Trump to take over D.C. Law Enforcement

The above posts remind me of what I have seen with respect to the misperceptions of people from small towns/rural communities regarding crime/safety in bigger cities.

I remember a friend of mine, who lived a few blocks from where I used to live in Charlotte, dated a guy who lived in a small town in a neighboring county. He told my friend how afraid he was for his safety when he came to her condo. He was always looking over his shoulder when he walked between his car and her condo. We laughed at that, as we viewed our neighborhood as being very safe and had no problem walking around it any time of day or night.

I once dated a woman from a small town about a 45-minute drive from Charlotte. When she decided to move from that town to Charlotte, her mom became very concerned for her safety. She thought she would be under constant attack from criminals. This person is the first person I had any kind of personal relationship with (be it friend, family, or a dating relationship) who had a handgun in their house. Before that, outside of my clients (people accused of crimes), I didn’t personally know anyone who owned a gun for protection. But when she moved to Charlotte her mom told her she would need to keep a gun handy in her home and know how to use it. (She never had to.)

And it’s not just people from smaller towns, but people in certain neighborhoods in cities who consume a great deal of right wing media. I have a good friend who grew up in a very nice neighborhood in Charlotte. When he became an adult and started living on his own (we were roommates in two different places in Charlotte), his mother was always worried that where he was living wasn’t safe. She basically though any part of town outside of her bubble (and maybe outside of most of southeast Charlotte) was unsafe. Then he moved to San Francisco about 20 years ago. When he recently came back home for the holidays, his extended family members/family friends— who consume a lot of right wing media— thought he was coming back from some horrible hellscape. They couldn’t believe he was surviving it. I went out to visit him in SF a few months ago. It certainly wasn’t anything close to a hellscape.
 
Icky Mettle said:
The above posts remind me of what I have seen with respect to the misperceptions of people from small towns/rural communities regarding crime/safety in bigger cities.

I remember a friend of mine, who lived a few blocks from where I used to live in Charlotte, dated a guy who lived in a small town in a neighboring county. He told my friend how afraid he was for his safety when he came to her condo. He was always looking over his shoulder when he walked between his car and her condo. We laughed at that, as we viewed our neighborhood as being very safe and had no problem walking around it any time of day or night.

I once dated a woman from a small town about a 45-minute drive from Charlotte. When she decided to move from that town to Charlotte, her mom became very concerned for her safety. She thought she would be under constant attack from criminals. This person is the first person I had any kind of personal relationship with (be it friend, family, or a dating relationship) who had a handgun in their house. Before that, outside of my clients (people accused of crimes), I didn’t personally know anyone who owned a gun for protection. But when she moved to Charlotte her mom told her she would need to keep a gun handy in her home and know how to use it. (She never had to.)

And it’s not just people from smaller towns, but people in certain neighborhoods in cities who consume a great deal of right wing media. I have a good friend who grew up in a very nice neighborhood in Charlotte. When he became an adult and started living on his own (we were roommates in two different places in Charlotte), his mother was always worried that where he was living wasn’t safe. She basically though any part of town outside of her bubble (and maybe outside of most of southeast Charlotte) was unsafe. Then he moved to San Francisco about 20 years ago. When he recently came back home for the holidays, his extended family members/family friends— who consume a lot of right wing media— thought he was coming back from some horrible hellscape. They couldn’t believe he was surviving it. I went out to visit him in SF a few months ago. It certainly wasn’t anything close to a hellscape.
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It is wild bc they will even ignore there on experiences and believe the right wing media over that too. My in laws just stopped visiting Seattle when we lived there even though nothing was ever wrong with their visits but it “wasn’t safe”
 
Icky Mettle said:
The above posts remind me of what I have seen with respect to the misperceptions of people from small towns/rural communities regarding crime/safety in bigger cities.

I remember a friend of mine, who lived a few blocks from where I used to live in Charlotte, dated a guy who lived in a small town in a neighboring county. He told my friend how afraid he was for his safety when he came to her condo. He was always looking over his shoulder when he walked between his car and her condo. We laughed at that, as we viewed our neighborhood as being very safe and had no problem walking around it any time of day or night.

