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[deleted] t1_iwc98o3 wrote

Reply to comment by perceptron-addict in Making Baltimore look good on the Internet by perceptron-addict

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rockybalBOHa t1_iwdguey wrote

>We’ve had so many high profile attacks and random violence, plus everyday obvious nuisances like the squeegee folks, that it really drives home the “war zone” image

Re: random violence, though I have no way to prove this, my perception is that we do not have more random violence on a per capita basis than other cities. My hypothesis is that our bloated crime statistics are due to Baltimore having a high percentage of people who are simply up to no good or who live in a world where violence in a reasonable problem solving strategy. I know all cities have such people...I just think Baltimore has relatively more.

To illustrate what I mean re: random violence - NYC has had 22 instances of people being pushed onto subway tracks this year alone. These are about as random as it gets. Imagine that happening even once in Baltimore in a five year span. We'd never be able to live that down.

I do agree that the squeegee boys have a HUGE HUGE HUGE effect on public perception. When people I know tell me they won't go into the city, it is more likely they will mention squeegee boys than murder.

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[deleted] t1_iwegblk wrote

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rockybalBOHa t1_iwh12ob wrote

In a weird way, the increase of violence in cities across America has helped Baltimore. We no longer seem to be an outlier. There is horrible shit happening everyday all over the country. Cities that had stellar reputations -like San Fran and Portland -get drug through the mud on a daily basis. Even NYC which has statistically much lower crime than the vast majority of cities has a horrible perception problem right now. The NYC suburbs are almost entirely responsible for flipping the House to the GOP. And crime is the reason why.

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No-Success7693 t1_iwnqvda wrote

I must say, I don't get San Francisco's stellar reputation.

That place sketched me out worse than almost anywhere I've been on the East Coast.

Just felt chaotic and aggressive.

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J_Sauce t1_iwgwjm9 wrote

Yeah, I agree on the random violence part. Seems to be on par with other cities we usually get compared to. Actually, since the yuppie hordes haven’t taken over Baltimore’s majority-AA neighborhoods, there’s probably less of the stuff of the genre you hear about in DC- where fans are literally getting shot outside Nationals games and the like. (Can you imagine if that happened here? The reaction would be so different.)

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