Is anybody else a tad bit afraid of the crazies?

[metroins]

I follow politics and news but I don't really get involved, I'm pretty busy with my business and family. With all of the shootings, terror and whatever is going on, I get a bit afraid; most of it seems random.

Normally I can lower my risk by not going in the bad neighborhoods, but nowadays this stuff is going on everywhere.

I'm not only afraid of the randomness, but also how hard our government might crackdown on it and create chaos.

Too much vitriol (every side) and victim mentality pushing is creating chaos nobody needs.

Am I over feeling it?

22 votes, 3 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes, we should be a little more cautious
	7 (32%)
	No, the media is over blowing it, don't be scared
	13 (59%)
	War on Christmas
	2 (9%)
	3 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[MADem]

1. People who live in "bad neighborhoods" have had to deal with this shit for, well, EVER.

I guess the Big Wide World is getting a taste of it.

Maybe now they'll start to see the value of gun control. I'm afraid of nuts with guns who decide they have a right to slaughter people if their lives aren't going the way they'd hoped.

I wonder how many shoot-em-ups happen in Australia these days? Even adjusted for population, I'll bet they're doing better than we are.

If I were you, I wouldn't worry about the "government," I'd worry about the lunatic with the weapon firing randomly at you, and me, and everyone he sees.

[metroins]

2. I grew up in in Baltimore Highlands on Virginia Avenue

I lived in a bad neighborhood and grew out of it. I don't go back. They don't have to deal with it if they leave.

And that's what I was saying, I'm afraid of the lunatic getting me while I'm in downtown Dallas, where I am right now.

[MADem]

4. You DO have to deal with it if you don't have the First/Last/Security and

credit check, and if the landlord you're trying to rent from doesn't like your melanin load and finds a reason other than that to deny you entry into these nicer neighborhoods.

They don't have to deal with it if they leave is only an option for those with the MEANS to leave. Not everyone has those means.

[metroins]

6. Section 8 is universal

Works on Carrollton street in Baltimore just like it works on Rundberg Austin Texas. The only difference is you won't get murdered in Austin (likely).

If you wanted to argue they don't know HOW to leave, you could, but the MEANS are there.

I know, I lived it.

[MADem]

16. Not everyone qualifies for Section 8, or has need for it.

I'm sorry--but now you're getting a bit offensive.


Maybe that is not your intent, but you are coming across poorly.


Not everyone who lives in those "bad" neighborhoods you were going on about is on welfare or other assistance. Many have regular, steady jobs, often more than one of them, in fact, that they go to daily, and get a paycheck on Friday, but they simply don't have much in the way of savings to afford that first/last/security, OR the high rents that we're seeing nowadays in a landlord's rental environment.

You'd do well to just quit before you fall further and further behind. Your comments ( If you wanted to argue they don't know HOW to leave, you could, but the MEANS are there) are insulting.

[metroins]

20. If you find it insulting

That would be how you feel. I'm not insulting anybody, but this is America, people are free to change their circumstances.

I was raised to believe a person is in control of their own circumstances and life. I believe in social programs to help change those circumstances but I believe in people. I believe in individualistic opportunity and the American dream. I believe that America allows for growth. My parents taught me to be better than them and I believe I can be and others can be.

I find it offensive that you are acting as if people are helpless.

My ORIGINAL POST had nothing to do with this, you chose two words [bad neighborhood] and wanted to create a sub discussion about it. My OP was about how I have to fear being in crowds today when I didn't have to previously.

I'm sorry you find my believing that people have free will in America offensive, I feel the way you're responding is offensive.

[MADem]

43. Wow. That's quite a commentary.

There's so much wrong with it that I can't even begin.

But suggesting that "people are free to change their circumstances" tells me there is much you do not understand.

Many people are NOT "free" to do any such thing. They've got bills to pay, family obligations, and they are barely getting by. Yet you magically tell them they're "free" to just "leave" and then try to accuse me of suggesting they are "helpless" when I call you out on that assertion.

