Very NON - PC !

The facts speak for themselves. It is common knowledge that the more crowded and poorer a community is, the more crime there will be. It stands to reason that violent crime will be up in these areas as well. Although poverty does not cause crimes, learned attitudes and habits do... as do the feelings of hopelessness and the inability to change living conditions and circumstances. Certain places are called "the bad part of town" for a reason, and these places are where the most crime and poverty exist. By no means is racism the reason that certain ethnic groups have a higher prison population although there are those would would like us to believe that.

Obviously, this map shows reported crimes within the area, so I can't see how anyone would come to the conclusion that there is something racist about it. It is just statistical information. As to why there are so many murders, I'd venture to say it is the hopelessness that is propagated by bleak outlooks on what they as individuals and as a group can attain in their lives. There is a certain reverse racism in the black community. If one does well in American life, they have "sold out" to "whitey" and that is grounds for "disownment" from the race and/or retaliative action from those who don't believe in sell outs. Then there is the general issue of a "brudtha" shouldn't have nice things in general, from nice cars to nice looking women, God forbid a woman who is white. Grounds for retaliation all on its own. I fear that there is a certain security in believing that they cannot have a "nice" life and thus they collectively do whatever to keep the "nice" out. Add to it the general non acceptance of African-Americans in this country and they conclude "Case closed! We can never have what we want because we are unacceptable here!". It is a deep seated, unwritten, underlying mindset, instilled at birth, reinforced in the family and community and sealed by the all too popular racist attitude of many Americans, primarily white but also from a lot of hispanics as well. Not having any exposure to a life that is free of this mindset, they literally have no reason to believe it can be different and continue to propagate the mindset into the next generation and thus the cycle is reborn. It's devastating to see the strength in this belief and the damage it causes, and with leaders like Jackson and Sharpton condemning anything that can be perceived as "losing our roots", let alone the segregationist speeches by Farrakhan (i.e. "We should all get on a boat and go back to Africa" - which is just what Duke wished we would do several years before), I have to say that I see the proliferation of this attitude coming to an end on the eve of when Hades freezes over. I wish I could see a light at the end of the tunnel, but for now, I cannot.

When I pulled up the link I only got a map showing 2 stabbings.

Well, there is nothing racist in quoting statistics as long as you don't as some do, use statistics like a drunk uses a lamp-post; not for illumination but support. Nor is is your conclusion racist, it is however unwarranted without further supportive elements, sure the source may show a relation between area and type and frequency of crime committed but that's all it supports, it reveals nothing about causative factors. You could argue there is a correlation between the areas and welfare but that would not be sufficient since you would also need to show that it was this correlation was the only significant one and not, for instance a correlation (If such exists) between the areas and the condition of the property. (Not that I am arguing that that is a causative factor.) all the best urban

Well given how I grew up in that area I can tell you why. The people there don't care.. as harsh as that sounds its true. Downtown Baltimore is suppose to be one of the biggest tourist spots on the East Coast.. yet it is the dirtiest place I'd ever been. There's trash everywhere, rats in the subways, people peeing in the subway.. they just don't care. Whats funny is Baltimore has two parts.. Baltimore City and Baltimore County.. I live in both areas... if you live in the County.. its like living in a whole differnt place.. Clean streets, little crime..(no more than any suburban area) I just don't understand how people who live in the same place almost live two diffent lifestyles.. Whats really sad is when driving you can tell when you've left the County line and crossed into the city.. its just that obvious.

Hello redyellowblackdog, This is a very difficult subject to find an answer to or analyze. In my opinion, murder is committed as an act of desperation, anger, hatred, even mental instabilty. What makes one think they can take the life of another person without being in war, or in an effort to protect themselves. I must say that race does matter and; I think blindness and a total disregard toward the plight of others, and a system that literally creates desperation, and destroys the lives, hopes, and economic prosperity of certain groups is to blame. Welfare is not necessarily where the blame should be placed. Innocent children and poor parents should be helped. There have been success stories from people on welfare who have grown to lead happy, healthy, fruitful, and productive lives. Some of these murders see no way to improve their lives and situations which leads them to hate, hurt, and become dangerous. I would suggest that there are no answers to solving this problem due to the complexity of the problem. To me, possible causes are self hatred, ignorance of economic and social issues which makes me come right back to my thought of a system that has been in place to benefit certain groups while leaving others behind and lost killing self esteem which is essential for indivdual responsibiltity; thereby, encouraging such things as dysfunctional families, crime and violence.

I wish someone would do a study on violence down to the neighborhood level. My guess is that we'd find that most of the violence in the US happens in a handful of neighborhoods.

The reference to Baltimore City versus Baltimore County is very similar to the circumstances of a suburb in Sydney, Australia called Redfern. I have been out of my country for some time now so am not 100% sure of its current status; but basically Redfern is an inner city suburb surrounded by multi-million dollar properties that was decided to be a re-housing area for aboriginals. In the past there have always been stories in the news ranging from riots to assaults in this specific area; even to the point of statements being made that there are areas that even the police won't enter! I too find it interesting that there can be such disparate differences in areas of such a close proximity to each other. The Baltimore map you provided shows a mass concentration of black related deaths in such a concentrated area of Baltimore; whereas white, hispanic and other deaths are few and widespread in comparison. One thing I cannot comprehend is that if the problem is so statistically and geographically obvious, why is it not addressed heavily?? It is undoubtedly a combination of welfare destruction, ignorance and a misalignment of priorities from a government and police standpoint. Zero tolerance, increased police presence..... even just a stronger community focus overall would surely make a difference? Personally I find it quite shocking that there can be such a glaringly obvious trend happening!!! It would also be interesting to know how these statistics have changed over the lastr few years or so? If it is a constant growth pattern under the same statistical and geographical representations then the bureaucrats of the City of Baltimore should be disgusted with themselves.

Well there would be only one difference in my state and that would be "hispanics" I put quotes around that because they aren't really from spain, don't know why we call them hispanics. This state is being overrun by MEXICANS. There would be way more under the "hispanic" drop down menu in our major cities. Oh and not even legal citizens, these are illegal to boot. Drunk driving crimes being one of the most prevalent.

The cause? Ignorance breedig ignorance. You have a young black kid born to a black man who only knows how to steal and murder to get what he wants. That kid grows up, thinking this is right and steals and murders. Years later, he has kids of his own and they learn that the only way to get what you want is to steal or murder. Their friends pick up on this. Their family picks up on this. And pretty soon, a violent cycle has began within a race or a culture. Blame upbringing. Blame poverty. Blame the parents. Blame the government. But you can't blame anyone but yourself. You hold the key to what you become. You can be raised with racists and grow up to respect all religions. You can be raised with people who would rather steal and murder for a living than put in an honest 40 hours a week to purchase that new DVD player or that new pair of shoes. The individual is to blame. Not the race. Not the government. Not the white man. White people are not forcing the black races to shoot and murder each other. White people are not holding the black man back. The black man is doing a bang up job of that on his own. The black man gripes that the white man gets the good jobs. Sure he does! He went to college. He paid attention in class and graduated. I'd give a high paying job to anyone of any race as long as they are qualified. There are billions of dollars available if you're black for scholarships, financial aid and free money for colleges, yet only a fraction of that is used. Furthermore, the white people, such as myself, who wanted to go to college are only given on average one third to a half of what the average black kid gets for public aid or assistance for educational purposes.