What's going on in Milwaukee??

[annabanana]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/28/national/main1167066.shtml?cmp=EM8706

"It was the latest in a string of mob beatings in the city since 2002.

"This man was driving down the street, honked his horn because there were people in the street, wanted them to move out of the street so he could pass. These people apparently took umbrage and dragged him out of the car and beat him and kicked him," said Schwartz.

"He really took a beating," she added."

Any Wisconsin DUers here to shed any light on this dynamic?

(ethinic?, economic?, religious? or just bored young men?)

[RagingInMiami]

1. This is why I pack a gun

[annabanana]

2. are you worried that they're on the

march from Milwaukee to Miami?.. It's an awfully long walk, especially in winter.

[RagingInMiami]

6. I didn't realize this type of behavior was limited to Milwaukee

[oregonindy]

3. you pack your gun out of fear.

how will a mob know if you have a gun? Telepathy?
If you get blindsided you will be done for before drawing your weapon.

its a tailsman meant to soothe you by providing your mind with the false idea that you are safe.

[RagingInMiami]

5. Whatever

It reduces the chances of me getting killed.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

10. Incredible. What the heck are you smoking?

[htuttle]

12. You are exactly right

I drove a taxi in Milwaukee for many years. One year in the late '80's, we had 5 other drivers murdered during robberies. Everybody I knew started packing heat in their cab, so I went a got a pistol myself (and started going to a range weekly, etc...).

What happened was that I started taking even dumber risks than I used to, since I had a gun, and didn't think I had to worry. Turns out I was wrong. When somebody puts a gun to your head from the back seat, there ain't shit you can do about it in real life, unlike the movies. So I sold the gun and started acting sane again...

The gun really was just a talisman. It was also a royal pain in the ass to wear a heavy ballistic nylon 'bra' (what I called my shoulder holster) for hours on end, not to mention having to constantly worry about whether it was 'showing' when I went into a store, etc...

[RagingInMiami]

15. Well just cause you couldn't handle a gun

Doesn't mean everybody can't

[htuttle]

16. Okey dokey, Wyatt Earp

You wanna try to fast draw on someone on your backseat, suit yourself.

:shrug:

[RagingInMiami]

20. Luckily, I'm not a cab driver

The conversation began because I said I would draw a gun if I'm in my car and a mob suddenly surrounds me. I guess that makes me a cowboy.

But I rather be a live cowboy than a dead homeboy.

[htuttle]

21. If you ever find yourself in that situation, here's a tip

Instead of getting out of that 3,000 pound steel-covered people-pusher to wave a gun around at the crowd, just keep the doors on your car locked and your foot on the gas. They'll get out of the way. A locked moving car is far more effective way to avoid an angry mob than any pistol is going to be.

BTW, in regard to the article in question, having worked in that neighborhood myself, I'd say the main problem is that the police don't really patrol there. Or at least they didn't used to. In fact, almost 15 years since I last drove in that city, I'd bet that there is STILL a major crackhouse at 2222 N 1st street. It was open 24/7, provided not only drugs, but gambling and prostitution services, and often had a line of taxicabs waiting outside. The police simply ignored it (I always assumed somebody was getting paid off -- it was only a few blocks from the 4th street police station). People in the neighborhood complained, but nothing ever got done about it. And the North side was even MORE neglected during Chief Brier 's reign, if that is possible. He didn't even seem to realize that the city HAD a North side...

[RebelOne]

11. If you live in Miami, you really need to pack a gun.

Believe me, I lived there too long before I wised up and moved up here to Georgia.

[Freddie Stubbs]

13. Like most cities, it has it's good and bad areas.

South Miami isn't too bad, but Opa-Locka is a downright dangerous place.

[RagingInMiami]

14. The thing about Miami is that it is a very concentrated city

And it is not that large geographically compared to other major cities.

So it's real easy to go through a good neighborhood, a bad neighborhood, back to a good neighborhood and then to a bad neighborhood in a day's drive -- if you're not really sure where you're going.

[ticapnews]

4. I think I have found the group responsible:

[RepublicanElephant]

17. LOL!!!!

:rofl:

python rules!!!

[jane_pippin]

7. You know, I live there and I have no idea. I'd love to know though.

I have my suspicions as to why, but I can't back them up with any facts, so I won't go into it.
I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but the place has a weird vibe these days. But again, that's pretty meaningless too.

Sorry I'm not much of a help, but thanks for your concern about our city.

[annabanana]

8. I'd love to hear your suspicions....

backed up or not. It just strikes me as odd that there would be idle gangs hanging out and causing trouble. Have there been a rash of layoffs? Did a lot of people's unemployment just run out? Does a local paper say, for instance, what part of Milwaukee this happened in?

[jane_pippin]

9. Well, I think it's an overall sense of strain, if that makes sense.

Lots of the manufacturing jobs that people used to count on are gone now. So as the city is working to redefine itself in some ways,(health care is now where a lot of the jobs are, for example), I think a lot of people aren't able to keep up with the changes maybe because of their education level, age, experience level, ability to change or learn a new trade, or a combination of all of those things and more. And, Milwaukee is pretty racially segregated still--though there are welcome pockets of diverse neighborhoods here and there, and they are becoming more common, I think--so I think that plays a role in some of these incidents but certainly not all of them.

I guess the vibe I get is that people are frustrated, people are struggling, people don't know what to do with themselves because maybe there's nothing to do. I don't know. But even that doesn't go for the whole city because despite all of that there are a lot of positive changes taking place too that are bringing neighborhoods together, creating new jobs, new small businesses, etc.

I feel like we're on the brink of something, but whether it's a change for the better or worse remains to be seen. I think if enough younger people stay in the city and care about its future, rather than move away after graduation, then we might be in for a positive change. Of course, all of this is based only on my experience living here and my interpretation of the city. And like I said, I don't have an article or book or anything but my gut to back me up so take all of this for what its worth. Maybe someone else who lives here has a different take on all of it.

[me b zola]

19. Your suspiscions make a lot of sense

Urban areas at the birth of industrialization had similar random mob violence, for much of the same reasons that you listed above. Poverty, uncertaintly, change, & fear are as relevant now as they were during that period of time, if not more so.

[dogfacedboy]

18. There are idle gangs just hanging out in every city.

I offer as an example the West Side of Chicago. There are teenagers making a lot of money selling drugs. They don't see a minimum wage job as an alternative. I'm not excusing them. It's just the way it is.