If everyone is so "free" -- as you claim -- what's holding them back? Could it be that L word? Laziness? Why are the areas of the cities that have that lead paint and poorly maintained apartment buildings still "full up?" Hmmm?

What, precisely, are you suggesting causes people to stay in these lousy homes in lousy neighborhoods? What stops these "free" people from bettering their circumstances and "just leaving" like you say you did? I really want you to explain it to me, so I can tell everyone in substandard housing how to solve their dilemmas; that they're just, apparently, doing it wrong...or something.

I've most assuredly heard this POV before--never thought I'd hear it on a Democratic message board, though. And frankly, if I am to be honest, it's not the WAY you are responding that is offensive, it is what you are SAYING about people who are living in those "bad neighborhoods" that offends. Greatly.

[Silver_Witch]

48. You are scary! And you hate is showing!

Better pull that slip up!

[Rex]

3. +1

[840high]

5. I'm a lot afraid. - 2 women

carjacked at my grocery store. My purse yanked off my arm by passing car. I live in what used to be a very safe neighborhood.

[metroins]

8. Overall crime is lower

But it doesn't feel like it.

[TexasBushwhacker]

25. That's an excellent point

And violent crime is way down. But with the 24 hour newscycle and "if it bleeds it leads", we are aware of it a lot more.

[KMOD]

40. Your purse was yankedd off your arm by a passing car?

Did you file a police report? Was anyone arrested? Did it make the news?

[840high]

42. Yes. I did file.

Nothing happened. I had to cancel all cards and get new
ids.

[KMOD]

7. I'm concerned that we can't seem to get

decent background checks and waiting periods. I'm concerned that guns keeps falling into the hands of the mentally ill.

I'm also disgusted with the anger and vitriol. It's toxic for people suffering from mental illness.

I'm disgusted that we ignore mental illness and consider it a stigma. We have a mental health crisis. It's time to stop ignoring it, and to start talking about it. Too many people are hurting, and they need help.

[metroins]

9. I agree with your post

I honestly think the RW vitriol is driving it and now others on all spectrums are picking it up and running.

There's a lot of crazies.

[KMOD]

10. please don't refer to them as

crazies. They are ill.

[metroins]

12. Ok. Nt

[Warpy]

11. They scare me shitless but I'm not going to alter my behavior

and will continue to call them out IRL when they start to rant and rave.

If I go around frightened and afraid to speak, they win.

[metroins]

14. I'm in a hotel in Dallas

A holiday inn express.

Every loud bang, my mind races for a second. I see a group of people, any people, I avoid trying to be collateral damage.

I'm going to be flying in a week and I worry.

I'm not consumed or THAT worried, but I'm now thinking about my surroundings a lot more than I did previously. I'm still going to live my life, but I might be 40 feet from a crowd instead of in the crowd.

Different times we live in right now.

[L. Coyote]

13. Fear makes people vote more conservative. Some want you to feel fear.

Better to be rational than emotional. There is nothing to fear except fear. Why fear? It accomplishes nothing except to alter yourself.

If you encounter a bear in the woods, do not fear it or you send the wrong signal to the bear. Same in the real world, don't communicate fear.

[metroins]

15. But the bear might attack anyway

Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty much on the Democrat side on most issues but with all of this stuff going on, I might vote a Republican Sheriff or something. The sheriff can't tank the economy or ban abortion but the GOP does TALK tough on this kind of stuff. Action is different. Most of the local police I know are Republican and I don't hold that against them doing their job.

I'm not sure what these attackers (all of them) are trying to accomplish. I think it's anarchy they seek.

[KMOD]

19. Both of the recent police killers,

appear to have had mental health issues.

I'm not sure why you are in such fear. Who are you afraid of?

[metroins]

23. Randoms

Not a person specifically but I speak to groups of people. When I exit a room there might be 200 people around.

Makes me more nervous about randomness.

[KMOD]

26. What are randoms?

[metroins]

32. Random actors

DC, NYC, iconic landmarks, churches, mosques, military bases, you can assume there is risk.

