Monday, November 19, 2007

Still violent after all these years...

St. Louis, my beloved river city, is the second most violent city in America? I don’t buy it! No way is Detroit more violent than we are.

I mean they can’t just let average violence trump the kind of multi-month record breaking maybe we ought to relocate violence like we have here in St. Louis.

Blink.

Anyhoo…

As usual the St. Louis Post Dispatch has run story after spin-laden story covering how the methodology of the report is flawed and how we aren’t really the second most violent city in the country if you count the white flight zones surrounding the city that they don’t count because they aren’t in the city.

This story is my current favorite, Area Group Fights ‘crime’ label.

One would think that the area group fighting the violent city label would advocate for community programs, job creation, funding for mental health screening and treatment and perhaps a dash of political accountability.

But you’d be wrong, baby…wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong followed by wrong!

The area group is fighting the label not the reality of crime in St. Louis.

That’s right...they plan to spin it out of existence!

The best part of the article is that one member of the we aint violent coalition called the dude who puts these reports together to try to persuade him to change his crime reporting ways.

After several minutes his response was…wait, are you sitting down?

Okay, the Post reports that "His dismissive conclusion at the end was, 'Go fight crime.'"

Classic!

11 comments:

a black girl said...

Wait there is no way that Detroit or St. Louis is more violent than DC. I demand a recount!!

Shark-Fu said...

Recount?

I love it!

Yes, what we need is a recount!

Anonymous said...

The thing that gets me is that the money that should be staying in these cities seems to be gettig siphoned out. I mean where is it going. Money that should be for devlopment is being spent elsewhere. Quesions need to be asked about this. Where are the tax dollars going?

Anonymous said...

What bullshit!! Hell, bitch, I greq up in Detroit....it's ALWAYS been the Murder capitol of the US in so far I knew..........yeah, we demand a recount!

Shay said...

I am from Detroit (well...I used to be) and we are too, so there.

Anonymous said...

Hey DUDE, poor people don't pay taxes. When the tax payers move outside of the city limits, the few of us who remain get a lot of nuisance tickets, a city income tax and failing infrastructure. I'm just sayin ...

C-Money

Anonymous said...

Whoo-hoo! We're #1!

Come on - give Detroiters this one... they don't even have that pretty arch. Rooting for the Red Wings only takes you so far. Besides, how many other great American cities brag in their newspapers that this year's Devil's Night (the day before Halloween) had "less than 100" fires set? That's quite the progress - they keep that up St. Louis will catch them again.

OH, wait - somebody just blew up a house in Canton. We're safely ahead.

Anonymous said...

C-Money I beg to differ. Poor people do pay taxes. they pay them when they shop and if they are above the poverty rate evenly slightly they pay income tax. Plus even if they rent taxes are paid by landlords on the homes in the area. So where is the money going?

Anonymous said...

DUDE, poor people don't shop. I'm talking serious poor, like we have in the city of STL. The occassional dollars going to sales tax in legit stores doesn't make a tax base. Do the math. The taxes they pay don't offset the services they get. I'm not against those services, I'm just pointing out an economic shortfall. If you have evidence that the city is taking in some huge tax surplus, call the Post and publish it.

Anonymous said...

http://stlouis.missouri.org/government/budget07/

A link to download the 2007 Operating Plan (the budget) for the city of St. Louis for all those wondering where the money goes.

C-Money

Crys said...

Wow! This was quite interesting. I was born, raised, and reside in Detroit, and I am always confused when I here that our crime rate is so high. However, no one else ever is. My freshman year of college, we went around the room and told our names and where we were from (a small college). I said _____ from Detroit, and someone asked if I had to carry a gun at home. That shocked me. I had never viewed the city from the eyes of an (kinda ignorant) outsider. Being from inner-city Detroit is rough because my parents aren't rich, but not rough because I lived in fear. Somehow now the stigma that others put on my city has started to affect me, and that pisses me off. So, go ahead whatever city, take our title. WE DON'T WANT IT, and DANG SURE no longer need it.

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