Its one day a year.
I think I’ve shared this before, and it might not have been this exact article but it’s the first one that’s come up in Google. Have you heard about the interesting, but still controversial, theory about how the crime rate correlates to the use of leaded gasoline? Lead: America’s Real Criminal Element
Crime in general is down, but rape is rising. We had a decreasing population, due to a loss of steady jobs in the mines. Families are leaving. Most of the careers left are female-heavy, or require a higher level of education, but we do have a police academy, so you have more cops on the street, which usually discourages crime. As for the climbing rape rate, there are a few theories, but I’m not knowledgeable enough to figure that one out.
@simplersimon
It could be a rise in the % of victims (of any gender) becoming more willing to report.
@simplersimon I’m pretty sure the definition of rape has changed.
I dunno, I haven’t seen any statistics on local crime. Really can’t go by the local media as we’ve been in the middle of crime wave since the invention of the printing press.
@cranky1950 something outside is bad and is coming for you!!! details after this commercial.
Meth meth meth.
@JoetatoChip
And Fentanyl/opioids
When it comes to trends in crime, I’m honestly more concerned about police than other criminals (the ones without a badge and a uniform) these days. Apparently they’re allowed to kill folks (well, yaknow, certain folks) for traffic violations, and “I was skeered” passes as a legit defense.
And before someone asks or assumes, no, I don’t think all cops are criminals and I do think they have a tough job. I also greatly respect the officers who do their jobs well, except for that part where they all form a protective wall around the bad ones.
@joelmw Unfortunately you have a generation of vets that have been conditioned with lightemup first then ask questions urban warfare, and they are getting hired as civilian peace officers, and old instincts come forward when stressed. Another gift to society from the Republican party.
@cranky1950 Yep. And the guy who shot at officers and demonstrators in Dallas last year was himself a vet. It’s tragic, and while individuals obviously need to be held accountable for their actions, we as a society (and especially the elected and/or self-declared “leaders” who glorify military engagement and state-sanctioned violence of all forms) are also responsible and I’d have to assess our conduct overall as truly deplorable.
@cranky1950 I have a a cop buddy who was in the Marines, he says the biggest thing he had to relearn was the meaning of "Cover me."
For cops, it means "Let me know when to duck down again."
For the Marines, it means “Shoot anything that moves.”
@simplersimon The other reality is that deescalation works and should be pursued in almost every situation. Yes, there are risks and it is a dangerous job and necessary precautions should be taken, but the problem isn’t just “shoot first”, it’s assuming that the other guy is an enemy.
And another aspect of “cover me” should be “let me know when I’m headed off the rails; and please step in and keep me from doing something stupid.”
@joelmw
it’s summer in an urban area. crime is up.
@jerk_nugget chicago is the poster child for this. Doesn’t get the media coverage it needs but the police blogs and other sources make it clear how strong the correlation is
In the past few years, the owner of some of the houses down the street ( he owned more than one ), kicked his meth head kids out, refurbished the houses and sold them.
Those white tweakers were way scarier than the people who live in section eight housing just a little further down the road.
Tweakers are crazy.
@lisaviolet what does this have to do with anything? and why do you think people who live in section 8 are “scary”?
while there is a correlation between poverty and illegal activity, i would caution you to make assumptions like that about those who need and/or are stuck in affordable housing.
@jerk_nugget you misunderstand. I’m NOT afraid of the section eight families. At all. They are NOT scary. Not to me. I’m thankful that folks who have fallen on hard times have a safe place to live.
It was a poorly worded comparison. Those tweakers WERE scary. Living on the cheap off of mommy and daddy, stealing from the neighborhood…I’m glad they’re gone.
My wording was kind of poking fun at those who believe that the poor are the enemy.
@lisaviolet thanks for the clarification! sorry about the assumption, it is (obv) a sensitive topic for me, as the way many in this country view the poor & poverty is just so incredibly warped and offensive. and then those viewpoints get perpetuated by The Internet, yadda yadda yadda…
@jerk_nugget I don’t have a high opinion of the wealthy as a whole. Never have.