Movie theaters, elementary schools, gay clubs, protests...they are random. Typically people don't go shooting up random places.

[tonyt53]

17. No need to be afraid - just be AWARE. Keep your eyes off your phone and know who is around you.

Know who you are around. Know the places you are around. AWARE.

[metroins]

21. Agreed.

That's how I feel things have changed.

[LWolf]

18. No.

Not that I don't think I should pay attention and use common sense precautions, but I find fear to be self-defeating. Fear benefits those who threaten, not those who engage in it.

[metroins]

22. You don't get worried

Standing in a TSA lane?

If you're driving down the highway and people surround your vehicle?

The RNC is going on soon and I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it.

[LWolf]

24. Well,

first of all, worry and fear are not the same thing.

Secondly, I don't know what a TSA lane is.

If I were driving down a highway, I'd be worried that I'd hurt people who were trying to surround my moving vehicle. If you are talking about a protest, people blocking the road, I'd probably roll my window down, ask them about their issue, and join them, or just wait. In other words, deal with what's on the table. Why fear?

[metroins]

28. Fear

TSA lane is the airport security lane. The Turkey(Istanbul) airport attack. You're essentially fish in a barrel there.

Crowded areas seem to be a target.

I went to a gay club recently with friends and I found myself inspecting people and looking at the exits.

[brooklynite]

36. I just flew through JFK, LAX and French Polynesia...

I flew through Paris two months ago. No delays and no problems.

[metroins]

37. You didn't think twice about it?

I do.

They close preccheck a lot in Austin and I feel like a fish in a barrel.

I look at the people around me now. If they have a cart I get suspicious.

[brooklynite]

39. I live in NYC...if I wanted to, I could worry about sidewalks, the subway.....

The odds are still minimal.

(nb - I also live one block from a mosque and two blocks from an Arab shopping street...where I do most of my daily shopping.

[LWolf]

45. I haven't flown anywhere since 2005.

When the economy crashed, so did my budget. If it's not in reasonable driving range, I generally don't go. I have picked up my son from our local airport many times; security didn't seem to be an issue, at least on our end. He didn't seem concerned from his end...L.A.

I don't really like crowds; I generally do my best to avoid them.

I was in the middle of a crowd of more than 15,000 people crammed into a small area for a firework show on the 4th; there was literally no space to move, no where to go. It was a diverse crowd, including a Muslim family about 6 feet away. No fear. The crowd was happy, patient, and welcoming of each other. I wondered what it would be like to try to leave through the gates when it was over; again, people were patient and friendly, and we all made it out just fine. No fear. My grandson and I walked a couple of miles through the city at 11:30ish, leaving crowds behind us at the various parking structures. We weren't fearful. We were exhausted yet energized, laughing and talking through the dark streets to our hostel.

I'm sure there are crowds that aren't that friendly; as a matter of fact, right in that neighborhood a few days later, a demonstration was disrupted by a man with a gun, who was peacefully taken aside and away.

The way to address your concerns? We've got to build a non-violent culture; inclusive communities. Let's focus on how to accomplish that, instead of feeding the fear that feeds violent responses.

[Statistical]

27. Your far more likely to die from someone driving distracted.

Honestly unless you live in a very poor crime ridden neighborhood the probability of you dying from some random violence is essentially a rounding error. If you do live in such a neighborhood well you already have more serious problems from the 99% of crime which never makes it to the national news.

[metroins]

29. You're right but

I always worried about other drivers.

Now I have extra things to worry about.

I can just not go to a bad neighborhood. I can't exactly avoid crowded areas without impacting life.

[Statistical]

30. Mass shootings as horrific as they are as essentially a rounding error.

The US homicide rate is 5 per 100,000 persons. Mass shootings (depending on how you define it) make up about 0.1 to 0.2 of that. So 1 to 2 per million persons.