I once dated a woman from a small town about a 45-minute drive from Charlotte. When she decided to move from that town to Charlotte, her mom became very concerned for her safety. She thought she would be under constant attack from criminals. This person is the first person I had any kind of personal relationship with (be it friend, family, or a dating relationship) who had a handgun in their house. Before that, outside of my clients (people accused of crimes), I didn’t personally know anyone who owned a gun for protection. But when she moved to Charlotte her mom told her she would need to keep a gun handy in her home and know how to use it. (She never had to.)

And it’s not just people from smaller towns, but people in certain neighborhoods in cities who consume a great deal of right wing media. I have a good friend who grew up in a very nice neighborhood in Charlotte. When he became an adult and started living on his own (we were roommates in two different places in Charlotte), his mother was always worried that where he was living wasn’t safe. She basically though any part of town outside of her bubble (and maybe outside of most of southeast Charlotte) was unsafe. Then he moved to San Francisco about 20 years ago. When he recently came back home for the holidays, his extended family members/family friends— who consume a lot of right wing media— thought he was coming back from some horrible hellscape. They couldn’t believe he was surviving it. I went out to visit him in SF a few months ago. It certainly wasn’t anything close to a hellscape.
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I totally get why cities can be scary. When you're used to having a lot of elbow room and knowing everyone at the diner or the K&W, the experience of having strangers in your space can be intimidating. But as with many emotional reactions, reality is not perception. Whether in Charlotte or DC or New York or wherever, if you avoid a few basic pitfalls, chances are extremely high you'll be fine.

1. Don't walk around drunk, especially late at night.
2. Don't walk around unknown neighborhoods late at night.
3. Don't be an asshole.
4. Act like you belong.
5. (I SO hate this is a rule, but it is) -- If you're a woman, don't walk around drunk OR by yourself OR in an unknown neighborhood late at night.
 
lawtig02 said:
I totally get why cities can be scary. When you're used to having a lot of elbow room and knowing everyone at the diner or the K&W, the experience of having strangers in your space can be intimidating. But as with many emotional reactions, reality is not perception. Whether in Charlotte or DC or New York or wherever, if you avoid a few basic pitfalls, chances are extremely high you'll be fine.

1. Don't walk around drunk, especially late at night.
2. Don't walk around unknown neighborhoods late at night.
3. Don't be an asshole.
4. Act like you belong.
5. (I SO hate this is a rule, but it is) -- If you're a woman, don't walk around drunk OR by yourself OR in an unknown neighborhood late at night.
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I have lived my whole life in cities. Well, not until I went away to college but since then. Lots of different cities. I've never been assaulted, mugged, or even yelled at. The most harassment I ever got was from drunk frat boys in college, and from a racist POS in a WV Holiday Inn.

My good friend has lived in El Barrio for almost twenty years now. He did get randomly punched one time during pandemic time, but otherwise he has also never been the victim of any sort of crime.

Oh, I forgot about the one time my car window was smashed and my CD player was stolen. That was . . . during the Bush administration. The first one.
 
heelinhell said:
I respectfully disagree if you are insinuating that Biden did not govern as well as Clinton and Obama. Biden was the most successful first term president in the last 60 years.
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I really disagree and so did the voters. He did some things well though. I wish we could have had a better candidate that could have built on that but I think inflation was going to sink any Democrat candidate.
 
gtyellowjacket said:
I really disagree and so did the voters. He did some things well though. I wish we could have had a better candidate that could have built on that but I think inflation was going to sink any Democrat candidate.
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When Kamala was nominated the inflation rate was 2.5%

I don't think inflation was going to sink any Democrat candidate who was a straight white male.
 
heelinhell said:
When Kamala was nominated the inflation rate was 2.5%

I don't think inflation was going to sink any Democrat candidate who was a straight white male.
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Of course the inflation rate or context surrounding inflation didn’t matter. It was perception. And then there was the foolish belief that too many Americans seemed to have that Trump was was competent and would be better for he economy.
 
lawtig02 said:
Who exactly should get the credit or the blame for DC violent crime already being at a 30-year low?
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Its a million dollar question, or it leads to a million dollar question... What is causing the birthrate to decline? I would make the argument that since the crime drop is national, its either national law enforcement policies or demographics driving the drop.

Demographics is a layup. Women are having less kids. Young people commit crimes at a higher rate. Lower percentage of young people relative to the population will lead to a lower crime rate.