The overwhelming majority of homicides (and violent crime) is the mundane everyday stuff which might get a 30 second blurb in the local news. That violence sadly is very location dependent. If you are poor and live in inner city you are probably already use to it and if you aren't it is unlikely to ever directly affect you.

[metroins]

33. But now

People are targeting regular places.

Theaters, elementary schools, protests.

The guy in France killed people at a celebration.

You can quote overall statistics but these mass shootings makes one think.

[RB TexLa]

31. No, I've accepted the fact I will die and that I do not know when that will happen.

[metroins]

34. You can control aspects

If you have high blood pressure, you take medication.

If mass shootings are occurring, you stay away from crowds.

In my opinion.

[840high]

44. Agreed.

For instance - my night vision is gone so I control not killing myself or someone else by not driving at night.

[gwheezie]

35. I've become.more pleasant

Not more afraid. I recognize people are more hypervigilent so thought I'd smile more.

[metroins]

38. Are you more vigilant? Nt

[gwheezie]

41. I've relied on my Spidey sense for years

I don't think I'm any more vigilant. For years I did in home visits to psych patients and do crisis psych evals now. I've had decades of observing non verbal communication, which most times is more accurate than verbal communication.

[FuzzyRabbit]

46. It's all about perception.

About 15 years ago my sister told me she was glad she lived in a small town instead of high crime Seattle, as there is virtually no crime in her town.

I looked up the statistics. The fact is that the crime rate in her "crime free" town, was higher than the highest crime rate neighborhood in Seattle.

It's all about perception. Even as crime rates have declined drastically over the last couple decades, crime reports in the news have skyrocketed. Therefore many people think we are in the middle of the biggest crime wave in history and, like Metroins, are unnecessarily fearful.

Remember what the greatest Democratic president said: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"

[womanofthehills]

47. Here is a real crazy psycho guy with a "No Hillary" car sticker

Also, it is a public road. One of the sites listed Mark Gorden as a commerical pilot. Now that is scary.

Road Raging Hillary Hater Charged With Assault For Attempting To Run Over Photographer

Mark Gordon, 52, was charged with assault this week after video showed him trying to run over a photographer with his SUV on a rural California road.

In a video posted to Facebook and YouTube last week, Los Angeles photographer Alex Stone explained that he was taking photos of a car on a public road in San Diego County when a man in a Ford SUV approached and demanded that they leave.

[Javaman]

49. once tRump gets the nod, there will be full blown brownshirt ego on display by his

supporters.

mark my words.

and when he loses, it some ways it will be worse.

[tenderfoot]

50. no.

eom

[pampango]

51. Terrorists - religious wackos, "sovereign citizens", dictators with secret police, etc. -

rely on terror to survive and prosper.

The world has seen much worse than this and survived. There has always been and will always be a battle between those who support greater human rights for regular people and those who believe that terror produces a more 'orderly' society.

The 'good old days' have been relatively rare. The 'bad old days' much more common.

[jmg257]

52. Nothing wrong with a little fear - keeps us from doing all kinds of stupid shit, and causes us to do

all kinds of smart things.

As long as it doesn't get irrational (which only your experiences and circumstance can define), then you are good.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

53. I agree that the media is blowing incidents of violence out of proportion.

I do not have cable at home, so rarely do I watch cable news. I was at a family member's house yesterday for a party they had cnn on. Holy cow, on and on and on about the 3 police officers killed in LA, as if nothing else was happening on this planet. They never cut to talk about anything else and we had it on for 30 minutes to a hour. Same pictures of cop cars over and over. I found it totally boring... I understood that 3 officers were killed in like the first few minutes of the broad cast, now where are the rest of your news stories? For a channel devoted to news, that pretty lazy journalism. Same shit over and over. I remember the news being different in the 80's/90's. They'd at least do a rotation of several important news stories on cable news. Now they cling to the most outrageous current story they have, usually something about violence or people behaving badly. I could see how someone could get the impression that the world is a terrible place by watching this stuff. That is the story the cable news channels are crafting. I guess it gets people to tune in. Doesn't work for me though.