National law enforcement policies? Maybe a relaxed policy on marijuana and other drugs? That drove fewer arrests directly. Mellow people are also going to commit less crimes on a Saturday night than drunks. Fewer jailed men means more dads. Its possible but Im guessing there is a lot of noise. Other policies? Taking the lead out of gas is a somewhat accepted driver of lower crime rates, but that likely has worked its way out of the system. I'm open to suggestions.

I keep coming back to demographics. So who's responsible? Who put in place policies to get people off the farm and into apartments? Who put in place policies that increased womens' participation in the work force? Who created highly effective contraception? Who throttled immigration? I don't think there is one person or party, but collectively, low birth rates are likely driving the crime drop.

That's my guess anyway.
 
gtyellowjacket said:
Its a million dollar question, or it leads to a million dollar question... What is causing the birthrate to decline? I would make the argument that since the crime drop is national, its either national law enforcement policies or demographics driving the drop.

Demographics is a layup. Women are having less kids. Young people commit crimes at a higher rate. Lower percentage of young people relative to the population will lead to a lower crime rate.

National law enforcement policies? Maybe a relaxed policy on marijuana and other drugs? That drove fewer arrests directly. Mellow people are also going to commit less crimes on a Saturday night than drunks. Fewer jailed men means more dads. Its possible but Im guessing there is a lot of noise. Other policies? Taking the lead out of gas is a somewhat accepted driver of lower crime rates, but that likely has worked its way out of the system. I'm open to suggestions.

I keep coming back to demographics. So who's responsible? Who put in place policies to get people off the farm and into apartments? Who put in place policies that increased womens' participation in the work force? Who created highly effective contraception? Who throttled immigration? I don't think there is one person or party, but collectively, low birth rates are likely driving the crime drop.

That's my guess anyway.
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Now, try digesting the meaning of per capita.
 
heelinhell said:
When Kamala was nominated the inflation rate was 2.5%

I don't think inflation was going to sink any Democrat candidate who was a straight white male.
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It was an issue in the campaign. It reached 9.1% during Biden's first term despite someone on here claiming that he had the most successful first term in the last 60 years. Harris and any Democrat was going to take a big knock for that.
 
donbosco said:
"They failed on the border. They are failing on homelessness and crime."

Are you talking about Democrats?
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I scratched my head on that one as well. Both Biden and Obama deported more people in 4yrs than Trump did in his first term (of course, Dems were too afraid to campaign on that.). There was also a very good bi-partisan bill passed in the Senate to actually deal with the immigration system.

Why is no one screaming from the rooftops that the Trump Admin has no policy plan (or interest) to improve the immigration system? Their only goal is the performance art of televised arrests and deportations.... As per usual, there is NO plan. Just as there is no plan for dealing with homelessness. There is performative action of trying to make them disappear. "Look we've solved another problem..."
 
gtyellowjacket said:
Its a million dollar question, or it leads to a million dollar question... What is causing the birthrate to decline? I would make the argument that since the crime drop is national, its either national law enforcement policies or demographics driving the drop.

Demographics is a layup. Women are having less kids. Young people commit crimes at a higher rate. Lower percentage of young people relative to the population will lead to a lower crime rate.

National law enforcement policies? Maybe a relaxed policy on marijuana and other drugs? That drove fewer arrests directly. Mellow people are also going to commit less crimes on a Saturday night than drunks. Fewer jailed men means more dads. Its possible but Im guessing there is a lot of noise. Other policies? Taking the lead out of gas is a somewhat accepted driver of lower crime rates, but that likely has worked its way out of the system. I'm open to suggestions.

I keep coming back to demographics. So who's responsible? Who put in place policies to get people off the farm and into apartments? Who put in place policies that increased womens' participation in the work force? Who created highly effective contraception? Who throttled immigration? I don't think there is one person or party, but collectively, low birth rates are likely driving the crime drop.

That's my guess anyway.
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so rather than send the military into DC to reduce the crime rate, wouldn't it make more sense for Trump to issue an executive order to mandate that DC resident males to undergo vasectomies and females to undergo tubal ligations ?
 
gtyellowjacket said:
I did, but perhaps I'm slow. Maybe you could make a clearer argument so I can reply.
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The population is the population. Dropping or rising is not connected to the per capita rates.

A free point for you is that nationally, law enforcement efficiency is generally considered to be decreasing.

Iirc, the biggest correlation to a declining birthrate is women's rights and education. Seems like a fair number of people don't really buy into the whole barefoot and pregnant thing when they have other options.
 
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